Name withheld by request
“It was the best of times for the few, and the worst of times for the many.”
In the historic halls of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, a denomination birthed from the fires of liberation and radical equality, a troubling dissonance and precedence is vibrating through the pews. As we reflect on our identity as a “connectional” body, we find ourselves living in a modern-day Tale of Two Cities. In one city, the general membership – the hardworking laity and local clergy – toils under a strict discipline of sacrifice and meager resources. In the other city, a gilded “Episcopal Class” of Bishops and their families appears to operate under a different set of rules entirely, governed by a system of nepotism that threatens to hollow out the Kingdom from within.
The Mirror of Critique: Trump and the Episcopal House
Over the last several years, our Council of Bishops has been vocal in its critique of the secular political landscape. They have rightfully condemned the use of high office to enrich family members and the appointment of relatives to influential positions. They have called out a culture of “privilege above the law.”
Yet, a painful question haunts our districts. How can we denounce the nepotism in the White House while practicing it in our Father’s House? While general members are often held to the strictest financial and moral discipline, there are accounts of leadership’s families being allowed to bypass the very rules others are punished for. Even more jarring is the visual of this divide. While the average pastor struggles to keep the lights on in a rural circuit, some in the “Episcopal inner circle” are rewarded with premier appointments, political campaign contributions, designer bags, and/or luxury jewelry. This display of opulence, often funded by the “connectional” sweat of the poor, creates a spiritual rot that no sermon can cover.
Broken Covenants with our Sisters’ Denomination
This internal dissonance is particularly damaging because the AME Church does not exist in a vacuum. We are bound by sacred Full Communion agreements – covenants that signify we are “one, holy, church.” These are not merely social gestures. They allow for the mutual recognition of baptisms, the sharing of the Lord’s Supper, and the exchangeability of clergy.
Our failure to maintain a single standard of integrity dishonors our partners in the Pan-Methodist Full Communion – The AME Zion (AMEZ) Church, The Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) Church, The United Methodist Church (UMC), The African Union Methodist Protestant (AUMPC) Church, and The Union American Methodist Episcopal (UAMEC) Church.
Furthermore, as a founding member of Churches Uniting in Christ (CUIC), we stand in a “Covenant of Ecumenical Partnership” with the Episcopal Church, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the UCC, the Disciples of Christ, and the ELCA. How can we lead a charge against systemic inequality in the world when we harbor a systemic “lineage-ism” within our own borders?
How Can the Kingdom Grow?
The math of the Spirit is uncompromising. The Kingdom of God is built on the principle that the “greatest among you shall be your servant” (Matthew 23:11). When we maintain two sets of rules, one of austerity for the many, and one of designer luxury for the few, we create a ceiling for growth. It silences our prophecy. Our calls for social justice ring hollow when our own “first families” mirror the same cronyism we condemn in the secular world.
It stifles the called. How can the Kingdom grow when a young, gifted preacher without the “right” last name sees their path blocked by a Bishop’s relative who has not yet proven their fruit?
For the Kingdom to grow, the “Two Cities” must become one. We must return to a single Book of Discipline where the reward for ministry is the salvation of souls, not a collection of jewelry and bags. We must honor our covenants with our sister churches by being a house of transparency and equity.
