The 225th session of the Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference concluded today as it usually does – with a sense of discord. We continue to struggle over the issue of how to include gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and transgendered people in the life of the church (which is ultimately an argument over the authority of scripture, but that’s a topic for another day). As I struggled for perspective on yet another episode in the ongoing debate, I was reminded of the wishbone.

My wife and I are notorious for our wishbone battles. We’ll leave a wishbone in the kitchen windowsill to dry for weeks. When it’s just right, we take up our positions on opposing ends of the wishbone and the battle commences. At first, we tug gently hoping to gain the initial advantage, but eventually our desire to win kicks in and we begin to pull harder and harder until the wishbone breaks. At the end of the game, we stand there disconnected, each holding a broken piece of the bone, neither one better for the battle.

So it goes with our church. Like opposing wishbone warriors we come together every year at Annual Conference, and every four at General Conference, hands fully clinched around our end of the wishbone, convinced we cling to the stronger half. Every year we pull harder and harder. I sense we have grown frighteningly close to the end of the game, and soon we will find ourselves standing disconnected, each clinging to a broken piece of the bone, neither side better for the battle.

Pray we might learn to love one another more than we love our church, our doctrine, our opinions, or any other part of the wishbone we cling to, lest we all wind up standing before God one day shamefully trying to hide our little piece of the broken wishbone behind our backs.