Indianapolis pastor Darren Cushman Wood, senior minister of North United Methodist Church, writes about the huge assets and the "tsuname" of lawsuits over them if and when the UMC splits up. Read more about his suggestion.
"Any scheme of separation or dissolution could include provisions for mandatory, binding arbitration procedures for determining the future of our assets. Church law can be created so that all disputes are settled out of court through denominational arbitral panels....we do not need to reinvent the wheel. The models are out there for creating a process for mandatory, binding arbitration in the transition to the creation of new denominations. We can avoid the time and expense of lawsuits if we are willing to rely upon the Holy Spirit (and the expertise of dedicated lay persons) to give wisdom to the saints."