Jeremy Smith, pastor and blogger of HackingChristianity.net, writes his response to the statement by the Extended Cabinet of the California-Nevada UMC. The annual conferences in the Western Jurisdiction took a variety of stances and actions, most of which were against the decisions of the 2019 Special General Conference in one way or another. Here are some highlights:
From the start, the document places connectionalism above justice, unity above integrity, and ironically places unity AS dogma: higher than anything else. If the UMC rescinded clergywomen’s rights or restructured the conferences based on ethnicity, would those be deal-breakers to unity?...
We are a dynamic church that constantly binds and loosens the inherited faith. That’s why we reclaimed women’s ordination from the first century. That’s why we recast ethnic equality as central to the Gospel. And that’s why we are enmeshed in this conversation over LGBTQ inclusion: we are a dynamic faith, not one of dogma and ideology....
If the West chose disaffiliation as a trajectory, they cease to be concerned with leadership within the denomination and center themselves on their unique mission. That’s what it means! And if the West chooses to disaffiliate, then they ARE leading by choosing a path that more heterogenous conferences cannot bring themselves to do....
...disaffiliation must be studied and examined to see if it is a viable path, not dismissed out of hand—and for an annual conference representative body to approve such examinations—and then have them be dismissed by executive action—is a disturbing development.