Articles about developments of alternatives to the present state of The United Methodist Church: discussions of options, other expressions of the Methodist or Wesleyan Way, new alignments, petitions and resolutions approved in annual conferences, etc.
Disobedience didn’t start with sexuality debate
By Heather Hahn and Sam Hodges
Dec. 15, 2022 | UM News
Key Points:
- The United Methodist Church is completing its first big wave of church exits under a church law that allows churches to leave with property if they meet certain conditions.
- More church withdrawals from the denomination are to come before the disaffiliation provision expires at the end of 2023.
- But amid these losses, church members see signs of hope including lay-led efforts to “Stay UMC.”
Much is in flux in The United Methodist Church as 2022 draws to a close. What’s clear is that the denomination’s long, gradual numerical decline in the U.S. has accelerated due to local church disaffiliations.
Yet even as they mourn these departures, a number of United Methodists also see signs of hope and opportunities for growth in what is still the second-largest Protestant denomination in the U.S. and a global church with members spread across four continents.
Just as fire tempers steel, Council of Bishops President Thomas J. Bickerton said he sees the current struggles refining The United Methodist Church to be stronger in faith and sharper in mission and ministry.
“Are we going to be less than we were before? Yes,” said Bickerton, who also leads the New York Conference. “But that’s not a bad thing. I believe we are beginning to discover what it means to reframe and reset this denomination.”
'Everybody's Doing It' – United Methodists Ignoring Their Own Rules as Break-up Continues
Editorial by Cynthia B. Astle, UM Insight, December 15, 2022 (Used by permission)
I am utterly spent and crushed; I groan because of the tumult of my heart. – Psalm 38:8
Church politics, like all politics, creates noble achievements and questionable dealings. As the year draws to a close, United Methodists find themselves coping with their leaders bending – and breaking – the rules as the 12-million-member worldwide denomination splinters. With the politics of disaffiliation becoming more widely known, they're perceived by observers to straddle a thorny fence of money-motivated appeasement to the dismay of both those staying and those leaving.
Those leaving often cite "failure to enforce United Methodist Book of Discipline" – the denomination's rule book – as a prime reason for departure. Yet that standard only seems to apply to offenses related to The United Methodist Church's stances that "the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching," rather than myriad other violations.
Read more: Injustice Continues in the UMC During Splintering
In an effort to provide accurate information about the disaffiliations happening in the United Methodist Church, here is a series of questions being answered by "Ask The UMC," a "ministry of United Methodist Communications."
Ask The UMC: "Is the UMC Really...?" A series of articles aimed at clearing up misperceptions and misunderstandings. All are available here. Questions addressed are below....
- Bishops push back against recruitment tactics
- Communicators Share Information to Counteract Lies About the UMC
- African Bishops Repudiate WCA, Africa Initiative
- 'UMsConnected' Offers a Way Station on the Journey toward a New UMC
- Where Do We Go From Here?
- The "Protocol" Dies
- Developments in Annual Conferences
- Highlights from David Scott's Blog
- Ruling opens door for bishop elections in 2022
- Judicial Council: Annual Conferences Can't Leave -- Yet
- UMC Update May, 2022
- General Conference Postponed a Third Time!
- Update, January 2022
- Catching Up With The UMC -- and Me
- Neocolonial Manipulations by Good News and WCA Are Resurfacing
- Delegates discuss mapping new church vision
- Wrestling with budget after GC2020 postponed
- Looking at financial impact of GC2020 plans
- New Website and Educational Materials Introduce the Revised Social Principles
- New Era Begins with Resistance, Warnings
- Greater New Jersey Creates New "Discipline"
- Church Future Under Negotiation Before GC2020
- Central Conferences Speak Up Against Dissolution of UMC
- Background and Update on UMC Debate
- Separation Outlook: It's All in the Details
- The WCA: How Did We Get Here?
- Western Jurisdiction's "Fresh" Summit Envisions Inclusive Church
- WCA looks toward new, traditionalist church
- WJ Bishops Promise Safe Harbor, Invite Others To Do Likewise
- Bishop Carter Suggests Moratorium on Trials
- Bishop Carter reflects on journey to GC2020
- Greater New Jersey Conference Chooses a Way Forward
- An Inspiring and Courageous Episcopal Address
- The Filipino UMC Link Between Revival, Unity, and Mission
- A Filipino Experience With Schism
- BIshop Announces "Guiding Coalition" For Future
- Background: Breaking up would be hard to do
- We're Not in Kansas Anymore
- Will Filipinos Resolve the UMC's Three-Way Standoff?
- Leadership Gathering Holds Conversations on UMC Future
- COR Leadership Institute Focuses on Future of UMC
- 'Reform & Renewal' Forces Acknowledge 20 Percent Delegate Drop
- Black Leaders Meet to Discuss Future of United Methodist Church
- The Current Three-Way Standoff in the UMC
- The winding road ahead for United Methodism
- The Bursting of the Methodist Wineskin
- Reflections on Where We Are
- Western Jurisdiction Holds "Fresh United Methodism Summit"