Winkler Bids Farewell to GBCS

on March 12, 2013
(Photo Credit: United Methodist News Service)
(Photo Credit: United Methodist News Service)

by Barton Gingerich (@bjgingerich)

As the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society held its annual board meeting, leaders of the social witness organization bid adieu to General Secretary Jim Winkler. He has served as head of the UMC’s official lobbying arm for nearly 13 years. An outspoken advocate for political liberalism, Winkler has faithfully piloted the GBCS in its traditionally leftward trajectory to the very end, as revealed in his latest devotion and speech to the board.

At the February 28th opening chapel service, Winkler offered a political spin on the prophet Isaiah. After he belied his textual criticism leanings by dividing the book into the “first, second, and maybe even third Isaiah,” the general secretary concluded the prophecies therein “call us…to work for peace and justice.” “You’ll see [the prophet] condemning the upper classes who are rich and pampered, concerned only for material possessions and pleasures,” Winkler declared. He noted that such a message is especially relevant “in a world where the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, where immigrants are being deported and being denied health care and education…where the misuse of God’s resources threaten God’s creation itself.”

Winkler clearly identified the GBCS staffers as modern-day prophets. “A prophet was not one whose job it was to foretell, but the prophet was one whose job it was to forth-tell,” he contended, “to act as a legitimate spokesperson for the divine.” Winkler explained, “Prophets never accept the status quo. In fact, their role is to challenge it. In our time, when many seem to think Christianity goes hand in hand with certain visions of the world, it is important to remember…there’s never been a conservative prophet.” Continuing this anachronistic theme, the GBCS head seemed to think the Scriptures demand advocacy for liberal policies. “Prophets are never called to conserve social orders based on inequities, on power, on privilege, and wealth,” he claimed, “It was in fact the conservative forces…that were in every instance the bitterest opponent of the prophets and their mission for justice.”

The GBCS spokesman got more specific during his Saturday evening farewell address. He mentioned the difficult 50% staff reduction after the 2000 General Conference decreased its world service funding by 25%. He also recalled his opposition to the Iraq War, which worsened already bad tensions within the UMC. Winkler glossed over the long and costly court battle to free up the assets of the United Methodist Building to cover the GBCS’s expensive progressivist lobbying initiatives. Moreover, Winkler led the GBCS in “measures that will reduce gun violence,” condemnation of the sequester, fights against any cuts to the SNAP food stamp program, and “immigration reform…a way our church can follow the biblical mandate to look out for the sojourner.”

Despite his brilliant record, Winkler was upset by “the dominant narrative of scarcity, which is being peddled by those who are determined to hold onto every last bit of privilege and power.” He worried that “the government has been preoccupied with cutting the deficit, as if the sole purpose of government is to achieve a tidy row of zeroes on the budget’s balance line.” “We must lift an alternate vision of God’s economy of abundance and places the needs of those on economic margins at the very center of policy conversations and missions,” the oldline spokesman cajoled.

If the laud and honor Winkler received during the toasts tell anything, it is that the General Board of Church and Society hopes to find a suitably leftist general secretary to take Winkler’s place. United Methodists can probably look forward to official spokespeople peddling leftist tropes in the immediately foreseeable future.

  1. Comment by Donnie on March 12, 2013 at 11:54 am

    Hopefully the 2016 General Conference will disband the GBCS for good.

  2. Comment by cleareyedtruthmeister on March 12, 2013 at 2:25 pm

    The GBCS, particularly under Winkler, has become a blight on this denomination. The only reason there has not been more outrage is because of ignorance and apathy on the part of UM membership.

    I totally agree with Donnie: the GBCS is beyond reform and should be totally discontinued. It’s a major reason we left the denomination. Practically everything Winkler–and his leftist GBCS cronies–have done has been filtered through a liberal political prism. They simply cannot see beyond the politics–practically all Scripture is shoehorned into some left-wing political talking point.

    Winkler has divided this denomination terribly. Via his actions he has actually aligned the denomination with many anti-Christian forces (George Soros, Religious Coalition For Reproductive Choice, sexual liberationists, etc.).

    Misunderstanding of political/social/economic issues combined with biased misinterpretation of Scripture has become routine under Mr. Winkler. It’s hard to know where to begin; even his latest post reveals his ignorance regarding teachings of the great OT prophets. He quotes a leftist theo-political activist in confirming that none of the OT prophets was “conservative.” Who knew??

    Of course, the prophets were beyond politics, but if calling Israel back to its roots–the law, respect for Yahweh, etc.–isn’t more conservative than liberal then I don’t know what is.

    It’s hard to imagine that any leader of the GBCS could be more of a leftist political apparatchik than Mr. Winkler. But stay tuned.

  3. Comment by Donnie on March 13, 2013 at 8:32 am

    Actually, the UMC has associated with the RCRC since the 70s. So this predates Winkler’s reign of terror, sadly enough.

  4. Comment by sandytnaylor on March 12, 2013 at 5:45 pm

    Having spent his career making ridiculous statements, Winkler’s exit remarks are a perfect fit. Aside from the laughable assertion that he and his liberal cohorts are “prophets” and thus “spokespersons for the divine” (is he ashamed of the name “God”?), he is completely wrong about “there’s never been a conservative prophet.” The word “return” occurs constantly in the Major Prophets, who never cease to urge the Israelites to remember their covenant with God and return to the paths of holiness. Granted, if they did observe the covenant faithfully, great changes would occur in society, which would become more righteous and just. But this Winkler character has zero interest in what the prophets taught, his concern is to sling some more mud on the word “conservative” and to put God’s imprimatur on the Board’s social agenda.

    Liberals aren’t exactly known for self-analysis. If they were, he would see how ridiculous it is for someone in his position to bash people who hold on to “privilege and power.” Hasn’t he noticed that in a largely moderate denomination, it is diehard leftists like himself who hold the power positions on the national boards, and who become bishops and seminary presidents? Typical liberal, he not only depicts himself as the courageous spokesman for the truth, but as the “little man” standing up to the big bad establishment, when he and his lefty cronies ARE the establishment,

  5. Comment by Robert Swanson on March 13, 2013 at 1:43 pm

    The GBCS in general and Jim Winkler in particular, have created enough division in the UMC to fill a book. Winkler’s never ending rants against orthodox Christians and traditional values, combined with his eagerness to make political alliances with those groups and individuals who deny and despise the Lord Jesus Christ, have given most non-Methodists the impression that we are left wing, universalists and statists.

    As a member of the armed forces, I’ll admit that I’ve been particularly offended by his characterizations of military personnel as murderers and thugs.

    I have no hope that his successor will be more moderate, less political or more Christian. I do hope and pray that we will be able to disband the GBCS and get the UMC out of the business of partisan politics and back in the business of making Disciples of Jesus Christ.

    We can’t make the world more like the Church as long as we have a board hell-bent on making the Church more like the world.

  6. Comment by curlyqmom on March 13, 2013 at 7:36 pm

    Let us celebrate the end of the reign of Jim Winkler within the UMC! His rantings have been an example of a false prophet if ever there was one. He has divided us from within as he has led many astray by twisting the Word of God. The GBCS should be done away with as it appears to serve as a platform for the political left’s agenda. No wonder so many have left our denomination if they have heard what Mr. Winkler says “we” stand for. I pray this is a wake-up call for our leadership within the greater UMC. As I have told Mr. Winkler, “he does NOT speak for me or most of the United Methodist that I know”. May we get back to sharing the inspired Word of God and making disciples in all the world. However, to do that we need men and women of God who are not afraid to speak that Word from their pulpits…whether it steps on toes or not!

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