New Global Wesleyan Movement

on March 12, 2020

IRD’s United Methodist Action program is pleased to participate in this association preparing for a new traditional Methodist denomination after this year’s General Conference likely approves church schism:

Reimagining the Passion of a  Global Wesleyan Movement “I look upon all the world as my parish.”

God calls us to embrace a new day as the people called Methodists. Established in the faith entrusted to us by our forbearers, we discern the Holy Spirit reviving the Methodist movement in a new work. We are committed to God’s vision given to our predecessors “to reform the continent(s) and spread scriptural holiness over the lands.” A group of bishops, clergy, and laity, men and women, African-American, Asian, Caribbean, Caucasian, and Hispanic persons from every U.S. jurisdiction, and three central conferences met to expand and clarify the vision for a future traditional expression of Methodism. In addition to bishops, laity and clergy from the Wesleyan Covenant Association, Good News, the Confessing Movement, the Institute of Religion and Democracy/UM Action, as well as other traditional voices not associated with the renewal groups were present.

In a spirit of cooperation with the Protocol of Reconciliation and Grace through Separation, we join the many conversations occurring as we move toward General Conference 2020.  If the 2020 General Conference adopts the Protocol legislation, with one voice and a spirit of humility we intend to form a global Wesleyan movement committed to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, the authority and inspiration of the Scriptures, and the work of the Holy Spirit in conveying God’s truth, grace, renewal, and sanctification to all people who repent and believe.

We are committed to being a people who covenant together around time honored core doctrines, ethics, and mission. God has always been faithful to us, but we have not always been faithful to him. We desire to repent and return to him. We aspire to be a covenant community, watching over each other in love. We long to reclaim the Wesleyan genius of mutual accountability throughout our connection. We are committed to holding one another accountable to the high calling of our identity in Jesus Christ.

We will be a church that is truly global in nature, fully welcomes people of various ethnicities and women into every level of ordination and leadership, and is characterized by joy. We will be committed to the Christian faith as expressed for 2,000 years, the four-fold movement of grace, compassion, and a passionate desire for people to experience a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We will inspire growth in discipleship, holiness, and a commitment to service, mercy, and seeking God’s justice.

Our unfolding vision includes:

The Church’s Culture and Mission

  •  Being so in love with Jesus that we boldly share his love with all people because we can do nothing else
  •  Welcoming and embracing all who respond to God’s love into the Body of Christ
  •  Engaging people in lifelong, intentional formation as disciples
  •  Renewed by Spirit-filled worship that brings people into the presence of God
  •  Deeply committed to prayer and dependence upon the Holy Spirit
  •  Instilling holiness of heart and life that leads to a balanced Wesleyan character of personal holiness through the spiritual disciplines and social holiness through experiencing communion and accountability with one another in the Body of Christ
  • Reaching out to the world at its points of deepest need through ministries of mercy and justice, especially involving the sins of racism, tribalism, economic injustice, the oppression of women, and addiction
  • Developing Christ-following leaders, called by God for fostering vital local churches
  • Connecting together vital and vibrant local congregations of every size for mutual support and shared ministry
  • Equipping the local church in partnering with God to make disciples of Jesus Christ with a high value on evangelism, reaching youth and young adults, and developing global missional partnerships
  • Passionate about planting new churches, revitalizing existing churches, and apostolic ministry
  • Becoming a nimble and less bureaucratic institution, continuously led by the Holy Spirit
  • More movement than institution
  • Embodying our global nature in every aspect of doctrine, relationships, structure, and church culture
  • Forging deeper unity with other Methodist and Christian expressions around the world
  • Exuding joy, offering hope, and moving confidently into the future

Essential Doctrinal Beliefs

  • The primacy of Scripture, leading to a biblical worldview
  • Christology that boldly proclaims the deity of Christ and his salvific work as Lord and Savior
  • All are created in the image of God, unconditionally loved by God, and in need of redemption from sin through Christ
  • The historic creeds (especially the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed) are reliable summaries of the Christian faith
  • Molded by, proclaiming, and exhibiting the Wesleyan four-fold movement of grace: prevenient, convincing, justifying, and sanctifying
  • The powerful work of the good and life-giving Holy Spirit in the lives of people and the ministry of the Church today
  • The traditional understanding of Christian marriage as a covenant between a man and a woman as God’s intended setting for human sexual expression
  • The accountability of clergy and bishops to the doctrine, mission, and discipline of the Church
  • Adherence to the Wesleyan doctrinal standards: Articles of Religion, Confession of Faith, Standards Sermons, and Notes on the New Testament

Organization

• Global connectional polity

• A General Conference that cares for:

  • Accountability to Doctrinal Standards, Social Witness, and shared life and order of the Church
  • Coordinating global mission
  • Standards for clergy qualifications, education, and credentialing o Sharing resources and best practices
  • The few general agencies that will be minimally staffed, focusing on facilitating ministry partnerships, coordinating mission, channeling resources globally, and resourcing local churches for vital ministry
  • Relying upon local church, district, and annual conference partnerships across the globe, enabling two-way sharing of people, gifts, and resources, with a goal of sustaining existing commitments and expanding ministry
  • Where appropriate, engaging services from agencies of the post-separation United Methodist Church to sustain ongoing mission
  • An interim structure needs to be put in place to care for sustaining ongoing programs globally during the transition
  • Providing ultimate accountability for bishops
  • Determining the number and shape of regional structures

• Regional bodies that care for:

  • Applying, not adapting, the Discipline of the Church
  • Electing and deploying bishops
  • Providing the first step in episcopal accountability
  • Coordinating regional mission
  • Sharing resources and best practices
  • Annual Conferences that care for:
  • Teaching, worship, and inspiration
  • Recruiting, developing, credentialing, and deploying lay and clergy leaders to equip the Church
  • Ensuring that those who are currently Licensed Local Pastors are equal partners in ministry, with a pathway to ordination as elders and with voice and vote on all clergy matters within their order
  • Resourcing local churches for effective mission
  • Sharing resources and best practices
  • Coordinating area mission
  • Providing for pensions and other benefits globally

• Local Congregations that care for:

  • Acting as the primary vehicle by which the mission of the Church is accomplished
  • Contextualizing organizational structure with minimal requirements
  • Fulfilling the expectation that every local church will have an intentional way of helping people grow as joyful and obedient disciples

• Superintendency characterized by:

  • Bishops elected for one 12-year term, rather than lifetime service
  • A global Council of Bishops consisting only of active bishops
  • Bishops elected, assigned, and accountable regionally, with clearly established means of global accountability
  • Episcopal appointment of clergy that practices true open itinerancy with enhanced models of consultation with congregations and clergy, ensuring equity in pastoral appointments for women and persons of varying ethnicities

 

Our covenant with God and each other will be renewed as we claim, teach, and live into a life-affirming confession of faith rooted in Scripture and our doctrinal standards. We worship God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We are sent to be disciples and to make disciples of Jesus Christ. And we are called to be the Body of Christ in the world, bearing witness to the transforming power of the Good News as we humbly, but boldly, strive to serve others in Christ’s name.

By the power of the Holy Spirit, this new traditional Methodist denomination is dedicated to fulfilling this mission. May we be a people of integrity, living out what we believe as the Church. May God grant us the grace and wisdom to grow into this Church so conceived!

Signed,

Rev. Keith D. Boyette, Co-convenor
President, Wesleyan Covenant Association, Spotsylvania, VA Virginia Annual Conference

Bishop Scott Jones, Co-convenor
Resident Bishop Houston Episcopal Area, Houston, TX

Patricia Miller, Co-convenor
Executive Director, The Confessing Movement, Indianapolis, IN Indiana Annual Conference

Bishop Young Jin Cho Retired
Southeast Jurisdiction, Centreville, VA

Bishop Eduard Khegay
Resident Bishop  Eurasia Episcopal Area, Moscow, Russia

Bishop J. Michael Lowry
Resident Bishop Fort Worth Episcopal Area, Fort Worth, TX

Bishop James Swanson
Resident Bishop Mississippi Episcopal Area, Jackson, MS

Rev. Dr. Pedro M. Torio Jr.
Resident Bishop Baguio Episcopal Area, Baguio City, Philippines

Bishop Mark Webb
Resident Bishop Upper New York Episcopal Area, Liverpool, NY

Bishop John Wesley Yohanna
Resident Bishop Nigeria Episcopal Area, Jalingo, Nigeria

Rev. David Alexander
Senior Pastor, First UMC, Mansfield, TX Central Texas Annual Conference

Rev. Nola M. Anderson
District Superintendent, Crossroads District, Liverpool, New York Upper New York Annual Conference

Rev. Dr. Joe Connelly, J.D., D.Min., M.Div.
Pastor, Bethany UMC, New Orleans, LA. Louisiana Annual Conference

Rev. Dr. Jan Davis
Senior Pastor, Central UMC, Fayetteville, AR Arkansas Annual Conference

Rev. Dr. Maxie D. Dunnam Minister at Large, Christ UMC, Memphis, TN Kentucky Annual Conference

Rev. Walter B. Fenton
Vice-President for Strategic Engagement Wesleyan Covenant Association, The Woodlands, TX New Jersey Annual Conference

Rev. Dr. Jeffrey E. Greenway
Pastor, Reynoldsburg UMC, Reynoldsburg, OH Chair, WCA Global Council West Ohio Annual Conference

Rev. Jay Hanson
Pastor, The Chapel UMC, Brunswick, GA South Georgia Annual Conference

Rev. Eric Huffman
Lead Pastor, The Story, Houston, TX Texas Annual Conference

Rev. Thomas A. Lambrecht
Vice President, Good News, Spring, TX Wisconsin Annual Conference

Rev. Jae Duk Lew
Senior Pastor, Valley Korean UMC, Granada Hills, CA California-Pacific Annual Conference

John Lomperis
Director of UM Action, Portland, OR Indiana Annual Conference

Rev. Dr. Ken Loyer
Lead Pastor, Spry Church, York, PA Susquehanna Annual Conference

Rev. Carolyn Moore
Lead Pastor, Mosaic Church, Evans, GA North Georgia Annual Conference

Rev. Martin Nicholas Lead Pastor, First UMC, Sugarland, TX President, UMAction Texas Annual Conference

Rev. Rob Renfroe
Pastor of Discipleship, The Woodlands UMC, The Woodlands, TX President, Good News Texas Annual Conference

Rev. Steven Taylor
Pastor, Panama, UMC, Panama, NY Upper New York Annual Conference

Mark Tooley
President, Institute on Religion and Democracy, Washington, DC  Virginia Annual Conference

 

  1. Comment by Gary Bebop on March 12, 2020 at 4:44 pm

    This announcement is in the right key. Name and logo are the missing links. Branding is what most people really care about (outside of the essentials).

  2. Comment by Roger on March 12, 2020 at 5:57 pm

    This Movement seems to have a lot of potential for succeeding from this outline as presented. What makes this proposal dependent upon the Protocol passing? The 25 million dollar start up segment of the Protocol or departure methods? In the absence of its passing, is this group formulating any independent plans to start the Movement as a new Church anyway? The GC2020 is going to be a very challenging conference, with all the apparent plans & ideas that want to be submitted. The selling of a plan toward consensus and passing has to be a more enduring one over competing proposals of a similar nature.

  3. Comment by Thomas on March 12, 2020 at 6:42 pm

    Has there been any discussion of / efforts to reach out to the Wesleyan Church, Free Methodist Church, Nazarenes, or others that share many of our same beliefs, with an eye toward re-unification? I understand that could be a long and difficult road, but this new denomination may be a catalyst for that kind of unity.

  4. Comment by heather west on March 15, 2020 at 12:40 pm

    Good question, Thomas. I would like to know, too.

  5. Comment by Margaret J Dillman on March 12, 2020 at 6:53 pm

    I am encouraged by your outline for starting a traditional church denomination. I noted that bishops will be held accountable but what about pastors who violate the rules?

  6. Comment by John Smith on March 13, 2020 at 7:00 am

    Most of the statement is just the normal fluff you can find in many groups, organizations and denominations, yet each looks and works very differently. Much of it is affirmed/lifted from the UMC of both branches.

    I do like the fact that the need to rein in the Bishops is recognized. The calls for accountability will have to matched by a proper mechanism-that people can use without a shortcircuiting provision like the much abused “just resolution”.

    I think one reason for the 12 year term is recognition that holding a bishop accountable will be rare and hard to accomplish. The 12 years becomes a double edged sword. On the one hand it ensures a bishop will be, eventually, gone but at the same time gives an incentive of “He’ll be gone in a couple years; do we want the publicity, divisiveness and controversy of a disciplinary action?”.

    Ideally I would like to see Bishops only responsible for doctrine and supervision of elders while the running of the denomination, handling of money, allocation of resources, etc lies with the laity.

  7. Comment by Pastor David Poedel, Emeritus on March 13, 2020 at 4:03 pm

    As a LCMS Lutheran lurker here, I wonder why you have no mention of the Sacraments in this renewal Weslyan mission. Maybe I missed it, but here is an opportunity to return to confessing the Real Presence of the Body and Blood of Jesus in the bread and wine, the saving waters of Baptism….you get my drift.

    It has been distressing watching the UMC go the way of the American sideline denominations. This is, indeed, a movement of the Holy Spirit, and you have my prayers.

  8. Comment by td on March 13, 2020 at 4:23 pm

    Thank you for your work; this all sounds great. But it still does not relieve the dilemma that many majority traditional churches will be bullied into not voting for departure from the errant UMC.

    Yes, it will be a new day, but one that will be littered with collateral damage. I have no doubt that this new group will contain predominantly strong churches, because so many traditional leaning churches will be left behind. Perhaps that is what needs to be. Perhaps that is God’s will.

  9. Comment by Wayne on March 13, 2020 at 5:19 pm

    “unconditionally loved by God” This is not true. Read 2 Samuel 7:15. God’s “unconditional love” is a term made up about 40 years ago. It is no where in the Bible. I know, I know….almost EVERY Christian believes this, but it is not accurate. Also, Jesus never used the word “love” except to the redeemed, those who were already Believers. Interesting……….

  10. Comment by Bruce Willis on March 13, 2020 at 5:34 pm

    Hopefully I’m reading this incorrectly.
    I have also heard this. Is the for lack of a better word conservative side of the new church still in many ways going to be answerable to the progressive buracracy and progressive bishops.
    If this is not a clean split is that really a split. Maybe someone can clarify.

  11. Comment by td on March 13, 2020 at 6:22 pm

    My understanding is that this not a “split”. The protocol calls for annual conferences and local churches to be able to leave with their property given votes above a certain threshold. They will be leaving and setting up a new denomination or be independent. The bureaucracy and agencies remain with the UMC. Only where an annual conference leaves does some institutional bureacracy go with the departing annual conference.

  12. Comment by Fr. Timothy Cremeens, PhD on March 13, 2020 at 5:58 pm

    I’m very happy & excited for all you orthodox Methodists. This has been too long in coming. You have struggled valiantly to uphold the historic Apostolic Nicene Christian Faith in the face of the onslaught of a revisionist shadow that deceptively claims to be the authentic voice of Christianity in the 21st century. All the while John, Charles & Susannah Wesley were spinning in their graves! May the Holy Spirit once again empower the orthodox Methodist Church to evangelize America. May He raise up a new host of John Fletchers, Francis Asburys, Phoebe Palmers and John Inskips and just as Methodism gave rise to the Holiness Movement which in turn nurtured the Pentecostal Movement which engendered the Charismatic Renewal, may Methodism once again prepare the soil for another worldwide revival of the Christian Gospel!

  13. Comment by June on March 13, 2020 at 6:22 pm

    Sounds great. I am just a lay person who has been a Methodist all my life. I am afraid my current church and conference will not go in that direction and I will be left to find a new church since we live in a small town. Sad. I like my church, but like traditional teachings.

  14. Comment by Rev Dr Bruce L Bronoske, Sr on March 16, 2020 at 10:41 am

    What wonderful news! May the Lord richly bless my brothers and sisters, as they labor to bring the truth of the Gospel back to a church so tainted with a gospel of ease and license.

  15. Comment by Kevin on March 20, 2020 at 3:44 pm

    Mark,
    The more I have prayed and thought about this statement the more disappointed I have become. Traditional Methodist (at least the first 150 years) are essentially Orthodox-Pentecostals. This statement reminds me of all the things that were said and written about in 1908 when the “social agenda” was adopted, and we know how that has turned out in the last 112 years. This statement does not connect us to our Methodist roots. It sounds like the same ole same ole Mainline mantra. I do not doubt that this has a form of godliness, but it sure does deny the power. No mention of class-bands leading to membership, no mention of the people called Methodist being an exclusive church grounded in the holiness tradition, and no mention of simplicity leading to non-dependence in some massive religious machine. I am certain that it will boil down to Traditional Methodist having to choose between being Mainline or Methodist. We need to look to the Wesleyan Church, the Church of the Nazarene, and the Church of God for guidance on how to reclaim our Methodist roots, not some mainline church filled with behavior that resembles something that is not Traditional Methodism. The new Methodism of the last 100 years is a new invention; whether it is structure, the “great liturgical movement of the twentieth century”, or the respectable (lol) high church that has been forced on us. I wonder what Dr. Abrams thinks of this statement? I would like to know his take and opinion on this. If we do not get back to our roots and “methods” I am afraid we will be buying a pig in a poke and rowing the same boat in a couple of decades.

  16. Comment by Angelo Bonilla on May 21, 2020 at 10:31 pm

    Could You be more specific in your criticism?

  17. Comment by The Rev Robert RM Bagwell on March 28, 2020 at 4:09 pm

    You are not restoring Wesleys’ vision. You are accommodating the reactions of the conservative wing but not bringing back the original vision of the Wesleys’. God’s love is unconditional for “God is Love.” It does not mean he loves everything people do, but he does love them, which is why we read that he does not rejoice in the death of the wicked.

  18. Comment by John Ownes on April 13, 2020 at 2:50 pm

    I’m a lay person, but I have been a Methodist for 67 years. My concern with this split is that the traditional Methodists are giving up the most. The church voted at the last conference to keep our traditional values. Progressive ministers & bishops ignored this decision. Why are they still part of the church? In my job if the stock holders voted to have the business run a certain way and I refused, I would be fired!! The stock holders wouldn’t say here take our company and will start a new one. As the more conservative wing of the Methodist church we are to quick to give up. If this is our attitude now how will the new denomination be any different? If you want these progressive’s to stop taking our faith away, you have to enforce the doctrine we have. What will stop progressive’s from taking over the new denomination in a few years. We are weak Jesus stood up to the money changers in the temple we are running away. One last thing. If this split happens. We are the majority and should get the majority of the assets that belong to the church.
    I like many other Methodists have given to the Methodist faith for years based on our traditional doctrine. People who joined our church, lay & clergy say they will uphold & honor the traditional doctrine. Many of them have lied, they didn’t intend to honor our doctrine they want to change it. Let them go off and start another Ministry with little or no help from us!! They won’t because without our assets they wouldn’t make it. Lastly $25 million dollars by todays standards is not very much money. It won’t build very many churches.

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