David Hull on British Methodist Church Marriage, Cohabitation Shifts

John Lomperis on August 2, 2021

I reported earlier on the British Methodist Church’s recent liberalizing shifts, and why the details are even worse than some media summaries made clear. I subsequently had the opportunity to interview the Rev. Dr. David Hull, an evangelical leader in the British Methodist Church, about his denomination’s recent decisions to liberalize its standards related to same-sex “marriage” as well as non-marital cohabitation. 

David Hull is chair of Methodist Evangelicals Together (MET), an evangelical caucus in the British Methodist Church similar to evangelical renewal caucuses within the United Methodist Church. In the interview below, he offers an insider’s explanation of the details and implications of the British Methodist Church’s recent decisions to radically shift its official approach to marriage and cohabitation at its July 24 – July 1, 2021 governing conference. 

These radical decisions have drawn concern from believers around the world.  How does David Hull understand the impact of the British Methodist Church’s new direction on marriage and cohabitation?  What are the consequences for ordination standards? What should observers appreciate about the underlying doctrinal divides and overall theological balance within British Methodism? Why did the British Methodist Church also decide to morally accept cohabitation?  Why is the rhetoric about supposedly protecting the consciences of orthodox British Methodists “untenable”? What is next for evangelical British Methodists?  What about “gracious exits” for traditionalist congregations that wish to leave the denomination without losing their properties? And might there be future cooperation between disaffected evangelical British Methodists and the Global Methodist Church? 

These are some of the topics David and I discussed in our interview.

(Note: we recorded this interview in mid-July.)

You can view the video below:

If you prefer, you can download an audio-only version of this interview from Soundcloud here:

You can learn more about British Methodist Evangelicals on their website:

https://www.methodistevangelicals.org.uk

You can read the entirety of Dr. David Hull’s detailed analysis of the British Methodist Church’s then-proposed shifts on marriage and cohabitation, entitled The Runaway Train: A Message to Methodists, here:

https://www.methodistevangelicals.org.uk/Publisher/File.aspx?ID=288554

Note that at one point in our interview, Hull mentioned a 2014 survey of British Methodists cited in The Runaway Train. Page 22 of the The Runaway Train reports that survey respondents were “asked the key question: ‘In the light of changes in British society do you think the Methodist Conference should be asked to look again’ at the Church’s current position on marriage?12 The result was clear: 60.66% of Methodist attendees answered, ‘No’.13

  1. Comment by Joan Sibbald on August 6, 2021 at 7:10 pm

    In order to serve and preserve God’s Word we Christian’s response must be 100%

  2. Comment by Catherine on August 6, 2021 at 8:03 pm

    As in the U.S. liberal voices are the loudest and most disruptive.

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