Some liberal United Methodist clergy recently convened to critique the new Global Methodist Church created on May 1 for traditionalists.
Don Messer, former president of Iliff Seminary and Chair of The United Methodist Association for Retired Ministers (UMARC), a radically progressive organization designed to elevate and support Karen Oliveto’s bogus episcopacy, hosted a webinar titled “To Stay or Not to Stay UMARC Webinar 2022” with leading clergy voices from the Mountain Sky Conference and clergy from Pennsylvania. Hosting the event was Rev. Dr. Rebekah Miles, Professor of Practical Theology at Perkins School of Theology in Dallas, Texas. She was joined by openly gay Filipino clergy member Israel “Izzy” Alvaran, who is also a staff member at the Reconciling Ministries Network in San Francisco, CA. Joining them for the conversation was Tracy Merrick, a former General Conference delegate and LGBTQ advocate from Western Pennsylvania Conference, Rev. B.T. Gilligan of Nixon United Methodist Church in Butler, PA, and Rev. David Morse, formerly of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.
The split of the Global Methodist Church from the UMC began May 1. The conversation focused on the GMC’s draft “Transitional Book of Doctrine and Discipline,” and the Wesleyan Covenant Association’s Draft Book of Doctrines and Discipline for a New Methodist Church.
Miles pointed out that the GMC’s doctrinal statements remain very similar to the UMC’s, but the “enforcement” of theology and doctrine is the reason for the “disaffiliation” of the churches. Interestingly, Gilligan chimed in, making sure to point out “the people who disagree with us are still just as Jesus-loving Christians as the people who agree with us, and we don’t want to villainize or anything like that. We don’t want to make ‘them’ out to be the enemy.”
The speakers were asked to name the good things in new provisions in the GMC rulebook and process. Morse liked the “return to the more ecumenical processes for ordination.” Gilligan respected the GMC’s consistent methods, and Merrick appreciated the “provisions in the appointment process, in terms of additional collaboration between the episcopal office and the district superintendent, that we don’t always see in our annual conferences here in the UMC.”
When asked for concerns, Mr. Merrick opposes the “rigid adherence to the doctrine and discipline provisions, with little to no room with folks to deviate from them.” He identifies as a free-thinker, and he said this adherence would give him “theological claustrophobia.”
Gilligan was concerned about the “coded language” in the doctrinal statement that “never mentions LGBTQIA+.” The documents repeatedly define marriage as a monogamous covenant between man and woman, and immutable biological gender, but Rev. Gilligan curiously believes this clarity is not enough. “This gives me pause, why won’t they just name the elephant in the room rather than just using all these other ways to get around it.”
Morse was concerned that new rules like “no guaranteed appointment” will detrimentally affect small congregations. He mentioned that the UMC system protects smaller churches, and doing away with that polity will favor “larger, more self-sustaining congregations.” Later in the conversation, it was implied that the lack of this provision will also threaten women and minority ministers.
In response to a question from Alvaran, Merrick called the GMC’s process for church discipline a “very intriguing process.” TheTransitional Book of Doctrine and Discipline requires a signed adherence to the books of doctrine, and if a bishop or cleric does not adhere, they can be involuntarily removed from the church. Similarly, churches and laity can be removed from the GMC.
Charges that could cause removal are promoting doctrines not in line with the GMC, and disobedience to the order and discipline of the GMC. Merrick believes these provisions represent a “level of rigidity.” Morse believes that the GMC is “very concerned with a particular interpretation of doctrine, and therefore likely to be a greater use of judicial procedures to bring people into conformity.”
The biggest conversation was around social witness and the LGBTQIA+ community. Miles said the new social points for the GMC are binding, unlike the UMC’s non-binding Social Principles. Miles called the mission statement for the GMC’s social witness “really deemphasized,” citing the statements on racism as “about individual sin, rather than broader structural problems.”
Merrick summarized the GMC’s new sexuality statements, “This provision, in effect, denies the affirmation of loving, committed persons who are practicing non-traditional expressions of human sexuality and declares that same-gender marriage is not to be affirmed.” He was further visibly concerned when addressing the four points on sexuality outlined by the GMC. He said the “anti-LGBTQIA+ views are very clear.” Miles apologized to the audience “for this continuing situation.”
All speakers were visibly upset by the GMC’s Biblical views on sexuality, and Gilligan said “the situation sucks, and it sucks a lot.” He said: “I look forward to the day I can celebrate a same-gender wedding in a church sanctuary, as I’m the officiant of it, I look forward to it, I long for it, and it sucks that it hasn’t happened yet.” Alvaren called the conversation “triggering” and encouraged his “LGBTQIA+ family to remember they are children of God.”
The webinar detailed differences between the two churches, but it’s plain the focus was to highlight the supposedly rigid exclusivity of the GMC’s doctrine and discipline. UMARC muddles the meaning of inclusivity, but the focus of Methodist believers should be on whether a church’s adherence is first and foremost to the Bible, Christ and His teachings, rather than the world, per 1 Timothy 6:3-5.
Comment by Anthony on May 20, 2022 at 11:37 am
No mystery here. The Global Methodist Church will begin preaching Wesleyan Methodism again — CHRIST CRUCIFIED. All will be welcome to come to the CROSS, repent, be forgiven, be saved, and turn and follow Jesus.
Comment by Anthony on May 20, 2022 at 12:20 pm
THE GLOBAL METHODIST CHURCH:
THE WESLEYAN WAY OF SALVATION
1. The gift of grace is available to all persons. Our Father in Heaven is not willing that any should be lost (Matthew 18:14), but that all may come to “the knowledge of truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). With St. Paul, we affirm the proclamation found in Romans 10:9, “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
2. Grace is the manifestation of God’s love toward fallen creation, to be freely received and freely given. This undeserved gift works to liberate humanity from both the guilt and power of sin, and live as children of God, freed for joyful obedience. In the classic Wesleyan expression, grace works in numerous ways throughout our lives, beginning with the general providence of God toward all.
3. God’s prevenient or preventing grace refers to “the first dawning of grace in the soul,” mitigating the effects of original sin, even before we are aware of our need for God. It prevents the full consequences of humanity’s alienation from God and awakens conscience, giving an initial sense of God and the first inclinations toward life. Received prior to our ability to respond, preventing grace enables genuine response to the continuing work of God’s grace.
4. God’s convincing grace leads us to what the Bible terms “repentance,” awakening in us a desire to “flee the wrath to come” and enabling us to begin to “fear God and work righteousness.”
5. God’s justifying grace works by faith to bring reconciliation to God through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, what God does for us. It is pardon for sin and ordinarily results in assurance, “God’s Spirit witnessing with our spirit that we are children of God.”
6. God’s sanctifying grace begins with God’s work of regeneration, sometimes referred to as “being born again.” It is God’s work in us as we continually turn to Him and seek to be perfected in His love. Sanctification is the process by which the Holy Spirit works to replace sin with the fruit of the Spirit. With John Wesley, we believe that a life of holiness or “entire sanctification” should be the goal of each individual’s journey with God.
7. Our ultimate hope and promise in Christ is glorification, where our souls and bodies are perfectly restored through this grace.
Comment by Gary on May 20, 2022 at 12:33 pm
Nice language for a man of the cloth, Rev. Gilligan.
Comment by Charles Springer on May 20, 2022 at 12:52 pm
IMHO, the use of the term “sucks” reveals a lot about someone’s character and his or her inclination to bow to worldly trends. The gospel doesn’t change and neither should our response to the latest fads in human behavior.
Comment by Steve on May 20, 2022 at 1:32 pm
I sat through (or endured) the one they had earlier this week about the differences between the UMC and GMC. I think they were trying to be fair and pointed out some concerns with the GMC that I would believe the GMC is working on. For example, the GMC does have a trust clause but is not calling it a trust clause. You can go to their website and in their TBOD under “property” it clearly states that a church can not leave the GMC without paying. I get it, they need to have a trust clause to ensure the pensions of clergy since they have to have collateral for the pension program but they need to be a little more honest about it. Right now, churches can not leave the GMC without paying to leave and the GMC will place a lien on their property if they do. Once again, I hope the GMC corrects this as they develop their denomination.
As for the human sexuality issue, I get the idea these people don’t realize there are Christian churches that marry LGBT+ members and also ordain them. The UMC is not the only Christian church. They mentioned they want the UMC to be a big tent but we already have a big tent and that doesn’t seem to be working. I pointed out to them in their chat that the Protestant Church is very diverse with hundreds of denominations to meet the needs of Protestant Christians. Why do we need yet another one that ordains and marries members of the LGBT+ community? Plus, if this is about winning souls for Christ then look at every denomination that has ordained members of the LGBT+ community. They have lost members, turning them away from Christ or they go to other Protestant churches. They don’t gain members. This issue seems to be obviously more of some social justice advocacy than winning souls for Christ.
I encourage traditionalists to participate in their webinars and voice their concerns. I noticed I was not alone on their last one.
Comment by John Kenyon on May 20, 2022 at 4:54 pm
A dynamic debate!!!!! Whether two new Christian denominations will be formed, one for LGBTQIs and the other against saying “sucks.” Do keep me posted. Thanks.
Comment by Joe Renta on May 20, 2022 at 6:02 pm
Preach the Word of God. This is not a question. If the UMC has a Book of Discipline that has not been enforced the un it is simply a Book of Non-Discipline. Leaders lead and UMC leadership has abdicated it authority by its lack of action.
Comment by td on May 20, 2022 at 8:59 pm
What a surprise! Leaders who don’t support the GMC have cristicisms about the GMC. They don’t support Christian sexual.ethics and they don’t like adherence to doctrine and rules. What a surprise! They object to the very things that motivated the establishment of the GMC!
Please explain to me what the point of their webinar was. It’s like baptists getting together to critique the catholic church. Why do they think anyone cares what they think?
Comment by Anthony on May 21, 2022 at 8:56 am
td,
The ONLY thing liberals have done these past 50 years in the UMC is tear down. The only way they can justify their positions on human sexuality and marriage, as part of a much deeper problem, is to tear down the Bible. The leading progressive UMC spokesperson, Adam Hamilton, cannot find any Scripture supporting his liberal position on human sexuality and marriage. He too just tears down by lifting Scripture out of the Bible and tossing it into bucket #2 or bucket #3. To this very hour, not one liberal has been able to identify a single word in the Bible that approves same-sex marriage or any kind of sexual relationships outside that of a man and a woman in marriage — the presenting symptoms of the schism. So, the only way these people know how to critique the Global Methodist Church is to immediately shift into tear down mode right out of the starting gate.
Comment by td on May 21, 2022 at 12:05 pm
Yup, Anthony. That was the point i was trying to make. And, yes, adam hamilton is one of the worst.
Comment by Palamas on May 21, 2022 at 4:29 pm
So, liberals don’t like the new non-liberal denomination. Color me shocked. They especially don’t like the fact that the new non-liberal denomination takes its stated standards and beliefs seriously, rather than having and even encouraging a theological and moral free-for-all. Who could have foreseen this?
Comment by Patrick on May 23, 2022 at 7:22 am
To Gary, and Charles, and everyone:
In my work with youth, one thing I tried to do was get them to come up with other ways of expressing their thoughts and emotions. For example: “This really stinks.” “This is really rotten.” “I just don’t like this.”
This re-direction sometimes became a game in trying to see who could come up with alternate ways of expressing something.
Comment by Anthony on May 24, 2022 at 12:36 pm
A Narrative for the Continuing United Methodist Church issued by the UMC Council of Bishops proclaims: “All of our members, clergy, local churches, and annual conferences will continue to have a home in the future United Methodist Church, whether they consider themselves liberal, evangelical, progressive, traditionalist, middle of the road, conservative, centrist, or something else”.
———————————————————————————————
Yet, the future United Methodist Church, no matter its structure and under the control of progressives, will be a denomination ………
……….with a liberal, pluralistic understanding of Biblical Authority including welcoming those who do not believe or question the Virgin Birth, the Deity of Jesus Christ, the Trinity, the Bodily Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the Miracles {{For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 2 Timothy 3:3}} — plus, at the discretion of the minister, teacher, member — the option will be available to categorize Scripture into (1) Scriptures that express God’s timeless will, (2) Scriptures that expressed God’s will for a particular time but no longer binding, and (3) Scriptures that never expressed God’s will, while claiming all of this as ‘deeply rooted in the Doctrinal Standards of the UMC’.
—————————————————————————————————
Yes — Evangelical, Traditionalist, and Conservative Methodists will have a home there IF they abandon their faith, turn their backs on the Bible, bow, and worship the human sexuality and marriage IDOL that the UMC will usher in.
Comment by bob on June 21, 2022 at 2:01 pm
The Reverend David Morse brought up the GMC’s “new rules like ‘no guaranteed appointment,'” Is this correct?
Will it as he stated, “detrimentally affect small congregations. ” Will the GMC’s rules favor “larger, more self-sustaining congregations,” as he claims?
Who can/will answer for me these two questions so that I can understand?
Comment by F.D.Boutte on September 1, 2022 at 10:38 am
Yes. ..it is true that some UMC churches and conferences have flaunted their disobedience to the BOD…. I have heard it called Principled Disobedience…but it is just disobedience. Our congregations are made up of sinners that are searching for God’s s Grace through repentance and a growing faith. We only ask that sin is not promoted….and we should hold Elders and Church Leaders to a higher standard.. We see progressives supporting the practices of the LBGTQ + …. it has almost become their religion and it is just “in your face” and they use select scripture to support their positions… I have to remind folks Satan also used scripture in his temptations of Jesus in the wilderness. As a firm believer in the disciplines John Wesley gave us and his Quadrilateral of faith anchored by Scripture…that supports our Traditions Reason and Experience….. it looks like I will need to go to and/or stay with a traditional congregation and hopefully the new BOD will be enforced….I am reminded of Matthew 7:21-23 NKJV for all those that feel their feelings on deviant sexuality vetos the Word of God….This stance has become their religon…. the Apostle Paul captured this mind-set quite well in Roman’s 1:16-32….NKJV
Again as a Traditionalist I love all the Children of God… but it is their actions and self-justification of sinful activity and the promotion of sinful actions that I have to resist.
Vaya Con Dios