Bishop Mike Lowry Lays Out Global Methodist Blueprint 

Grayson Jang on June 24, 2022

As division unfolds in the United Methodist Church (UMC), the new Global Methodist Church (GMC) launched last month. The Indiana Wesleyan Covenant Association (WCA) hosted Bishop Mike Lowry, a member of the Transitional Leadership Council (TLC) directing the GMC, for the caucus’s annual dinner held in conjunction with the 2022 session of the UMC’s Indiana Annual Conference. During the conference, Lowry outlined a vision of the Global Methodist Church.

Lowry recently retired as leader of the United Methodist Church’s Fort Worth Episcopal Area. He has laid groundwork for the launch of the GMC. During the conference, Lowry said: “not just the Methodist Church, but in the Christian movement in America, has married the present age…it is past time for that to change.”

While the UMC and most mainline Protestant churches have put more emphasis on a college-educated and professional class culture and ethos, “The GMC’s new movement will involve rejecting the dominant fads and fancies of contemporary culture, regardless of whether they come from the left or the right,” Lowry insisted.

Lowry emphasized three main aspects of the GMC.

First, “the GMC will be explicitly and consciously Christ-centered.” He questioned: “What is faith? What faith is it through which we are saved?” Lowry declared that we are saved only by faith in Christ. It is not “a barely speculative rational thing” nor “a train of ideas in the head.” Lowry stated, “the Global Methodist Church is seeking to birth a Holy Spirit movement.” The defining feature of the GMC is Christ at the center.

Second, “the GMC will seek to consciously and explicitly reclaim a doctrine of sanctification, holiness, heart, and life.” John Wesley said: “this distinctive understanding of faith alone and holy living held together.” The GMC’s holiness means both personal and social or corporate holiness. As the great British politician William Wilberforce fought for eradicating the slave trade and advocating for the rights of women in England, “we in the GMC to be about the business of adding the abiding presence of Christian life,” Lowry declared.

Third, “the GMC will consciously and explicitly engage in evangelism.” Lowry brought the missionary D.T. Niles’ definition of evangelism to explain it further: “it is one beggar telling another beggar where to get food.” The bishop emphasized that the evangelist Niles not only believed Christians should stand alongside the non-Christians but also point to the Gospel, the holy action of God.

Lowry came up with the instance of a young minister couple to explain what the future GMC should look like. Jesus Molina and his wife, Lili, came from Venezuela with a calling to preach and teach in the United States. In Texas, a local pastor taught them about the Wesleyan way of being Christian. Later, Molina became a worship leader at First Methodist Church in Waxahachie, Texas, with a Spanish language service. The ministry continued to blossom and started sharing the Gospel with unreached people.

Even though when the First Methodist Church was just founded, “only one of the leaders has a seminary education, a retired elder who serves more as coordinator. They have, instead, is a sold-out commitment for Jesus Christ as Lord,” Lowry passionately stated. In May 2022, a year-and-a-half after that opening service, this new faith community expanded to the second site in Grapevine, Texas. Recently, every church member gathered on the lakeside, and forty-nine people were baptized.

“This scene would not be considered foreign friends or even unusual in early American Methodism,” Lowry pointed out. “The Global Methodist Church is committed to a vision of life in a renewed local congregation.”

He said this lakeside gathering was reminiscent of John chapter 21, which lays out a minimum of seven elements of a life transformation through Jesus Christ: One, the real conversion as a regular happening in a local church. Two, a significantly new ethnic and cultural mix. Three, both a working-class and a middle-class constituency. Four, a high Christology combined with a strong sense of biblical authority. Five, growing awareness of the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. Six, indigenous leadership that includes spiritual and theological formation is a part of its life, not just education. Seven, a firm commitment to the historic Christian orthodoxy. 

Lowry highlighted that the future of Methodism does not stand for the upper-class regardless of if it is Global Methodist, United Methodist, or Free Will Methodist. By reaching a combination of the middle class and working class in its makeup, the bishop hoped that the GMC would be a church that “will reclaim an orthodox doctrine of the Trinity, moving away from a vague Unitarian theological emphasis found in many of today’s seminary-educated clergy.”

The GMC leader believes that the new Wesleyan movement is not a time for dread but to celebrate with deep prayer, passion, purpose, and Christ at the center.

“A renewed Methodism in the GMC, sharing Christ to people frozen in place…This is the task which I believe the Lord creates the Global Methodist Church to be and be about no more nor less,” Lowry concluded. 

  1. Comment by Steve on June 24, 2022 at 10:46 am

    “the future of Methodism does not stand for the upper-class”… “reaching a combination of the middle class and working class,” wow, so the GMC is going to engage in Progressive class warfare? This is not a good start.

  2. Comment by jeff on June 24, 2022 at 11:29 am

    Methodism started out with the working class, but worked it way up the social ladder.
    The upper class no longer wants the gospel however the poor and low class(especially the Spanish) still respond.

  3. Comment by Steve on June 24, 2022 at 11:40 am

    Saying the “upper class no longer wants the gospel” is like saying the “rich need to pay their fair share.” It is based on unproven bias designed to divide. The Gallop poll that came out the other day showed that college-educated and conservative (two groups most upper class belong to) believe in God at a rate of 85-95%. Class warfare and identity pol has no place in carrying out the Great Commission. The bishop and GMC should be ashamed.

  4. Comment by Joe Renta on June 24, 2022 at 9:24 pm

    It is long past time the UMC dissolved. The membership decline alone is presented as a reason. Following the culture sealed its fate. There is more God wants from followers than the social Media driven flavor of the month issue.

  5. Comment by Stephanie Jenkins on June 25, 2022 at 9:50 am

    How can UMC exclude upper class and say they are inclusive? Oxymoron. Moronic really.

  6. Comment by Walter Pryor on June 25, 2022 at 4:14 pm

    Faith is defined as obedience to. No obedience no faith.
    The essence of worship is obedience.

  7. Comment by Anthony on June 26, 2022 at 9:02 am

    All that committed, informed, and weary traditionalists want now is an EXIT from what this United Methodist Church has become and a path into the Global Methodist Church. Why are progressives placing roadblocks to this IF -IF – IF they truly want to liberalize the denomination by gaining the majority of the delegates for General Conference whenever it meets again? They should be HELPING, ENCOURAGING, even PAYING for traditionalists to EXIT ASAP in order to finally achieve their 50 year old goal!!!

  8. Comment by Steve on June 26, 2022 at 10:25 am

    Anthony,
    I am not a Progressive, the question is where are we traditionalists going? The GMC bishop’s comments sound very Progressive with its class warfare and identity politics. When it comes to roadblocks the GMC could ease the pain by pledging to use the $25 million they are getting through the Protocol to pay for the disaffiliation costs of churches. But that will not happen. UMC traditionalists have the votes, and they are growing as the African church grows, to remove those in the UMC that do not follow the BOD. Traditionalists in the GMC will have to fight the same fight eventually. For example, the “no trust clause” leaders in the GMC promised is now a “lien on church property,” which acts as a trust clause. Read their traditional BOD under disaffiliation. You have to pay if you leave the GMC just like you do to leave the UMC.

    The problem facing the UMC is the same problem facing every Christian denomination. Wokeness in society is infiltrating every institution, including the church. The GMC is not any different (read the bishop’s own words in the article). The answer is to fight back, not run away to fight later.

  9. Comment by Anthony on June 27, 2022 at 11:19 am

    Steve,
    OK – take the GMC out of the equation—- Why are progressives placing roadblocks to this IF -IF – IF they truly want to liberalize the denomination by gaining the majority of the delegates for General Conference whenever it meets again? They should be HELPING, ENCOURAGING, even PAYING for traditionalists to EXIT ASAP in order to finally achieve their 50 year old goal!!!

  10. Comment by Anthony on June 27, 2022 at 11:26 am

    And, why aren’t the powerful LGBTQ+ lobby in the UMC not aggressively pushing the bishops and the entire hierarchy of the denomination to do WHATEVER IS NECESSARY to hasten the departure of traditionalists so they can finally liberalize the church and win their 50 years fight???

  11. Comment by Steve on June 28, 2022 at 1:11 pm

    Anthony,
    I think the problem is many people view the issue in the UMC in the same light as the Progressive vs Traditionalist conflict in our culture wars. That is what the extremists on the Progressive and Traditionalist sides want us to do to sway our support in their direction and strengthen their cause – just like the pol parties do in the culture war.

    But that ignores the Institutionalists and their objective. The Institutionalists do not care if the UMC is Progressive or Traditionalist, they just want the UMC to stay together. We have already seen that the Traditionalists are the largest group in the UMC and the Progressives are very small and losing members (while the traditionalists are gaining members in Africa and South Korea). Some of the Institutionalists are also Traditionalists and they are the ones putting roadblocks up. (just look at the position of most Africans). I am in a very traditional annual conference who would vote to leave the UMC if they change their stance on marriage but the traditionalists are staying until that happens. Their argument is why pay to leave one Methodist denomination that supports traditional marriage to join another Methodist denomination that supports traditional marriage? That attitude and the member numbers indicating the Traditionalists in the UMC are growing while the Progressives are decreasing is what’s keeping them in. It may seem like roadblocks (and I do not deny the Progressives think they benefit from it, even though in the long run they do not) but it is really the Traditionalists and Institutionalists that are keeping the UMC together right now. And the Progressives know it.

  12. Comment by Roger on June 28, 2022 at 5:32 pm

    Which Gospel is the GMC going to preach? Jesus and the 12 preached the Gospel of the Kingdom. Paul preached the Gospel of Grace which is 1 Corinthians 15: 1 – 4. In Romans 1: 16, Paul declares He is not ashamed to preach this Gospel. Also in Romans 2 : 16, In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my Gospel. Paul gets to say my Gospel as it was given to him to give it to the Gentiles, as Moses was given the Law. to give it to the Jews and by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Romans 3 : 24, Being justified freely by his Grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: – – – – . Will this be a priority of the GMC as they try to get new people into the Church.?

  13. Comment by Anthony on June 29, 2022 at 10:54 am

    The GMC – which Gospel?

    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

  14. Comment by Loren J Golden on July 2, 2022 at 9:03 pm

    “The Global Methodist Church is seeking to birth a Holy Spirit movement.”
     
    With all due respect, this is not something that the Church can do.
     
    “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.  So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (John 3.8)
     
    The Holy Spirit is at no one’s beck and call—He does as He is bidden by the Father and the Son who sent Him.  We cannot presume upon Him, supposing that if we do X, Y, & Z, He will come and bless our efforts by creating new life in unbelievers.
     
    Two hundred years ago, a brash, young lawyer-turned evangelist had the idea that if he perfected his techniques, bringing his hearers into an artificially induced moment of crisis, they will make a decision for Christ, and the Holy Spirit will enter them, and they would be saved.  This sort of thinking garnered a great number of converts to Christianity but few genuine disciples.  Finney’s converts were like the seed that “fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched.  And since they had no root, they withered away.” (Mt. 13.5-6,20-21)  Or, to use a modern illustration, it is like a marketing team that oversells its company’s product, but the company failed to invest in enough qualified personnel and infrastructure to meet the increased business, and so failed to deliver an on-time, quality product.  They did not count the cost of discipleship, nor did they subsequently grow in the knowledge of Christ.
     
    Many itinerant preachers, impressed by Finney’s apparent results, adopted his methods, and soon, this wave of his techniques of preaching revivalism spread like wildfire throughout New York and Ohio, and churches that had reservations about Finney’s methods were often excoriated, so often leading to riven churches after the preaching of men supposedly “on fire” for Christ, that this area became known as the “burned-over district,” making it fertile ground for the reception of the theologically liberal teaching that made its way to American shores in the years following the Civil War.
     
    I agree that the Church of Jesus Christ in America desperately needs a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and I pray that the Lord sends one soon.  But “birthing” one is not humanly possible, and past attempts to accomplish it have produced poor fruit and a ruined tree, like a tree artificially induced to bear fruit ahead of its season.  “(Paul) planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.  So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” (I Cor. 3.6-7)

  15. Comment by Loren J Golden on July 2, 2022 at 9:21 pm

    I certainly hope that the Global Methodist Church isn’t “rejecting the dominant fads and fancies of contemporary culture, regardless of whether they come from the left or the right,” only to adopt the dominant, failed fad of American ecclesiastical culture from 200 years ago.

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