Nearly 6,200 traditionalist churches have officially exited from the United Methodist Church over differences in theology and sexual ethics. But “centrist” pastor Adam Hamilton thinks the church can reach more people if it remains united.
In a recent podcast series, Andy Miller of Wesley Biblical Seminary separately interviewed two opposing voices from the Methodist tradition—self-described centrist Adam Hamilton and traditionalist Robert Renfroe—to discuss the present state of Methodism and its future.
Hamilton pastors United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, which claims 24,000 active members at its six locations around Kansas City. Hamilton urges United Methodism to discard its official traditionalist stance defining marriage as man and woman. And he affirms creedal Christianity. He calls his views “conservative in terms of doctrine and theology, but liberal in terms of justice.”
United Methodism, Hamilton says, is a “church that’s made up of a broad spectrum of beliefs. We have people who are conservative evangelicals and people who are progressive Social Gospel proponents. At our best, we bring these different perspectives together.”
The main differences between the liberalizing United Methodist Church and the new traditionalist Global Methodist Church, Hamilton argues, are contrasting biblical interpretations.
“The majority of United Methodists affirm the historic essentials of the Christian faith. This disagreement is primarily about how we interpret scripture regarding homosexuality,” Hamilton stated.
Hamilton also spoke of the decline in church attendance and the importance of building faith communities. He argued that joining the Global Methodist Church won’t cause growth if a declining United Methodist Church leaves. And he doubts that changing the Book of Discipline’s position on sexuality will cause United Methodist churches to grow. Instead, Hamilton argued that churches should unite people around a shared vision and mission and discover what God calls a congregation toward.
“I see a lot of positive things that are going to come out of [the split], and I think when we get to General Conference and we stop debating about this every year… and instead we [focus] on what… it [means] to be followers of Jesus, how are we going to change the world, and how are we going to help people see His light,” Hamilton stated.
While not questioning traditionalists who quit United Methodism over sexuality, Hamilton argued that people who leave because of fears about growing theological heterodoxy, such as denying the Trinity or the Resurrection, have misplaced fears. He argued that the number of United Methodist pastors who deny creedal orthodoxy is minimal.
“You can quote a number of people that make it sound like this is the trend in the United Methodist Church. It simply is not,” Hamilton insisted. “I just want to make sure people leave for the right reasons and not for something that was, what I consider, misinformation.”
Hamilton argued that United Methodism could exist with multiple views on sexual ethics. He insisted a practicing homosexual can be gifted for ministry and serious about Christian sexual ethics.
“They’re not sleeping around, they’re not doing anything, they’re really serious but who will ultimately marry or may ultimately marry somebody,” he said.
Hamilton insisted that churches accepting actively gay clergy “striving to live a holy life as they see it,” and those churches that don’t could flourish in the same denomination. “No bishop should be sending somebody to a church that’s going to hurt the church or hurt the pastor,” he said.
As a pragmatist, Hamilton recognized “that people are [in] different places at different times in their lives.” He argued that a gay couple would not want to be married by someone who thinks they are living in sin. “I’m going to influence people to be where they are, and they may change their views… but we are not going to force people to do weddings… [if] that’s not where they’re at,” he said.
The Church, Hamilton argued, best reaches people and grows when it remains unified.
“I don’t think God wills churches to split and denominations to split,” Hamilton determined. “[People] are not looking for a church that’s primary issue is human sexuality. They want a church that’s primary issue is Jesus… people are drawn to Jesus.”
Hamilton argues for theological prudence but from a pluralistic interpretation. Podcast host Andy Miller argued that Scripture offers objective truth. While there are fewer clear parts of scripture, Miller said, “We interpret the less clear parts by the clear parts.” Miller argued that same-sex attraction is a clear black and white issue. There is a pluralistic idea of even what happens with regards to human sexuality throughout the Bible, but there is a monologue or a clear presentation about same-sex behavior,” he concludes.
A subsequent article will review Miller’s interview with traditionalist Robert Renfroe on the present state of Methodism and its future.
The full podcast is available here.
Comment by Steve on July 3, 2023 at 10:25 am
The problem I have with the argument that allowing LGBT+ marriages and clergy in the UMC is essential to reach them and that “a practicing homosexual can be gifted for ministry,” is that there are already tens of thousands of churches where that can be accomplished. There are multiple Protestant denominations that minister to the LGBT+ community. It could be argued that there are more seats in pews in LGBT+-friendly churches than there are LGBT+ people in the USA.
Because of this, I think it could be argued that this debate is less about justice and ministry and more about socio-political activism and the destruction of the traditional Christian faith.
Comment by Skipper on July 3, 2023 at 2:53 pm
While attending our Annual Conference I heard a man speaking that seemed to be a homosexual activist. I wondered what he was doing addessing our group and who he was. If was this same Hamilton. I still don’t know how he got on the program – inappropriate!
Comment by Pirate Preacher on July 3, 2023 at 2:59 pm
“The majority of United Methodists affirm the historic essentials of the Christian faith,” stated Hamilton. “This disagreement is primarily about how we interpret Scripture regarding homosexuality.”
The issue is much deeper than “how we interpret Scripture.” It’s a split between two perceptions of who Jesus is. Here is the Jesus of the New Testament:
“God spoke to Moses. David spoke by the Holy Spirit.” — Jesus (Mark 12:28, 35)
“I came into the world to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of truth listens to me. My Father spoke through Moses, and yet you reject the words he gave. How will you believe me?” — Jesus (John 18:37)
“By your word, they come out of the world,.” — Jesus (John 17)
“Father, set them apart by the truth. Your word is truth.” — Jesus (John 17:17)
“They were yours, you gave them to me. They kept your word. The words you gave me, I gave them. I pray for them because they are yours.” — Jesus (John 17)
“The Holy Spirit proves the world wrong about sin. If they believed me, the Spirit would convict them. But they do not know me, so they remain in their sin.” — Jesus (John 16:8-10)
“If you love Me, you will keep My commands. My Father will give you another, the Counselor, to be with you forever. He is the Holy Spirit of truth. The one who has My commands and keeps them is the one who loves Me. If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. The one who doesn’t love Me will not keep My words. The word that you hear is not Mine but is from the Father.” — Jesus (John 14:15-26)
Jesus made many other similar statements, but this is the New Testament Jesus—the Jesus who affirmed not a lifestyle or any sin, but all of the Law and Prophets. He did this because He, His Father, and His Holy Spirit are one and neither will deny the other. All three are in agreement.
So when “The Lord said…” in Leviticus 18:1, this same Lord is still speaking in Leviticus 18:22. This same Lord said to Abraham, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me.”
Men did not make up these stories based on their understanding of culture. These are the words of God given to us.
The UMC split was never about sexuality and sin—it’s about following, believing, obeying, and worshiping Jesus. If you follow someone, you stick close to them. You do what they do, believe what they say, and hang on their every word because you love them.
The Apostle Paul had never heard of the “UMC,” but he spoke of its future. “If someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough” (2 Corinthians 11:4).
The task for those who leave the UMC is to show kindness, love, grace, and mercy to those who come out of the Out and read and believe the words of Jesus. If we welcome sinners and gently point out the speck in their eye (after we’ve removed the pride in our own eye), we may point those who are perishing toward the arms of Jesus.
Those who affirm sin present a Jesus who says, “Repent. Or not. Doesn’t matter. I love you as you are.” And that’s not a Jesus you find anywhere in Scripture.
Comment by Gary on July 3, 2023 at 3:36 pm
This article is an example of false teaching. Bible is pretty clear on the subject of practicing homosexuality.
Matthew 7:13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. Matthew 7:14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. Matthew 7:15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. Matthew 7:16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
1 Corinthians 6:9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 1 Corinthians 6:10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
1 Corinthians 6:18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.
How can we flee from sexual immorality if we establish such immorality in the leadership of a church?
Comment by TD on July 3, 2023 at 4:33 pm
For what its worth, UMData statistics seem to show that Church of the Resurrection has been in a spiraling nose dive for quite some time now. Weekly attendance back in 2015 is reported as just shy of 10000. Weekly attendance in 2021 is reported as 1700.
http://www.umdata.org/ChartViewer.aspx?Width=500px&height=500px&Data=MembAtt&SeriesName=MembershipAndAttendance&Title=%20&Level=Church&pastorno=0&Confno=540&distNo=36&churchNo=817126&GBNO=817126&StartYear=2004&EndYear=2022
Comment by Tom on July 3, 2023 at 5:35 pm
“This disagreement is primarily about how we interpret scripture regarding homosexuality,” Hamilton stated.”
Hear, hear! I personally think we should widen this to disagreements about how we interpret Scripture regarding robbery. I would love to attend Hamilton’s church and help myself to the offering plate each Sunday. It is just a different interpretation of Scripture. So, Mr. Hamilton, here I come, eager to validate my firm identity as a thief-Christian! Thank you for your wonderfully broad interpretation of Scripture to validate me as who I am!
Comment by Kwame Darteh on July 3, 2023 at 9:45 pm
Is there an interpretation of scripture that could accept a homosexual stance? What is the telos of the growth Hamilton is seeking? Apostasy is staring at our faces. I am happy my church decided to ran away from such charlatans in the pulpit.
Comment by George on July 3, 2023 at 9:48 pm
Write another book Adam. Write as many as you desire. But please! Please stop trying to rewrite the scriptures. Your not that qualified.
Comment by David Allen Charlton on July 3, 2023 at 11:39 pm
Yeah. That’s what leaders of the ELCA promised in 2009. “We just disagree on same sex marriage. We agree on doctrine and that fidelity in marriage and abstinence outside of marriage should be the standard for all pastors.” That didn’t last for long. Before the ink was dry, the LGBT lobby along with other left-wing groups began questioning the doctrine of the Trinity, Christ as the one mediator between God and humanity, the sinfulness of sex outside of marriage, etc… Thirteen years later, the left has cleared the field of all opposition. Pluralistic universalism is the defacto doctrine of the denomination. The Gospel has been redefined as social justice. Abstinence outside of marriage is merely an “aspirational” standard. I doubt that Adam Hamilton really believes what he is saying. If he does, he is a “useful idiot” for the Methodist left.
Comment by Tim McGonagle on July 4, 2023 at 9:10 am
What ever Adam Hamilton says we should do, my recommendation is, we should do exactly the opposite of what he says.
Quote: “Hamilton urges United Methodism to discard its official traditionalist stance defining marriage as man and woman.”
2 Timothy 4:3-4 (New American Standard Bible)
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.
In April of 2024 the UMC will do exactly what Adam Hamilton wants. That is good enough reason to leave the church. The Holy Spirit has departed the UMC.
Comment by Anthony on July 4, 2023 at 9:14 am
There he goes again. Paul’s letters to the early churches warning them over and over of false teachers and deceivers — fast forward 2,000 years, see Adam Hamilton.
Comment by Bill on July 4, 2023 at 10:18 am
Hamilton is a stooge being used by Progressives to secularize the church from within with the ultimate goal of destroying the church.
Comment by James Culberson on July 4, 2023 at 10:35 am
Amen, Bill. Thank you for your comment.
Comment by walt pryor on July 4, 2023 at 11:18 am
Strive to be Holy because I am Holy, God says.
The truth is homosexuality is “Unclean.” Oral sex is homosexual sex. Anal sex is homosexual sex. They are dirty and unclean.
The statistics from the CDC prove God is right. The average age a homosexual man dies is 50 years old. There are many more statistics on sexual diseases that prove God is right.
Eight out of ten LGBTQ people have a sexually transmitted disease.
We do not hate people who have an addiction but neither will we compromise our righteousness to support that lifestyle.
Comment by George on July 4, 2023 at 11:33 am
Ultimately it’s best to see things as much as possible from God’s perspective as revealed in scripture. Methodism and all the “isms” become destructive distractions keeping our focus off the Lord Himself and what’s of eternal importance. We fuss about our denominational views, “straining at gnats while swallowing camels.” I can imagine the Lord watching us on Sunday mornings and wondering “where did they get all this?” Over 60+ years as a believer, I’m convinced that if I THINK I’m “right” that alone makes me “wrong.” I’ve become a Messianic EpiscoPresbyMethodiBaptiCostal expecting to be surprised by who IS and who ISN’T in Heaven. The only verses of scripture I confidently understand are 1 Corinthians 8:2, and 2 Timothy 2:19 and Romans 3:4. I identify strongly with Sgt. Schultz in the old TV series, “Hogan’s Heroes”…. I know NOTHING….NOTHING!!!
Comment by Sigmagoose on July 4, 2023 at 11:51 am
Well, all you have to do is look to the UCC to see how lowering the standards of the faith will play out. They threw caution to the wind and dove headfirst into this nonsense and queer religious humanism was/is the end result. Over time, the same thing will happen in the UMC. If he thinks there is going to be a different end result to this experiment, then he is fooling himself.
Comment by Diane on July 5, 2023 at 11:15 pm
Matthew 25 was not mentioned once by posters who’re so certain they have an edge on biblical truth. I guess it’s easier to pretend that Matthew 25 really is in the bible and when speaking of the final judgment and the separation of the sheep and goats, Jesus said not one word about sexuality or gender. In the scheme of salvation, theydont matter to Jesus.
Please, follow Jesus. I know that’s hard, because again, no one mentioned the plain words of Jesus in Matthew 25.
Comment by George on July 6, 2023 at 12:33 pm
Diane, your bible must be mighty thin if all you base salvation on is Matthew 25. Those are wonderful parables. One of my favorite quotes from our Lord is when he said”go and sin no more”. But there is much more and we should read and accept all of it. We should not cherry pick.
Comment by p on July 7, 2023 at 8:54 pm
Diane, look at Matthew 5 and Mark 10, where Jesus speaks of divorce and uses the words man, wife, he, him, she, and her. In Mark 10:6-9 He says, “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one.”
What Jesus did say about sexuality and for whom marriage was meant had been made clear by God the Father over a millennium earlier and was common knowledge for his Jewish and Samaritan audiences. Paul got into more detail because his audiences also included Gentiles who were coming to faith in Christ: They were Romans and Greeks for whom homosexuality was commonplace in their cultures and the idea that marriage between a man and a woman and everything else was sinful was out of the ordinary.
In the scheme of salvation, gender and sexuality does matter to Jesus because we are all sinful, every single one of us, and sexual sin is included in that. That’s where John 3:16 comes in, and with it comes confession and repentance. As George said above, Jesus also said, “Go and sin no more.”
Comment by BYron Allen on July 7, 2023 at 10:01 pm
The UMC stopped believing that the Bible was the word of God and ceased to follow Biblical instruction. The UMC has set the church on quicksand that is washing out daily. In 50 Years it will not exist because it has no foundation used for authority for people’s actions and beliefs….The UMC us doomed!!!
Comment by Wayne on July 8, 2023 at 8:08 pm
2 Corinthians 6:17: Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you.
Comment by Joe M on July 9, 2023 at 4:04 am
“The majority of United Methodists affirm the historic essentials of the Christian faith. This disagreement is primarily about how we interpret scripture regarding homosexuality.”
LOL. Very, very disingenuous. The primary difference is about God and Scripture. And he knows that.
Comment by Curtis Nester on August 3, 2023 at 10:16 am
“It is better to be divided by truth than to be united in error. It is better to speak the truth that hurts and then heals, than falsehood that comforts and then kills. It is better to be hated for telling the truth than to be loved for telling a lie. It is better to stand alone with the truth, than to be wrong with a multitude. It is better to ultimately succeed with the truth than to temporarily succeed with a lie. There is only one Gospel.”
Adrian Rogers
Comment by Eric R on August 4, 2023 at 11:10 pm
Too late, Adam Hamilton. We left already, and are happy with our decision.
Jesus Christ Is Lord