Rev. Dr. Warren Lathem on Methodist Changes

Rev. Dr. Warren Lathem recently posted on Facebook this reflection on Methodist changes and misplaced blame-casting, which we are reposting with permission. A retired Elder in the UMC’s North Georgia Conference, who has recently transferred into the Global Methodist Church, Lathem is the founder and President of Venezuela Now, Inc (VNI), a US non-profit supporting the ministries of the Seminario Wesleyano de Venezuela, the Wesley Medical Centers, and the Methodist Church of Venezuela. This year VNI shipped 1.25 million meals and $2.5 million worth of medicines to Venezuela. He served 18 years as Senior Minister of the Mount Pisgah UMC in Johns Creek, GA where during his tenure worship attendance grew from 75 to an average over 3,000. The former District Superintendent resides in Marietta, Georgia with Jane, his wife.

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Of late in North Georgia a number of pastors have made some complaints which include losing their home church, pastors “stealing sheep” from congregations, others “gleaning” dissatisfied members, etc. I served as a pastor for many years and understand their frustration.

As for no longer having a home church (due to disaffiliation), that is sad. What is even sadder is the separation of one group of Methodists from another has been so bitterly opposed, now the new group is considered the enemies of the old.

I served 6 different churches over the years. Two have stayed UMC and 4 have voted to disaffiliate. The two who stayed UMC are so small they did not feel they could come up with the required buyout funds. However, I have no animosity toward either of the two and would welcome the opportunity to go back and preach for either of them…but alas I have been barred from preaching in any UM church even though I served in it for 50 years.

But there is grief and pain caused by the separations. Some churches have seen a mass exit of traditional members who felt compelled to walk away from years of investment and millions of dollars put into those churches. Others who opposed disaffiliation, but lost the vote, have felt compelled to find a church which aligned with their views. One pastor lost her home church. I lost a whole Annual Conference. After 50 years it was my home much more than the home church of my first 20 years. But I realized the AC I had known was no more and it was time to move on.

Now, about the sheep stealing, ethical behavior, etc. accusation. Several thoughts come to mind.

First, members are not sheep. They are people capable of making their own decisions. They are not the sheeple some desire them to be. One cannot force anyone to stay in a voluntary organization.

Secondly, while every church I served grew in membership, some of it by transfer from other churches, I never consciously sought to steal any members. I was accused of it, but they came because they chose to, not because I went after them.

Thirdly, I lost some members in every church. Some left because they relocated. Some just dropped out. And some transferred to another church in the same community. In my last pastorate, I lost members particularly to NorthPoint and Perimeter Presbyterian churches. In every case I know of, it was because the member(s) thought some aspects of those churches were superior to the church I was serving. While I did not usually agree with their perception, I understood it was their choice. The pastors of those churches did not “steal” my members any more than I stole members from them.

Fourth, even given the above I never had a net loss in membership. I saw it as my responsibility to reach others with the Gospel and help them come to Christ and join the church. Hence, in my last church 60 percent of our new members joined by profession of faith. I noted that most, if not all of those complaining, were complaining about losing members they had inherited in the appointment, not those they had evangelized. In fact, in many of the cases I know of they have almost no record of evangelism, and often have pastoral oversight of congregations which consistently decline under their leadership.

Fifth, I inherited the majority of members in all but one of those churches. I was not responsible for them being there. But I was responsible for keeping them. They all had options of leaving to go to “a better place.” Some chose to do just that as indicated above, but never more than I received into Membership through our evangelism. Some pastors act like members are their personal property. The season of disaffiliation has shown them they do not own the members.

Sixth, none of these lamenting the loss of membership had, to my knowledge, a record of significant growth in any church they served. By significant group, I mean a minimum of five percent a year increase in membership and average worship attendance. Actually, vital, effective churches consistently grow by 10 percent a year. Has that been happening in the churches to which these pastors were assigned? Not to my knowledge.

Seventh, I noticed some churches which stayed in the denomination have not seen a major exit of members, even if a new church plant is birthed in their community. Why is that? It is at least because they have effective pastors. But it may also be because of the way they dealt with disaffiliation. They did not create enemies among their members by their heavy handed, controlling, manipulative actions. They maintained their integrity in the process. I think of churches like Roswell and Peachtree Rd. They will not suffer significant loses over the short term due to another church in their community. They are led by effective pastors. “A better thing” has not appeared in their parish.

Eighth, in spite of protestations declaring “nothing has changed” in the UMC, so many do not agree with that assessment. The most often heard phrase among them has been, “I did not leave the church, it left me.” While one may argue that is not true, it does not change their perception of the truth. Thousands have grieved the loss of their church to a theology foreign to their understanding of the Gospel.

Ninth, it would be far more beneficial to these pastors’ churches if they would simply graciously release those members who are leaving and focus on reaching new people with the Gospel. I know of a few places this is happening and very few are exiting those churches. Tenth, and finally, there is a lot of hurt on both sides of this issue. Would that we could simply extend “the right hand of fellowship” to each other and bless each other on their journey of faith. Four billion people in this world have never heard the gospel. Well over 160 million people in the US never go to church. There is plenty of work to do for all of us. Let us simply get on with reaching the lost with the Gospel, making disciples of Jesus. People will choose when given options. And where in this country are there not other options? The option before all of us is to choose love, particularly for those outside the Kingdom.