As of Saturday, November 18, nearly 7,300 churches have exited United Methodism, more than 24 percent of total U.S. churches. But some churches, despite voting by the required two thirds of the congregation, have been petulantly denied exit, including four in the North Georgia Annual Conference on Saturday. Such churches are then punished and/or shattered.
Iowa approved 59 more exits, and Missouri approved 20 more. But the big vote was in North Georgia, which approved 261 more exits. Late last year, North Georgia’s departing bishop, on nearly her last day before moving to another conference, instituted a ban on further exits. But 186 churches litigated and won, forcing the conference, under a new bishop, to ratify more exits.
But the special North Georgia Annual Conference on Saturday refused exit for four churches. There was no justification but petulance. These churches had met the requirement of their congregations voting by two thirds for exit.
Infamously, Arkansas rejected exit for several churches, prompting litigation. Virginia refused exit for one church, whose congregation abandoned the property, which now sits empty. Most of the rejected churches had aggrieved church members who wanted to stay United Methodist and argued against approval for exit. The Virginia church’s obstacle was descendants of the original land donor.
In North Georgia, the McEachern Memorial United Methodist Church’s congregation had voted by 69 percent to exit, over the opposition of the pastor. On Saturday afternoon 55 percent of the over 1,400 voting members of the conference voted against exit. Within 11 hours distressed church members organized a new church service for the following morning. Over 200 worshipped on Sunday at a funeral home across the street. The sanctuary was left mostly empty.
Perhaps McEachern Memorial United Methodist, having lost much of its congregation, will not long survive. If so, the North Georgia Conference will close and sell the church, as it has hundreds of others. North Georgia was once the only growing part of U.S. United Methodism with 1,100 churches. Across 15 years it has closed or lost 62 percent of churches, now down to just over 420 churches, with many more closures to come.
Selling closed churches has filled the bank account of the North Georgia Conference, increasing five fold to $100 million. In the future, United Methodism will increasingly rely on closing and selling churches for income even as it loses millions of members. The denomination will essentially become a real estate firm.
Comment by Tim McGonagle on November 20, 2023 at 7:56 am
The majority of the people in the pews have always been more orthodox (conforming to what is traditionally accepted as right or true) than the pastors or bishops in the UMC.
The love of money, may God have mercy on their souls.
Comment by PFSchaffner on November 20, 2023 at 10:41 am
When the dust settles, it would be interesting to see real numbers, if that is even possible. The number of affiliated and disaffiliated churches is a hard number, but does not say much, since a church can remain affiliated, yet lose (like ours) 80% of its attendees — or gain attendees from a nearby church that took the opposite decision. Membership is another, but it too can be misleading, since many attend and support without ever joining, and members may stay on the rolls for years without being active (or even alive). Attendance, in the streaming age, can be hard to judge too. When it comes down to it, financial donations, a very hard number indeed, may be the most apt way to assess the fallout of the UMC collapse, and potentiallly the most consequential to its ongoing organizational existence.
Comment by David S. on November 20, 2023 at 2:00 pm
“The denomination will essentially become a real estate firm.”
Well, the old joke from the 80s was that three of the seven mainlines – ECUSA, PC(USA), UMC – were nothing more than REITs due to the their respective trust clauses, given the increasing slide into full-blown apostasy and irrelevance.
Comment by Daniel Hall on November 20, 2023 at 4:10 pm
Good riddance. They have done enough harm over the denomination’s 50-plus years already. If they cannot love their gay neighbors as Christ clearly requires, I’d rather they go than that those already struggling for acceptance should feel unwelcome.
Comment by Dan W on November 20, 2023 at 7:50 pm
PFSchaffner, reduction in clergy and staff will be a good indicator. If a local congregation had a staff of 20, but winds up with a staff of 5…
Comment by Kerry Bowers on November 22, 2023 at 9:47 pm
The UMC, having chosen to ‘transform The Word with the world rather than transforming the world through The Word,’ has set its own course for destruction as a once reasonably Biblically compliant denomination. Given the belief that the UMC is now condoning what may well be transgressions to the Lord; the same that may lead the innocent, some being children, in a direction incompatible with God’s desires; then all should consider in their plight these words from Jesus as given in Matthew 18:6. “but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.”
Comment by Cal on November 22, 2023 at 10:22 pm
The liberal/aging/shrinking PCUSA church I once attended is now essentially a property management & mutual fund investment company that puts on a worship-looking event on Sundays. With plenty of money in the brokerage account, they can probably continue this ecclesiastical performance for decades to come.
Comment by Gordon Hackman on November 23, 2023 at 8:39 am
Daniel Hall,
Christ does not require that we approve of our neighbors’ sin in order to love them. That is a lie straight from the mouth of the serpent.
Comment by James Thompson on November 28, 2023 at 6:23 am
Gordon Hackman,
Tell us the part where Christ commands us to judge our neighbors.
Comment by Gordon Hackman on November 28, 2023 at 11:17 am
James Thompson,
How about not dishonestly attributing things to me that I never said. Why is it that progressives like you continually respond by doing that?
Comment by George on December 1, 2023 at 8:01 am
You’re right, James. Jesus didn’t tell us to judge our neighbors. I did read somewhere that we should dust the sand from our shoes and then move on down the road. That is what 7,300 churches have done despite the road blocks set up by the money grubbing UMC.
Comment by Curtis Nester on December 1, 2023 at 9:05 am
Those who are always commenting about not judging, should consider this passage:
“Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you” (2 Corinthians 6:17)
Comment by Daniel on December 4, 2023 at 12:41 pm
I think the opening lines of this famous poem pretty well describe the state of the UMC –
We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass
Or rats’ feet over broken glass
In our dry cellar.