Questions about the UMC | April 30
I know you have questions regarding the upcoming split in the United Methodist Church. Let me assure you, I will always be fully transparent with you regarding decisions we must make together. Currently, there is no decision to be made. With the number of questions I received, however, I knew I needed to give you some basic information. This will give you a lens through which you can view what you are hearing in the news.
The General Conference is the only United Methodist body that can speak for our denomination. They meet every four years, composed of duly elected members from each Annual Conference around the world. This meeting was scheduled for May 2020. Weeks before this scheduled meeting, it was postponed to Sept. 2021. Back in February of this year, it was postponed until Sept. 2022. Any change to our structure or launching of new denominations will begin at the General Conference. The only exception to this would be if an individual congregation decided to leave the United Methodist Church and become independent. This is not an easy process. Thus, I can’t imagine this being a movement. Instead, I would expect it to be a few congregations at most.
In the Oklahoma Annual Conference, there is a strong coalition of United Methodists (clergy and laity) who believe the current language in our Book of Discipline, “homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching,” is the only correct interprepation of the Bible. In recent years, this coalition has affiliated with a national organization known as the Wesleyan Covenant Association (WCA). The WCA was instrumental in passing what is known as the Traditionalist Plan at the called General Conference in 2019. This plan mandates much stricter punishments for those who disobey the current doctrinal position of our denomination.
The WCA observed the backlash in the United States toward these punishments and decided it was better to separate and form their own denomination. During the waning months of 2019, the WCA participated in the negotiation of what is known as the Protocol of Reconciliation and Grace through Separation. This plan provides for an untangling of our legal connection to each other. It also assumes that there will be a United Methodist Church after the WCA exits that will look similar to the denomination to which we currently belong. We were expecting this to be finalized at the regular quadrennial gathering of the General Conference in May 2020 -- but we all remember the disruption COVID caused in this season of our life.
Those in charge of planning the General Conference feel it will not be safe or possible to bring people together from around the world until September of 2022. There has been a lot of conversation in Oklahoma recently, but the decisions do not rest here. They rest with the General Conference which won't make decisions any time soon. There is still a lot of ministry to be accomplished in the meantime.
The Oklahoma leadership of the WCA is creating urgent expectations of a split. Naturally, our local news outlets reported this as if it will happen immediately. Faith, I do not know how this would happen until the General Conference meets. Any direction from the General Conference is at least 1.5 years away. Likely, it will be even longer.
The Oklahoma Annual Conference leadership felt a need to counter the message from the WCA. Our Bishop released an episcopal letter dated March 25, 2021. Our Conference leadership has asked that we make all future communications from our Bishop available on Sunday morning while we are gathered for worship, in our congregational communication, and posted prominently in our building. I am glad to do this, Faith, and commit that I will always make sure you hear anything our Bishop communicates to us in the ways he has asked us to do so.
Beyond this, I will create two communication channels:
If you simply want to know when a decision is imminent and will be before our congregation, I will MAKE SURE you know this in plenty of time to participate. You’ll see this information in all of the ways we communicate: weekly email, snail mail, website, and Sunday School announcements. If you access even one of these, you’ll know when we are facing a decision.
If you want to follow the developments in more detail, diving deeper into the contextual realities that influence this conversation, join me for more in depth discussion. I will be scheduling both online and in person meetings in July. We will get into the weeds of United Methodist structure and politics. I will give you resources for further investigation after our meetings and invite you to participate in the process of learning and supporting each other through our questions.
By the time I write to you again, we will have a landing page for pertinent information on our website and calendar dates for our gatherings so you can plan to join us, if you choose.
Finally, let me respond to the two assertions that cause the most concern for me. I attended the WCA gathering at Asbury UMC on April 18. I heard clearly that any pastor not aligned with their stance toward LGBTQ persons is unorthodox, not aligned with right Christian belief. But, I do believe in the core tenets of orthodox Christianity. I believe that salvation is offered unconditionally through Jesus Christ. I believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. I believe that God’s grace is uniquely present in the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion. I believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. When I say the Apostles’ Creed, I believe my convictions in favor of those truths run as deep as my WCA colleagues’ and friends’ convictions. Therefore, I believe that it is possible to authentically profess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, belong to the Body of Christ, trust in the authority of scripture, and invite our LGBTQ siblings to the welcome table God sets for us all.
I chose the United Methodist Church because I appreciate the way we make room for different convictions. Consider a case in point, women serving as pastors. I am certain that as this shift was made in our denomination, post 1956, many disagreed. They could disagree with the full support of several scriptural prohibitions. As I’ve heard this story from those who lived it, some people did leave. They needed to know that they would never be forced to accept a woman in the pulpit. Many more, however, stayed. They didn’t stay because they changed their minds. They stayed because they belonged to a particular congregation and found it to be an authentic place to serve the Lord. We have disagreed before and STAYED!
I believe it is possible to serve together in the same congregation while holding different beliefs. In fact, I believe we are richer when we share those differences through holy conversation. My friends of Faith, there are many reasons to remain in the United Methodist Church and much work to be done in God’s Kingdom under our banner of Christ-centered service. The decision will come somewhere down the road, but we have a lot of ministry to do in the meantime.
Respectfully,
