A Tale of a New Church
By Thomas Lambrecht
The story of the 2024 General Conference meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina, is the story of a new church being born. Two years ago this month, the Global Methodist Church was born, and it is growing and maturing quickly. This month a new United Methodist Church was born, one that is wedded to a more progressive understanding of the Bible and theology. As the conference ends today, it is appropriate to assess how that took place.
In years past, the UM Church was deeply divided between traditionalists and progressives. The 2019 General Conference in St. Louis demonstrated this divide by approving the traditional understanding of marriage and human sexuality by only 53 to 46 percent. By contrast, the new definition of marriage passed by the 2024 General Conference received 78 percent support.
What caused the shift?
First, in the aftermath of the St. Louis conference, many U.S. annual conferences made a concerted effort to elect progressive delegates to the next General Conference. This was a reaction to, and rejection of, the traditional direction chosen in St. Louis. It was accompanied by widespread avowals of disobedience to what the General Conference had decided and fostered the realization that the UM Church was in an untenable impasse.
Second, the General Conference was postponed, not once or twice, but three times. The third postponement was widely seen by traditionalists as a ploy to avoid the adoption of a plan of amicable separation. It led directly to the formation of the Global Methodist Church in 2022. In response, over 7,600 U.S. churches disaffiliated, leading to a dramatic decline in the remaining number of traditionalist delegates to General Conference, as many strong leaders exited the denomination.
Third, the General Conference staff did not do the work necessary to gather the information on delegate elections from annual conferences in Africa. Due to a variety of challenges, including the illness of key persons and slowness (or lack of understanding) in responding to requests for forms, the staff did not have the necessary information to send out letters of invitation soon enough to enable delegates to secure visas to travel to the U.S. for the conference. The staff could have done more to gain the needed information, including trips to Africa to meet with leaders there, but declined to do so. As a result, between 70 and 100 African delegates (most of whom would have been traditionalist voices and votes) were not able to obtain visas to attend the conference.
As a result, instead of the previous 53 to 46 percent majority, traditionalists at this General Conference were outnumbered, 78 to 22 percent. This gave the progressive-centrist coalition the votes they needed to run the table on their LGBTQ-affirming agenda.
What changed?
The General Conference has changed the denomination’s definition of marriage. Previously, we “affirmed the sanctity of the marriage covenant that is expressed in love, mutual support, personal commitment, and shared fidelity between a man and a woman.” Now, our Discipline “affirm[s] marriage as a sacred lifelong covenant that brings two people of faith (adult man and woman of consenting age; and or two adult persons of consenting age) into union with one another.”
This new, confused definition of marriage allows for multiple options. It preserves the ability of some to say marriage is the union of one man and one woman, while at the same time opening the door to say marriage is between any two people, including those of the same gender. This second definition is a direct contradiction of Scripture (Genesis 2:23-24; Matthew 19:4-6). It puts the UM Church in the situation of having conflicting, incoherent definitions of marriage.
The conference made further changes to our understanding of human sexuality and its proper role. Previously, we stated that “Although all persons are sexual beings whether or not they are married, sexual relations are affirmed only with the covenant of monogamous, heterosexual marriage.” This language was taken out of the Discipline at this conference, and it now reads, “We affirm human sexuality as a sacred gift and acknowledge that sexual intimacy contributes to … nurturing healthy sexual relationships that are grounded in love, care, and respect. … We further honor the diversity of choices and vocations in relation to sexuality such as celibacy, marriage, and singleness. We support the rights of all people to exercise personal consent in sexual relationships, to make decisions about their own bodies.”
It seems the new moral guidelines for sexual relationships are love, care, respect, and consent. Gone is any understanding of the moral purpose of human sexuality to cement the marriage bond and enhance the relationship between husband and wife.
In addition, the qualifications for clergy previously required “fidelity in marriage and celibacy in singleness.” This has now been changed to “faithful sexual intimacy expressed through fidelity, monogamy, commitment, mutual affection and respect, careful and honest communication, mutual consent, and growth in grace and in the knowledge and love of God.” While all these qualities are good, this removes the requirement for sexual abstinence before marriage and further dilutes the church’s moral standards. It is unclear how “fidelity” or “monogamy” applies to single persons or what the sexual ethic for single clergy persons is.
The chargeable offenses for immorality and not being celibate in singleness or faithful in a heterosexual marriage were removed. There is therefore no formal way to hold clergy persons accountable for committing immorality.
Homosexuality
Previously, our Discipline stated, “We affirm that all persons are individuals of sacred worth, created in the image of God. All persons need the ministry of the Church in their struggles for human fulfillment, as well as the spiritual and emotional care of a fellowship that enables reconciling relationships with God, with others, and with self. The United Methodist Church does not condone the practice of homosexuality and considers this practice incompatible with Christian teaching. We affirm that God’s grace is available to all.”
That language has now been removed, and the church takes no formal position on the morality of homosexual relationships. However, in other changes, the church now allows for “the full inclusion of LGBTQ people in church life,” as reported by UM News Service.
- Married or partnered gays and lesbians may now be ordained as clergy, appointed as pastors, and consecrated as bishops.
- Pastors may perform same-sex weddings and churches may host such services.
- Pastors may not be penalized for performing same-sex weddings, nor may they be penalized for refusing to perform them.
- Church funds may now be spent to promote the acceptance of homosexuality. However, funds may NOT be spent in a way that “rejects LGBTQIA persons” or in dialogues where the traditional perspective is presented. This provision seems to exclude church participation in ministry that seeks to help persons deal with unwanted same-sex attractions, and it certainly inhibits the traditional perspective from being perceived as a viable alternative in understanding Scripture.
- LGBTQ persons must be included in the membership of all general church boards and agencies.
The cumulative effect of all these changes is to change the UM Church from a denomination that stood on the scriptural position that sex is for marriage between one man and one woman to a denomination that affirms sexual relations between persons of the same gender and also outside of marriage.
Regionalization
There is a definite disconnect between the understanding of sexual morality by the progressive-centrist United States and the traditionalist understanding of Africa and the Philippines. Progressives and centrists believe that the way around this is to adopt a regionalized form of church governance. This would allow each region of the church to adopt its own rules and policies, including those related to marriage, sexuality, and clergy qualifications.
In conjunction with our African partners, Good News has argued that this approach is misguided and could lead to the weakening of the United Methodist connection. It certainly imposes a burden on Africans and Filipinos to develop their own Discipline, while still being tainted by being part of a libertine denomination.
However, these arguments were rejected by the delegates in Charlotte. They passed the regionalization proposal by a 78 percent margin. It still needs ratification by two-thirds of the annual conference members, which may or may not happen. If ratified, it would go into effect in 2026.
Disaffiliation
The primary goal of Good News at the General Conference was to advocate for an exit path for local churches. Churches outside the U.S. were not given the same opportunity to disaffiliate that we had in the U.S. At the same time, about a dozen annual conferences in the U.S. imposed very high costs for disaffiliation that prevented most churches from leaving. There was also a proposal for a streamlined process for annual conferences outside the U.S. to disaffiliate as a whole annual conference.
Unfortunately, all attempts to include a formal disaffiliation pathway failed. The removal of Par. 2553, the local church disaffiliation pathway, prevailed with 72 percent in favor. We had hoped that some fair-minded centrists or progressives would be willing to support some form of disaffiliation. In that hope we were disappointed.
There is no question that the UM Church is a new and different denomination today than it was in 2019. The General Conference actions have formalized an evolving consensus among the progressive and centrist parts of the church, and reveals they are completely in control of the denomination. Pastors and church members will need to decide if the new direction of the denomination reflects the church they want to belong to and support. Unfortunately, avenues for disaffiliation that allow churches to keep their property (especially in the U.S.) are limited. Some congregations may need to be willing to walk away from their buildings in order to pursue ministry in the way they feel called by God to do so. The fight may be over in the UM Church, but the struggle to carry on biblically faithful ministry is just beginning.
Thomas Lambrecht is a United Methodist clergyperson and vice president of Good News. Photo: Over 700 delegates to the 2024 United Methodist General Conference work on church business in Charlotte, N.C. Friday May 3, 2024. Photo by Larry McCormack, UM News.
Thank you for your reporting and commentary during this very troubling time in the UMC. After being a member of the Methodist Church and subsequently the UMC for over 60 years, I made the decision to leave the UMC and join a GMC “Plant”. Having been a Methodist all of my life this was a big decision, but after reading your article I am even more certain that I made the correct decision. I pray that we can somehow use what has recently taken place as encouragement for a true spiritual revival, turning back to the Bible and the teachings of Jesus.
Any church that veers from Biblical norms ceases to be a church. Romans 1:18-32 is clear. There can be no “love, care, respect,” in sinful unions, and no amount of flowery language can make lies truthful. You’re either leading other people away from God or to Him with your moral choices. We either hate sin or hate God. There is no middle ground.
Tom, Thank you for your faithfulness in providing clear, succinct understandings as to what is happening in the United Methodist Church from a polity perspective.
Yours was a voice I could trust to provide clarity in UMC polity and what it means to those who are identified as traditionalists.
May the LORD continue to use you and bless you to do God’s Kingdom Work for God’s glory.
The UMC has ceased to be a Christian organization
Very sad to see the UMC to reject Biblical mandates for living. The UMC will continue to decline over the coming years as as a result unless there is a meaningfull repentence.
Thank you for this breakdown of the changes to the Book if Discipline in the UMC. While the decline of the Methodist Church has been happening for a while they now feel the need to really kill it.
At the height of Methodism they had 11 million congregants. In 2020 that number was at 6 million. They were losing about 200,000 members annually. Now they have lost a fifth of their congregants since 2020 with the high probability of more fallout still to come. The average age of a congregant is almost 60. So it would seem UMC Methodist are headed quickly for extinction.
I was at a “large” Methodist Church 2 years ago and their budget for community and outreach was $0.00. While the 2 pastors and music director were payed (combined) over $280,000. The church has lost the vision of John Wesley and now has even parted for scripture. Yes we should love everyone, but loving everyone and loving their sin is NOT the same.
I am also surprised to see a FAILING denomination spend the resources on more division. Will the inclusion of the LGBTQI+ community fix and dying, average age of 60, and 90% white denomination. No. Perhaps focusing on preaching truth, community engagement, and developing members to be disciples would, but hey somethings are just to radical.
Horrible…God made everything including the rules…sad day
It saddens me that the UMC has caved in to progressivism and this worldly view. They are preaching and affirming a false doctrine, not a biblical or Wesleyan doctrine. The UMC is sadly leading people down a false path. I believe they will face many obstacles on this path.
There would have been a lot more disaffiliations if the United Methodist wasn’t charging outrageous amounts in order to leave. Small congregations could not afford to leave. I belong to a very small church – 30 people in a good Sunday – mainly retired – fixed income.
It is extremely sad and disturbing that so many Methodist delegates have chosen to basically approve, not only a rewriting of the Discipline, but a rewriting of the Bible to no longer disapprove the sinful and forbidden actions of those in the LGBTQ population. It is also disturbing that it appears the General Conference orchestrated the scheduling of the Conference in such a fashion that made it difficult, if not impossible, for the delegates from Africa to attend, a large portion of which are traditionalists. It brings one to think that this is only the beginning and future conferences will continue to broaden the scope of actions allowed by individuals until they have sanctioned all types of immorality. I am deeply troubled.
Thanks for the excellent summary. It is sad that so many people don’t recognize Satan’s evil infiltration into the church (Proverbs 3:7) or his influence everywhere else.
Thanks for the excellent summary. It is sad that so many people don’t recognize Satan’s evil infiltration into the church (Proverbs 3:7) or his influence everywhere else.
There are those who believe that churches that disafilliated because of the “anti-LGBTQ” language, will now return to the UMC, now that this restriction has been overturned at the General Conference. But…how many PEOPLE will leave the UMC now that they know the ban on LGBTQ clergy has been officially lifted? There will now be same sex couples married, etc. in the UMC. The regional exceptions won’t work IMHO – where different UMC churches in different regions can choose to follow the lifting of the ban or not. It might work in other countries, but I cannot see it working in the USA UMC churches. The United Methodist Church may see more and more people leaving and going over to the GMC in the future. After the hold-outs see that being in the “new” UMC just isn’t for them any longer. We shall see. I can’t see everyone at the new UMC being comfortable being greeted with…”Good morning: The Holy and Queer One be with you.” Along with cross dressing pastors. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBs5Pxn8yjI
The UMC, The GMC, and WCA are not in line with the Gospel, that should be preached. The Gospel of Christ is 1 Corinthians 15: 1 – 4. What makes these 3 Churches be wrong on what they preach? Galatians 1: 8 – 9 makes them to be in the wrong. If anyone preaches another Gospel besides the Corinthian verses, they will be accursed; it is repeated twice for emphasis. The Resurrection makes it so. 1 Corinthians 15: 17 says if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain, you are still in your sins. Also, Romans 10: 9 that you must believe in your heart, not a historic belief, that Jesus has been Resurrected. Ephesians 2: 8- 9 , By Grace are you saved through Faith, it is the Gift of God: A gift costs you nothing, you either accept the Gift or Reject it. Preaching the wrong Gospel is as much a tragedy; as immoral behavior or unbelief. It is worse, in that the congregants are preached; the incorrect Salvation message for their souls. Now is the time, to reconcile our beliefs, to the saving Grace of our crucified and resurrectd Lord.
Also the GC voted against Israel and in support of the effort by the Islamic regimes to destroy God‘s chosen people.
If people read the Bible and did what it said, we wouldn’t have all these problems. God forgive us.
Interesting, which comes first- church rules or the authority of scripture? I assume the definition of sin (biblical) sin has evolved- sounds like a cult. I wonder what John Wesley would say.
Best explanation that I have read or heard. My church tried to disaffiliate and did everything that was told do (prayers, fasting, paper work) but was denied. At present time church attendance is 4-9 on Sunday morning with me being the only Methodist in the group At the present time I am trying to keep the church going as the church has been in existence since 1923. I don’t know for how much longer. It is a small country church.
Are these words of Paul appropriate for this NEW-UMC?
2 Timothy 4:3
3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
Romans 1:24-27
24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
Tom.
I think Job had it right, Job 11; 16.Because thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away. Lamenting over what should have been done is now gone with the wind. One of the Laments is this, “To sin by silence when we should protest makes cowards out of men,” by Ella Wheeler Wilcox . Accountability was one of the great downfalls of the past. “For of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: ” it might have been.” by John Greenleaf Whitter. There is now, a New Church and other new Churches caused by the disaffiliation. Can they exist? Unless God blesses the One or the many other New ones, they will fall without his blessings upon them and each one’s commitment and faith moving forward.
Sadly, with respect to the hierarchy at the UMC Denomination, there are no longer watchmen at the Gate. It is therefore time for Christians to skate. May God Bless those who do. May those who do not come to their senses soon….before it is too late.