by Steve | Jun 7, 2024 | In the News, Perspective / News
Turmoil After General Conference
By Thomas Lambrecht
The actions of the 2024 General Conference are reverberating around the church. Right now, they are mostly reverberating around Africa. Some African bishops have yet to return home, but members are hearing reports from delegates and others, and many of the members are not happy.
Ivory Coast
Barely two weeks after the adjournment of the General Conference, the Ivory Coast Annual Conference voted unanimously to depart from the UM Church. Reports on the number of members involved range up to 1.2 million by some sources. The 2016 official number is 677,355 (unchanged from 2012).
The reasons given for the Ivory Coast action included the reversal of the Traditional Plan adopted by the 2019 General Conference and the “promotion of organization based on regionalization which enshrines the adoption of the practice of homosexuality.”
In a press statement received by Good News, Ivory Coast makes the case that “The United Methodist Church, in its new policy of Regionalization, is now based on cultural facts and not on the Word of God, so that Regionalization asks it to adapt the Book of Discipline to the cultural standards in different contexts.” After citing a number of Scripture references related to homosexuality and marriage, the statement goes on to ask, “How can we maintain that marriage between people of the same sex and all its LGBTQIA+ corollaries up to their ordination in the Church, is a matter of culture?”
“Therefore, it is rather the cultural frame of reference opposed to biblical values which poses a problem, and which forms the basis of the position of the Ivory Coast Annual Conference not to rally behind the new policy of Regionalization of The United Methodist Church.”
Having rejected regionalization, the statement turns its attention to the definition of marriage. “Why does The United Methodist Church choose its own terms to define marriage, this divine institution as old as the world, in abandoning what has always been biblically known?”
The statement cites its agreement with biblical teaching and Ivoirian law, which defines marriage as “the union of a man and a woman.”
The statement continues, “The singular definition of marriage as being ‘the union between two people of faith’ is a pernicious deviation from the Word of God, and from the teaching of the Church of Jesus Christ from its beginning until this day. And yet, the Social Principles [containing this definition] are intended to serve as an official summary of the beliefs expressed by the Church on the important questions of the world.” (Note that the Social Principles may not be adapted by conferences outside the U.S. to fit their cultural context.)
“The change in language related to sanctions in the 2016 Book of Discipline seriously violates the Wesleyan principle which rests the Methodist Church on two key pillars: doctrine, on the one hand, and discipline, on the other. Thus, doctrinally, from the point of view of biblical orthodoxy, it is no longer a question, we believe, since The United Methodist Church calls into question the Bible as the Word of God, encourages sin, and no longer teaches the confession of sins and repentance. There is also no longer any question of discipline, since the Church now opens the way to a libertine and abject life. It authorizes sin and advocates the theology of cheap grace (Cf. Romans, chapter 6).”
“As a result of the above, the Ivory Coast Annual Conference has unanimously by the delegates adopted the following resolution:
- that The United Methodist Church, resulting from the 2020 General Conference postponed to 2024, held from April 23 to May 3, 2024, in Charlotte, North Carolina of the USA, is not based on any biblical and disciplinary values;
- that The United Methodist Church is now based instead on values of diverse socio-cultural contexts, which consumed its doctrinal and disciplinary integrity in the “Regionalization Plan;”
- that The United Methodist Church actually preferred to sacrifice its honorability and integrity to promote worldly practices;
- that the new profile of The United Methodist Church, resulting from the General Conference of Charlotte, which stands out from the Holy Scriptures, is not suitable any more for the Ivory Coast Annual Conference.
That, therefore, the Ivory Coast Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church, meeting in extraordinary session on Tuesday, May 28, 2024, at the Temple EMUCI—the Jubilee of Cocody, out of conscience before God and before his Word, supreme authority in matters of faith and life, decides to leave the denomination United Methodist Church.”
It is yet to be determined whether the conference will withdraw immediately or will seek to use the Par. 572 disaffiliation process that could take a number of years. It is also uncertain whether the conference will become an independent Methodist church or will align with the Global Methodist Church or another denomination. Ivory Coast was originally part of British Methodism. It became an independent Methodist church in 1984 and then joined The United Methodist Church in 2004.
Rwanda
The Rwanda Provisional Annual Conference, reporting 6,200 members in 2016, met on May 30 to respond to the actions of the General Conference. It voted unanimously to withdraw from the denomination. It is currently constituting itself as an independent Methodist church.
Nigeria
The four annual conferences of Nigeria, reporting 464,000 members in 2016, met in special session together on June 1 to hear reports of the General Conference. During debate, the delegates adopted a resolution declaring:
- This General Conference removed restrictive language and changed the definition of marriage, which no longer aligns with our traditional Biblical beliefs.
- The current United Methodist Church has altered the original language of our Discipline to accommodate cultural values divergent from ours;
- The United Methodist Church now prioritizes the LBGQ+ community over the traditional beliefs held by many United Methodists in Nigeria;
- The New UMC has changed our doctrinal beliefs.
Accordingly, the combined conferences voted “to leave the United Methodist Church pending the determination of litigations.” The four annual conferences will meet individually later this summer to elect officers and carry out the other business of the annual conference.
The original purpose of the special session was to attempt once again a reconciliation with a breakaway group headed by the Rev. Ande Emmanuel. Emmanuel was the bishop’s secretary but was removed from that position three years ago. He still claims to be the conference secretary, although he was not elected to that position. He served as a General Conference delegate and spoke several times on the floor of the conference in Charlotte. He claims to be the true spokesperson for the Nigeria United Methodist Church, while making the false claim that Bishop John Wesley Yohanna has left the denomination for the Global Methodist Church.
Several attempts at reconciliation have been made, involving bishops from Africa and the U.S. as mediators. Legal cases were filed in Nigerian courts. Complaints were filed against Yohanna and also against Emmanuel. The complaints were resolved through a “just resolution” process. However, it was alleged that Emmanuel has not lived up to the agreed terms of the just resolution.
This recent special conference was disrupted for several hours by armed ruffians who attempted to prevent the meeting from taking place, allegedly having been hired by Emmanuel’s faction. Security was called and several were arrested, so that the meeting could continue.
As reported by Nigerian leaders, in light of Emmanuel’s alleged continued failure to live up to the terms of the just resolution, his spreading falsehoods, his refusal to withdraw legal cases, and his disruption of the meeting, the body voted that “The breakaway members are welcome back into the United Methodist Church by following all the required procedures or may continue their stay outside the bar of the conference.” Regrettably, these reconciliation attempts appear to have failed. Unfortunately, Bishop John Schol, who was scheduled to attend the conference as a mediator, was unable to be there due to problems with his visa to enter Nigeria.
Zambia
The Zambia Annual Conference, with nearly 130,000 members reported in 2016, met this week in their regular session. After hearing reports from the delegates to the General Conference, much debate ensued, but no vote on withdrawal from the UM Church was taken. At that point, two districts and their superintendents announced their withdrawal from the UM Church with all of their churches. Other individual clergy and churches also announced their withdrawal.
Liberia and Zimbabwe
Lay leaders and other laity staged demonstrations outside the respective annual conference headquarters clamoring for the bishops to hold a special session of the annual conference to consider the results of the General Conference. Sentiment is strong for withdrawal in both conferences, but it remains to be seen what decision they will ultimately make and whether their bishops will hold special annual conference sessions as they promised prior to the General Conference.
Other annual conferences in Africa continue to learn about the actions of the General Conference and formulate their responses, which will be forthcoming over the next six months.
The United States
Congregations in many conferences in the U.S. are learning that their annual conference has no plans to allow them to disaffiliate now, despite promises they could do so after the General Conference met. A few conferences are allowing disaffiliations under Par. 2549, the paragraph that allows the conference to close a church and sell its property – in this case to the departing congregation. When it is impractical for a congregation to disaffiliate, some members are voting with their feet. Some are leaving to start a new congregation. Others are leaving to find a home in a more compatible church.
Two court cases were resolved in opposite ways recently. In Alabama, 48 churches sued the Alabama-West Florida Conference because it changed its rules in the middle of 2023 to disallow further disaffiliations. The supreme court of Alabama ruled that it had no jurisdiction to decide the matter because it involved religious beliefs and practices.
However, two of the justices went out of their way to call out the unfairness of the conference’s rule change. Associate Justice Tommy Bryan wrote in his opinion, “There is something extremely unsettling about changing the rules during the course of the game. I question whether this process was fair. However, as noted, we simply do not have the jurisdiction to decide this matter.”
Associate Justice Greg Cook wrote, “I write separately to express my sympathy for the predicament faced by the churches in this case. In particular, I am concerned by the churches’ claim that the Conference unfairly engineered the disaffiliation process to prevent their departure from the UMC.”
“Although I sympathize with the fairness concerns raised by the churches, the First Amendment to the United States Constitution (and our existing caselaw) leave this Court with no choice but to deny their request for relief. Instead, the only remedy for the conduct alleged by the churches in this case must come from the members of the Judicial Council, the UMC’s ecclesiastical tribunal (that is, its own judicial system), guided by their faith, consciences, and the principles of Biblical justice,” he added.
It remains to be seen whether this appeal will be heard by the conference, resulting in a change of heart. Of course, if the court cannot intervene in an intra-church dispute, maybe those local churches could just depart, and the conference could do nothing about it. (Just speculating here.)
That is what happened in the Rio Texas Conference. Forty-four churches withdrew from the conference without going through the Par. 2553 disaffiliation process. The conference sued the churches, and the court recently dismissed the suit. In Texas, the trust clause is almost unenforceable.
As United Methodists around the world continue to digest the results of the General Conference, it is definitely causing turmoil and conflict. It will be a while before the dust settles and the final outcomes are known.
Thomas Lambrecht is a United Methodist clergyperson and vice president of Good News. Photo: Children dance during Sunday school at Temple Emmanuel United Methodist Church in Man, Côte d’Ivoire, in 2015. Photo: Members of the choir, under the direction of Martin Edi Ori (center) welcome visitors to Macedonia United Methodist Church in Yapo-Kpa, Côte d’Ivoire, in 2018. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
by Steve | Jun 5, 2024 | Home Page Hero Slider, In the News
Rev. Mike Schafer Selected as GM Church’s First Connectional Operations Officer
By Walter Fenton
June 5, 2024
After an extensive search process, the Global Methodist Church’s Transitional Leadership Council confirmed at its Monday, June 3, 2024, meeting that the Rev. Mike Schafer will serve as the denomination’s first Connectional Operations Officer.
Schafer is currently the president pro tem of the West Plains Provisional Annual Conference, a region that includes local churches in west Texas, New Mexico, and the panhandle of Oklahoma.
“The nine-member Connectional Operations Officer Search Committee enthusiastically commended Rev. Schafer to the Transitional Leadership Council,” said Cara Nicklas, Chairwoman of the TLC. “His years of experience as a pastor and leader, his many enthusiastic references, and his very impressive interviews convinced me he is just the person to help lead the GM Church into the next stage of this Holy Spirit inspired movement.”
Raised on the wide-open plains of west Texas, where cattle ranches, oil and gas rigs, and small towns dot the landscape, Schafer’s blend of humility and his can-do attitude are indicative of the region’s spirit. He and his wife, Sandy, live in Lubbock, Texas, where she recently retired as the principal of a Christian elementary school. They have two adult sons, Nathan and Matthew, Tessa, an “amazing” daughter-in-law, and two “awesome” grandchildren, Jerzy and Daxton.
“My passion is for the local church; I strongly believe it is God’s plan to win the world,” said Schafer. “In my opinion, there is no plan B. Church leaders must be about the business of doing all they possibly can do to equip, empower, and strengthen the local church. I believe we should always build relationships and trust with people rather than create another rule or policy to try to resolve a situation.”
A graduate of McMurry University in Abilene, Texas, Schafer went on to Asbury Theological Seminary (Wilmore, Kentucky), where he received a master of divinity degree in 1984. For the next 25-years he was a local church pastor, spending 20 of them at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Lubbock, Texas, (now Aldersgate Church, a GMC local church) where he led a young congregation to become a vibrant disciple-making community with a passion for the unchurched.
From there, Schafer accepted an appointment as the chief operational officer of SonScape Retreats in Divide, Colorado. In addition to managing the enterprise, he also leveraged his teaching and counseling skills at weeklong retreats. He and Sandy helped people in full-time ministry to develop healthy self-care practices and to regain their passion for serving in the local church or other ministry settings.
At a critical time in the life of the UM Church’s Northwest Texas Annual Conference, Schafer was tapped to serve as the assistant to Bishop Earl Bledsoe and then Bishop Jimmy Nunn. At the same time, he served as the Conference Director of Mission and Administration. In addition to managing daily operations, he guided the development and implementation of the conference’s disaffiliation plan, ultimately allowing over 160 local churches to join the GM Church. Remarkably, the conference’s local churches received funds from the conference, rather than paying the exorbitant exit fees required of many UM local churches as the price of disaffiliation.
Given his years of experience and his various leadership roles, it was not surprising when the leaders of the GM Church’s newly forming West Plains Provisional Annual Conference recommended the TLC appoint Schafer as the conference’s president pro tem. He was duly appointed, and assumed the leadership post on January 1, 2023.
“As the West Plain PAC’s president pro tem, Mike leads with humility, experience, and wisdom,” said Angela Carter, the conference’s co-lay leader and a recently elected delegate to the GM Church’s convening General Conference. “He exudes all of the qualities of a godly man – integrity, servant leadership, and love. Under his leadership, our conference launched with fervor and hope, and I am confident the general church will experience the same as he helps steward the way forward with Jesus at the center of his leadership.”
The proposed responsibilities and duties for the GM Church’s connectional operations officer make clear Schafer will stay busy in the new role (all organizational proposals from the TLC must be approved by the delegates attending the denomination’s convening General Conference). From its conception, many people believed the new denomination would need an operations officer to see that the mission and vision of its General Conferences’ were fully implemented. As former United Methodists, many believed bishops had been too easily bogged down in or distracted by administrative tasks. They want GM Church bishops to spend the vast majority of their time out among the people of the church to promote, teach, and defend the church’s faith and mission; unite it together through presiding at its annual conferences; and oversee the deployment of pastors in its local churches.
Consequently, the connectional operations officer will “bear responsibility for the accountable functioning of the connectional council, general commissions, and task forces as they work to fulfill the General Conference’s missional mandates between General Conferences.” Composed of laity and clergy representatives from across the denomination and supported by the general church staff, the connectional council will be dedicated to empowering, equipping, and strengthening local congregations as the whole church works to fulfill its God given mission.
“As a president pro tem, who must carefully follow the work of the TLC, I was aware of the COO’s proposed responsibilities and duties,” said Schafer. “I had no plans to apply for the position, but then a number of colleagues from across the connection started to encourage, nudge, and cajole me to to do so. I have the highest respect for them, so after a great deal of prayer and conversations with my wife, Sandy, I did. I took comfort in knowing plenty of high-quality candidates would apply as well, so I figured the likelihood of my actually being selected was pretty low. Well, now I find myself in a familiar place – trusting the Lord to make me a faithful disciple, to keep me grounded, and focused on our mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ who worship passionately, love extravagantly, and witness boldly!”
The TLC formed the COO Search Committee in October of 2023, and it began meeting the following month. Craig Cheyne, a GM Church layman who attends The Woodlands Methodist Church in The Woodlands, Texas, was chosen to serve as the committee’s chairman. The committee was not only tasked with conducting a search for a candidate; it was also directed to prepare legislation for the COO’s selection, a list of qualifications for a chosen candidate, the term(s) of service, an annual performance evaluation process, and the position’s responsibilities and duties.
“Initially, we spent the better part of three months trying to discern the COO’s job in relation to other critical leadership areas in the church,” said Cheyne. “It was a great privilege to work with a faithful team of GM Church lay and clergy leaders. They are all very passionate about the church, and they were not shy about sharing their opinions – which was just what we needed! By the time we were ready to submit our proposal to the TLC, we had prayed, discerned, debated, and considered all the details from every angle.”
In early March the search committee handed its draft legislation to the TLC which voted to receive its work after careful review and the making of modest amendments. The search committee posted the position in late March, and by the latter half of April, it had received 26 applications.
“We had a wonderful pool of candidates,” said Cheyne, “We struggled to reduce the number of applicants to nine for greater scrutiny, and then after a long meeting, we selected our top three for interviews. The top three did not make our work easy – they were stellar candidates, and we thoroughly enjoyed the conversations we had with each of them. After lengthy debriefing sessions, personal reflection and prayer, and then a final hour-long meeting, by consensus we decided to warmly commend Rev. Schafer to the TLC for the COO position.”
Schafer will begin working alongside the Rev. Keith Boyette, the GM Church’s Transitional Connectional Officer, on August 15, 2024. Boyette will step down from his job at the adjournment of the convening General Conference on September 26, 2024, making way for Schafer to immediately assume the new role of Connectional Operations Officer.
Launched on May 1, 2022, the GM Church continues in a state of transition until duly elected delegates from around the world meet in San Jose, Costa Rica, for its convening General Conference, September 19-26, 2024. The General Conference is the denomination’s principal authoritative body, and it will consider all legislative matters that come before it. In just over two years, 4,598 local churches have joined the GM Church, and 30 provisional conferences have been organized to connect them together.
Read and review the COO’s proposed responsibilities and duties.
Subscribe to Crossroads to learn more about the Global Methodist Church and to stay abreast of developments regarding its convening General Conference.
The Rev. Walter Fenton is the Global Methodist Church’s Deputy Connect. Republished by permission of the Global Methodist Church.
by Steve | May 31, 2024 | Home Page Hero Slider
Côte d’Ivoire votes to leave denomination
Only few days before the 2024 General Conference of the United Methodist Church was held in Charlotte, North Carolina, Bishop Thomas Bickerton of New York told his fellow bishops that they should be prepared for big changes – utilizing phrases such as “seismic shift” and “next expression of United Methodism.”
“Needless to say, this is a moment in time when we will not only see some of the dust settle, but we’ll also see new dust storms arise,” Bickerton predicted.
One month after the closing of the 2024 General Conference in Charlotte, “Members of the Côte d’Ivoire Conference, meeting in special session on May 28, voted to leave The United Methodist Church” reported UM News. What follows is the full news brief.
ABIDJAN, Côte d’Ivoire (UM News) — Members of the Côte d’Ivoire Conference, meeting in special session on May 28, voted to leave The United Methodist Church. The decision comes after the denomination’s General Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, where delegates voted on several changes, including the wording of the church’s definition of marriage and the removal of restrictive language regarding LGBTQ people, as well as approved a regional structure that now will go to the annual conferences for a vote. The Côte d’Ivoire Conference was provisionally received into the denomination at the 2004 General Conference and fully received in 2008. It automatically became one of the denomination’s largest conferences and last reported more than 1 million professing members. (links added)
According to news reports, the annual conference passed a resolution stating — among other things — that the “new” United Methodism “stands on its own socio-cultural context and has compromised its doctrinal and disciplinary integrity,” and that it “has walked away from the Holy Scriptures, is no longer compatible with the Ivory Coast Annual Conference.”
The May 28 resolution goes on to state that the “Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire) Annual Conference … by reason of conscience and following God and his Word, supreme authorities in matters of faith and life, resolves to leave the United Methodist Church.”
In 2019, Good News magazine utilized Heather Hahn’s fantastic UM News reporting for a cover story Where Methodism Flourishes, for further background, please read Tim Tanton’s UM News piece A brief history of Methodism in Côte d’Ivoire from 2009.
by Steve | May 31, 2024 | In the News, Perspective / News
United Methodism in Africa is not for sale to Western Cultural Christianity
By Dr. Jerry Kulah
A month ago, the worldwide United Methodist Church (UMC) concluded its postponed 2020 General Conference, held in Charlotte, North Carolina, from 23 April to 3 May 2024. The General Conference is the quadrennial gathering of delegates representing annual conferences of the UMC from around the globe. They meet to discuss the mission and ministry of the church and vote on critical issues that would influence the spiritual health and numerical growth of the church, whether negatively or positively. From every indication, the predominantly liberal and progressive delegates and leadership of the UMC at the just ended General Conference did everything they could to reverse United Methodism’s teaching on marriage and human sexuality of the past 52 years. The worldwide UMC is now a liberal denomination that has officially approved same-gender marriage, the ordination of LGBTQIA+ persons as pastors, and the election and consecration of gays and lesbians as bishops within the general church.
From the perspective of the majority of African delegates who attended the conference, the predominantly liberal and progressive leadership of the church had conducted the postponed 2020 General Conference among themselves prior to its official convening on 23 April. Upon our arrival at the seat of the General Conference at the Charlotte Convention Center, the Commission on the General Conference and its staff filled the entire city of Charlotte with banners bearing “#Be UMC.” The packets for keys to delegates’ hotel rooms bore the hash tag, “#Be UMC,” the souvenir bags given to every delegate to the General Conference also carried the same campaign label – something unprecedented at any prior General Conference.
Unlike any previous General Conference, the Commission on the General Conference and its staff insisted that they would make the travel arrangements for all delegates attending the General Conference. Worse yet, they insisted that all Central Conference delegates arrive on 18 April and begin three days of Pre-General Conference orientation the following day. No earlier arrivals were allowed. As difficult, frustrating, and punishing as the process was for African delegates who had to travel for about 26-30 hours from their various destinations into Charlotte, the Commission on the General Conference and its staff refused to respond to our appeal for a reconsideration of their decisions.
Regrettably, however, upon our arrival, they had no pre-General Conference training organized for Central Conference delegates. Instead, they took us on a campaign trail of their liberal and progressive agenda for the General Conference. We felt like the Commission on the General Conference and its staff were treating us as if we were their stooges that must submit to the agenda they had prepared in advance for the General Conference. What they presented to Central Conference delegates as pre-General Conference orientation included the Regionalization Plan as structured by the Connectional Table of the UMC for consideration by the General Conference. Following that, they presented the new pension plan of the UMC, structured by Wespath, the financial institution responsible for UMC Clergy Pension. Next, they presented the new Social Principles, published in 2020 by the General Board of Church and Society (GBCS) that legalizes same-gender marriage, the ordination of LGBTQIA+ persons, and the election and consecration of gays and lesbians as bishops of the Church. They concluded the so-called pre-General Conference orientation with a repeat of a presentation on the new quadrennial budget that the General Council on Finance and Administration (GCFA) had previously presented to Central Conference delegates through a webinar session a couple of weeks prior. Following each presentation, the Commission and its staff provided pencils and sheets of paper to the Central Conference delegates to discuss the presentation and ask questions.
Realizing that the entire plan by the Commission on the General Conference and its staff to conduct a pre-General Conference for Central Conference delegates was a scheme to sell their agenda for the General Conference and receive feedback, some of us revolted against their actions. We reminded them of our expectations of activities for pre-General Conference orientation, consistent with previous General Conferences, including principles and practices of the “Robert’s Rules” that are used to govern plenary sessions of the General Conference. They refused to listen to us. We further reminded them that they were in error by presenting to us legislations and petitions for our feedback that were properly before the 2020 postponed General Conference for delegates to discuss, debate, and vote upon in legislative sessions during the first week of General Conference, and hence, that their action was premature, unfair, and unacceptable. Despite our revolt, the Commission and its staff remained adamant about fulfilling their manipulative plans without any redress to our expressed concerns. Consequently, we received no orientation. They succeeded in wasting our precious time that would have been well spent in overcoming jetlag.
At the official commencement of the General Conference on 23 April, the Commission on the General Conference and its staff, along with the various liberal, progressive, and centrist caucuses of the UMC, confirmed our suspicions about their deciding beforehand the outcomes of the General Conference. During the actual conference, they planned and tele-guarded the agenda of the General Conference to achieve what appeared to be their predetermined goal of liberalizing the church. With 70-100 official African delegates’ not seated in Charlotte, and being cognizant of the fact that almost all American UMC conservative members and delegates had already left the denomination, we already knew that the liberal and progressive delegates would outnumber those of us who are conservatives.
Of the about 750 out of 862 official delegates that made it to the General Conference, the liberal, progressive and centrist delegates consisted of about 600. This number included some African delegates who were under duress by their progressively leaning bishops to support the regionalization plan of the liberals as well as the Social Principles that would change the language of the Book of Discipline in favor of their LBGTQIA+ agenda for the church. Additionally, some new African delegates did not have a good understanding of the process. Expressions such as “amendment,” “amendment to the amendment of the main motion,” “friendly amendment,” “point of inquiry” etc., were very strange to them. Consequently, some became confused and could not participate in the plenary sessions adequately, including their ability to vote. Had the Commission on the General Conference taken the time to provide the needed orientation to Central Conference delegates instead of allotting it to their “#Be UMC” campaign, they would have helped some of the African delegates who were appearing at the General Conference for the first time.
Despite all their manipulations, our primary objective was to ensure that the General Conference heard the conservative and biblically committed voice of the UMC in Africa, but they did everything to silence us. Unlike previous General Conferences, the Commission on the General Conference and its staff, with the acquiescence of the presiding bishops, denied us any moment of privilege to express ourselves on the floor of the General Conference. They formulated a new rule that demanded delegates to write out any expressions they wanted to make and pass them on to a special committee. This committee would review and submit it to the General Conference Secretary so that he would give to the presiding bishop what they felt the writer wanted to say to the General Conference. Occasionally, some presiding bishops would interrupt and attempt to intimidate us when we presented our opinions on some critical matters on the floor of the General Conference. What a General Conference this was!
To crown the assault we suffered, the outgoing President of the Council of Bishops who preached the opening worship service told us – traditionalists – that we were not welcome if we did not join their liberal train that was now directing the affairs of the worldwide denomination. Shocking!
Conclusion
Inevitably, members of the liberal and progressive wing of the UMC have gotten what they had craved over the past 52 years, however, not without perilous consequences. That is, to turn the worldwide UMC into a denomination that rejects biblical orthodoxy and that subjugates the teachings of the infallible Word of God to Western Cultural Christianity. They achieved their goal by passing the regionalization plan, removing the biblical restrictive rules from the Book of Discipline, including the statement that “homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teachings,” and revising the Social Principles.
They are now promoting ratification of their regionalization plan as a solution for the clear disparities between United Methodism in Africa and the United Methodism now practiced in the United States and Europe. Each region, they argue, can have its own rules. But the proposed regionalization makes Africa complicit in the progressive direction of the entire denomination. Bishops are general superintendents of the whole church. Regionalization requires Africa to accept the two openly LGBTQ bishops that have already been elected in the USA and the others that are sure to follow.
The Revised Social Principles, the new statements that no longer describe marriage as the union of a man and woman exclusively, are statements on behalf of the entire UMC. The United Methodist Social Principles cannot be regionalized. A sin is a sin, regardless of geography.
As a recent commentary in the Wall Street Journal by Professor Carl Trueman of Grove City College states, “For all the pious language, the UMC’s decision doesn’t represent a commitment to Christian orthodoxy. It is an affirmation of current middle-class sensibilities. The church shies away from the logic of its own position — a logic that would lead to the legitimation of any sexual act or arrangement as long as it concerns consenting adults. In short, it has chosen to embrace the liberal Protestant specialty: baptizing the dominant values it sees as informing the culture, no more, no less.”
This Western Cultural Christianity is selective of what it chooses to believe and what it chooses not to believe, as the Word of God. It redefines marriage from the biblical picture of a covenant relationship between a man and a woman to a union between any two consenting adults, to promote its LBGTQIA+ agenda, same-gender marriage, and the ordination and consecration of gays and lesbians.
Admittedly, this is not the kind of Christianity that the early missionaries birthed in Africa and that Africans embraced. The majority of the African church does not ascribe to this kind of Christianity. While most parts of the Euro-Western UMC have become liberal and progressive, we pledge to remaining biblically committed, Christ-centered, and Holy Spirit-empowered toward the evangelization of the nations, the revitalization of the church, and the transformation of society.
Therefore, we emphatically declare to all that the church in Africa in general and the UMC in Africa in particular, is not for sale to the Euro-Western liberal and progressive agenda. We cannot and will not sell the church in Africa to any brand of Western Christianity that rejects the gospel of Jesus Christ for another gospel that is no gospel at all (Galatians 1:6-9).
We will not deny Christ and his liberating gospel. This gospel, rather than baptizing what the Bible calls sin, preaches a repentance and faith in Jesus Christ that alone saves. This gospel is redeeming souls all across Africa in no small measure. When it becomes necessary to decide between submitting to the liberal agenda of Western Christianity and our commitment to biblical Christianity, we will choose the latter, because Jesus is our Savior and Lord.
With God above our rights to prove, we shall prevail over principalities and powers, financial inadequacy, and any form of dependency currently plaguing the African church. The church in Africa will continue to progress in triumphant victory as we make disciples of Jesus Christ for the holistic transformation of the world. To God be the glory.
Rev. Dr. Jerry P. Kulah is a General Conference delegate from Liberia and the General Coordinator of the Africa Initiative. Photo: The Rev. Dr. Jerry P. Kulah, an elder of the United Methodist Church and a member of the Liberia Annual Conference, leads a prayer demonstration outside the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, NC, after the General Conference of the United Methodist Church voted to revise the Social Principles to change the definition of marriage. Kulah and other African delegates in attendance support traditional views of marriage between one man and one woman. Photo by Steve Beard, Good News.
by Steve | May 24, 2024 | In the News, Perspective / News
What Would Regionalization Look Like?
By Thomas Lambrecht
Before pivoting to today’s topic examining the likely evolution of regionalization, it is important to note some significant developments in the aftermath of the 2024 UMC General Conference. Anxious congregations have been inquiring from renewal group leaders how to move forward in disaffiliating from the UM Church in light of the changes made at the General Conference.
Local church disaffiliation at the denominational level was shot down and removed from the Discipline by the General Conference. The argument was that annual conferences can provide their own mechanisms for congregational disaffiliation. The question is: would they? We are beginning to see mixed answers to that question.
A few annual conferences have already announced that they are working on disaffiliation processes that can be used by local congregations – some based on the Par. 2549 closure process. Some of those may come up for a vote at next month’s annual conferences or at least be announced as in process.
On the other hand, at least one annual conference has come out with a resounding “no” to the question of disaffiliation. The Susquehanna Annual Conference leaders have announced, “In the Susquehanna Conference there is no longer a process in which a local church may leave the United Methodist Church with their facilities.”
This is a doubly disappointing answer because Susquehanna was one place where leaders on the ground report that conference leaders promised there would be such a disaffiliation process available after the General Conference meeting. According to renewal leaders, churches were encouraged to “wait and see” the results of GC rather than disaffiliate because things “might not change.” Many of those same churches were told that it would be “likely” that disaffiliation would be renewed as another reason for waiting. This was shared not only by the disaffiliation team sent out by the bishops but also by other district superintendents.
Over the years, renewal leaders have become accustomed to some centrist and progressive leaders honoring their commitments only as long as it was convenient for them to do so. As long ago as 2004, some institutional leaders violated a pledge of confidentiality to share information about closed-door discussions about separation ideas. And it did not take long for the “changed circumstances” of the Covid pandemic to give cover for all the centrist and progressive signatories to the Protocol to renounce their support.
It is particularly disturbing that conference leaders promoted the idea that disaffiliation would be possible after the General Conference and then did not lift a finger to keep that promise. Not one centrist or progressive delegate at the General Conference spoke in favor of any of the various proposed disaffiliation pathways. Now that the ball has returned to the annual conference court, it remains to be seen how many annual conference leaders across the U.S. will honor their word.
History may harshly judge those who exhibit a coercive, authoritarian treatment of their local churches. United Methodist members are not children, nor are they stupid. One way or another, they will not be coerced to violate their consciences. By trying, some UM leaders are only portraying the denomination as devious and heavy-handed – a church few will want to belong to. It is up to other UM leaders to demonstrate that the UM Church believes and practices grace and respect, even toward those who disagree with its new direction. The greatest exhibition of respect is to honor conscience-driven decisions without exacting a heavy penalty. One hopes that common sense and Christian charity will win out.
Whither Regionalization?
At the 2024 General Conference, all the components of regionalization were adopted by nearly three-fourths votes or greater. Those enactments do not take effect immediately, however. What happens next?
The next step in the process is for the General Conference secretary to prepare the constitutional amendments for ratification votes in every annual conference. In order for regionalization to take effect, a series of constitutional amendments needs to be ratified by a two-thirds vote of all the annual conference members in aggregate. The legislation required that the amendments be prepared for ratification within 30 days of the adjournment of the General Conference. But the first ratification votes are unlikely to take place until this fall, with some annual conferences outside the U.S. being the first to vote.
Most U.S. annual conferences will vote on ratification in 2025. The Council of Bishops is responsible for collecting the results from each annual conference, tabulating them, and then announcing whether the amendments were ratified or not. (It is ironic in this era of doubts about election integrity and pushes for greater transparency that some or even most annual conferences decline to announce the results of their individual annual conference vote. One must trust that the votes are being fairly tabulated and accurately transmitted to the Council of Bishops, but there is no public transparency of the results.)
The earliest the ratification results could be announced is probably at the Council of Bishops meeting in the fall of 2025. It is more likely it will be announced at their spring, 2026, meeting, just before the special General Conference is supposed to meet. It all depends upon when bishops decide to hold the ratification vote in their annual conferences. In the last cycle, some non-U.S. bishops postponed ratification for a year beyond when they could have voted, which delays the ability of the Council of Bishops to tabulate the full results and announce the outcome.
A Regional Reality
It is likely that, if the amendments are ratified, they would go into effect at the 2026 General Conference. However, there would not have been time to plan that conference in light of the regional reality. Practically speaking, then, the first General Conference to be significantly affected would be the 2028 General Conference.
At that conference, there would probably be a shorter meeting with fewer days devoted only to issues of global relevance (in the mind of the organizers). The U.S. Regional Conference would then meet following the General Conference to act on matters relevant to the U.S. and adapt any provisions of the Discipline to fit the U.S. “context.” The outcome would be a U.S. Book of Discipline that contains the general Discipline binding the whole denomination as determined by the General Conference, plus all the provisions adopted by the U.S. Regional Conference that would govern the church in the U.S.
The Central Conferences outside the U.S. will have a bigger task in 2028. They would share the same general Discipline adopted by the General Conference, but they would also have the task of coming up with their own rules and policies related to all the parts of the Discipline that are adaptable to regional context. Since they have not had to do this before, it will be an intimidating task. Since the Central Conference meeting is where they also elect bishops, they will need to add days to their meetings at U.S. expense (for Africa and the Philippines) in order to have time to accomplish all they need to do. The U.S. will also need to pay for the printing of all these Central Conference Books of Discipline, so that church leaders have copies to work from.
For most matters, the newly adapted Disciplines for each region will go into effect on January 1, 2029.
Regionalization Lite
What if the ratification of amendments fails? Does that mean regionalization is dead? Not entirely.
First, the 2026 General Conference could try to pass the regionalization amendments again, for ratification in 2027. This would be especially likely if African votes sink regionalization in 2024-2025 but then significant portions of Africa disaffiliate from United Methodism. With those opposition votes gone, regionalization would stand a much better chance at passing on a second attempt. It would be similar to this year’s General Conference where, in the absence of a significant number of traditionalist delegates, the progressive agenda sailed through with supermajority margins. (Of course, it is also possible that some parts of Africa will disaffiliate before even taking a ratification vote. That would make it more likely that ratification would pass on the first attempt.)
Second, the last regionalization petition passed by the plenary session in Charlotte set up a Standing Committee on U.S. Matters to deal with U.S. concerns. This is parallel to the Standing Committee on Central Conference Matters that deals with issues relevant to areas outside the U.S. However, the Central Conference Committee only has about 35 members, while the U.S. Standing Committee would have all 500-odd U.S. delegates.
The U.S. Standing Committee would meet prior to the 2026 General Conference and also future General Conferences, if ratification fails. They would weigh in on any petitions or resolutions that uniquely affect the U.S. Since U.S. delegates are likely to still have a built-in majority at the General Conference, decisions made by the U.S. Standing Committee will likely be rubber stamped by the General Conference plenary. Judging by recent experience with the Central Conference Standing Committee, the U.S. Committee is likely to be more effective at killing legislation that it does not like, rather than promoting positive legislation for the General Conference to adopt. However, it is a new situation, and it will be interesting to see how these structures are used and evolved.
So, if ratification fails, the U.S. Standing Committee would still meet to care for U.S. interests. They would not be able to adapt the Discipline, however. As was seen at the Charlotte General Conference, it is likely that U.S. delegates will continue to dominate the agenda and votes in the next few General Conferences, making adaptations unnecessary.
One way or another, then, regionalization will go forward. The interim structure of the U.S. Standing Committee provides “regionalization lite.” Once the constitutional amendments are ratified, on the first or second attempt, the U.S. Standing Committee goes away, and full-blown regionalization and adaptation takes its place. It will be instructive to follow the evolution of this new form of “connectionalism” in the years ahead to measure its impact on the church’s ability to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
Thomas Lambrecht is a United Methodist clergyperson and the vice president of Good News. Photo: Delegates from the 2024 General Conference of the United Methodist Church in Charlotte, N.C. Photo by Steve Beard.
