by Steve | Nov 18, 2022 | In the News
By Thomas Lambrecht —
With the recent election of thirteen new bishops, the active Council of Bishops will be made up of one-third new members on January 1, 2023. As such, they will play a powerful role in setting the direction of The United Methodist Church into the future. What do their election and the other actions of the jurisdictional conferences tell us about what that direction might be? This article is the first of two surveying that question.
More Diversity
According to news reports, this group of elected bishops represents several “firsts,” recognizing the expanding ethnic diversity of the Council of Bishops. David Wilson is the first Native American bishop in the UM Church. Carlo A. Rapanut is the first Filipino American bishop. Hector A. Burgos-Nuñez is the first Hispanic/Latino bishop in the Northeastern Jurisdiction. Delores “Dee” Williamston is the first Black woman bishop in the South Central Jurisdiction. Cedrick D. Bridgeforth is the first openly gay Black male bishop. (Karen Oliveto was the first openly gay female bishop, elected in 2016.)
The diversity, however, did not extend to electing one single theological traditionalist or conservative bishop.
Expanding the “Big Tent” Leftward
The theological diversity of the newly elected bishops seems to run only in a more progressive direction. For example, all 13 bishops favor changing the language of the Book of Discipline’s definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman. They would endorse the ordination of practicing gay and lesbian pastors and support the ability of pastors to perform same-sex weddings.
In other words, the entire slate of new bishops made it clear that they reject the United Methodist consensus on marriage and sexuality for the past 40 years of Christian “conferencing” at General Conference – including the 2019 gathering in St. Louis that was supposed to resolve our dispute.
However, the most eye-opening theological expansion was the statement by Kennetha Bigham-Tsai, from the North Central Jurisdiction, who was the first of the 13 elected. In a mystifying answer to a question during her candidacy interviews, she stated, “It is not important that we agree on who Christ is. … God became flesh, but not particular flesh. There’s no particularity around that. God became incarnate in a culture, but not one culture. There is mystery and wideness and openness and diversity in who Christ is and who God is, so that every living human being has a way to touch God, to connect with God, to have a relationship with God in Christ.”
This picture brings to mind the parable of the blind men and the elephant, which originated in India centuries before Christ. In the parable, seven blind men who have never seen an elephant touch different parts of the elephant’s body (leg, tail, side, tusk) and come away with very different understandings of what an elephant is like. It seems like Bigham-Tsai is saying that Jesus Christ is different things to different people, so that each person has a way of connecting with Jesus.
It is true that Jesus meets each of us where we are in a way that opens our ability to receive him as our Savior and Lord. That is the essence of prevenient grace. However, the radical pessimism about our ability to have a unified understanding of Jesus’ basic identity is unwarranted and contrary to an orthodox understanding of Christianity.
When Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do you say I am?” Peter responded, “You are the Christ (Messiah), the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:15-16). Jesus blessed Peter for his understanding that had been revealed to him by the Father, thus affirming Peter’s statement. We ought to be able at least to have a common understanding that Jesus is the Messiah, God’s Son.
Our United Methodist doctrinal standards go into much greater detail about who Jesus is.
The Son, who is the Word of the Father, the very and eternal God, of one substance with the Father, took man’s nature in the womb of the blessed Virgin; so that two whole and perfect natures, that is to say, the Godhead and Manhood, were joined together in one person, never to be divided; whereof is one Christ, very God and very Man, who truly suffered, was crucified, dead, and buried, to reconcile his Father to us, and to be a sacrifice, not only for original guilt, but also for actual sins of men (Articles of Religion, Article II).
Is Bigham-Tsai really saying that it is not important for United Methodists to agree with our doctrinal standards’ shared understanding of who Jesus is?
Given Article II’s statements, it is difficult to understand how a United Methodist bishop could state that God was not incarnate in “particular flesh.” How can it be said that “God became incarnate in a culture, but not one culture?” God was born of a virgin Jewish mother in Bethlehem at a known historical time. He lived and died as a practicing, devout Jew. His message and his life were in continuity with the Jewish Old Testament and in fulfillment of it. All of this took place within one person in one particular culture.
Yes, Jesus has relevance to every person and every culture, but God’s presence was made manifest in the particularity of one person and one culture. Without that bedrock understanding, we have no historical basis for interpreting the “Christ event” or its application to our own lives and culture.
Bigham-Tsai’s statements illustrate very well what is meant by the “big tent” approach to United Methodism. It gives the impression that United Methodist leaders do not view the doctrinal standards as actual standards, but suggestions or guidelines, to be disregarded whenever they do not “make sense” or are judged to be not helpful.
The Book of Discipline is very specific about the role of a bishop:
To lead and oversee the spiritual and temporal affairs of The United Methodist Church which confesses Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and particularly to lead the Church in its mission of witness and service in the world. … To guard, transmit, teach, and proclaim, corporately and individually, the apostolic faith as it is expressed in Scripture and tradition, and, as they are led and endowed by the Spirit, to interpret that faith evangelically and prophetically.
By its very nature, this “big tent” excludes traditionalists who believe there are certain doctrinal propositions that are essential to Christianity. We believe the faith defined in the Articles of Religion and Confession of Faith. Without these doctrinal understandings, we do not have Christianity, but some other religion loosely based on Christianity.
Delegates at the North Central Jurisdictional Conference were aware of these doctrinal questions regarding Bigham-Tsai, yet elected her the first bishop in this year’s class. That can be viewed either as an indifference to doctrine or the adoption of a doctrine-less United Methodism. In any case, it speaks volumes about the theological direction of the future United Methodist Church.
Expanded Disobedience
To great fanfare, the Western Jurisdiction elected a gay man who recently married his male partner. This election carries on the precedent the same jurisdiction set by electing Karen Oliveto as bishop in 2016, who is married to another woman. Cedric Bridgeforth was elected even though the Judicial Council ruled that Oliveto’s consecration was contrary to church law and that her standing as a clergyperson must be brought up for judicial review (it never was).
Additionally, the Northeastern Jurisdiction came close to electing as bishop another gay man married to his male partner, Jay Williams. At one point, Williams was within 20 votes of having enough to be elected.
It appears that, for many delegates, the requirements of the Discipline are to be disregarded when they do not line up with one’s ideological commitments. One episcopal candidate made the comment that change comes from the bottom up, and that rules are often disregarded by the grass roots before they are changed formally by the legislative body.
The expanded disobedience is also seen in the fact that all five jurisdictions passed a resolution that affirms a moratorium on complaints surrounding sexual orientation, discourages pursuing complaints against clergy around their sexual activity or against pastors who officiate LGBTQIA+ weddings, and supports the election of bishops who uphold these aspirations.
Questions of law were asked in at least two of the jurisdictions hoping the Judicial Council will declare the resolution null and void because it encourages disobedience to the Discipline. No matter what the Judicial Council rules, the resolution indicates the overwhelming sentiment of U.S. delegates, as well as their disregard for what the General Conference has enacted in the Discipline. (The text of this resolution and two other important ones may be read at the Northeastern Jurisdiction Conference report, starting on page 25.)
In the next Perspective, we will project the implications the jurisdictional conferences have for the future of United Methodism and the role of traditionalists.
This article was originally published by Firebrand and is reprinted with permission. The full article may be read at: Firebrandmag.com.
Thomas Lambrecht is a United Methodist clergyperson and the vice president. of Good News.
by Steve | Nov 7, 2022 | In the News
United Methodist News –
After electing 13 new bishops during their November 2-5 meetings, the denomination’s five U.S. jurisdictional conferences announced episcopal assignments effective January 1.
Jurisdictional leaders recommended electing 14 new bishops; however, the Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference voted to suspend its rules and delay the election of a second bishop until the 2024 jurisdictional conference.
The elections bring the number of active U.S. bishops to 39, but the U.S. currently has 46 episcopal areas. Twenty United Methodist bishops in the U.S. will have retired between 2021 and the end of this year.
Each jurisdiction’s college of bishops and committee on the episcopacy arrange coverage of the remaining episcopal areas, with some assigning bishops to serve more than one episcopal area as 16 bishops have done over the last two years with General Conference postponed by the pandemic.
Southeastern Jurisdiction
The Rev. Tom Berlin speaks to delegates at the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference meeting in Lake Junaluska, N.C. Photo by Ben Smith.
The Rev. Thomas M. Berlin, lead pastor of Floris United Methodist Church in Herndon, Virginia. He has been assigned to Florida.
Berlin was the endorsed candidate of the Virginia Conference. He grew up at Braddock Street United Methodist Church in Winchester, Virginia. After graduating from Virginia Tech, he earned his Master of Divinity degree from United Methodist Candler School of Theology in Atlanta and entered ordained ministry in Virginia in 1988. He subsequently was appointed pastor of the Brucetown-Welltown Charge in Frederick County, followed by appointment as pastor of Toms Brook United Methodist Church in Toms Brook.
Since 1997, he has been lead pastor of Floris United Methodist Church in suburban Washington. The congregation has grown from an average worship attendance of 400 when he began his appointment to 1,200 before the pandemic. Under Berlin’s leadership, the church also launched two satellite campuses: Restoration Reston and Restoration Loudon. The congregation’s combined online and in-person attendance is now around 1,000. The church also has been in partnership with the Sierra Leone Conference since 2000.
The Rev. Robin Dease thanks the delegates of the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference upon her election as a bishop. Photo by Matt Brodie.
The Rev. Robin Dease, a pastor and former district superintendent in the South Carolina Conference. She has been assigned to North Georgia.
Dease has served as senior pastor of St. Andrew By-The-Sea United Methodist Church in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, since 2021. She joined the South Carolina Conference in 1992 and was ordained an elder in 2001. She has served as pastor of Wesley United Methodist Church in Johns Island, John Wesley United Methodist Church in Greenville, and St. Andrew By-The-Sea United Methodist Church in Hilton Head. She also has served as superintendent of the Hartsville District, and in 2012, was interim chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religion at Claflin.
Her appointment as senior pastor at St. Andrew By-The-Sea made her the first African-American woman to serve as lead pastor of a historically white United Methodist church in South Carolina.
The Rev. Connie Shelton thanks the delegates of the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference Her husband, the Rev. Joey Shelton, stands behind her. Photo by Ben Smith, UM News.
The Rev. Connie Mitchell Shelton, district superintendent in the Mississippi Conference. She has been assigned to North Carolina.
Raised in the Southern Baptist tradition in her native Mississippi, she later found that Methodist theology resonated in her life. She subsequently joined Oak Grove United Methodist Church in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where she and her husband, Joey, served as volunteer lay youth directors. Eventually, both she and her husband discerned a call to full-time ordained ministry.
She has a bachelor’s degree in radio, television and film and a master’s in public relations, both from the University of Southern Mississippi. She and her husband moved to Durham, North Carolina, to study at Duke Divinity School.
Since 2015, she has been superintendent and missional strategist of the East Jackson District in the Mississippi Conference. Since July, she also has served on a team of four superintendents overseeing the Hattiesburg District.
She previously served as director of connectional ministries and communications for the Mississippi Conference. Before that, she served in appointments at both rural and urban United Methodist churches. She also was executive director of “The United Methodist Hour” television and radio broadcast, which reached across the Southeastern United States.
North Central Jurisdiction
The Rev. Kennetha Bigham-Tsai (right) and her husband, Kee, greet delegates at the North Central Jurisdictional Conference following her election as bishop. Photo courtesy of NCJ Communications.
The Rev. Kennetha Bigham-Tsai, chief connectional ministries officer for the Connectional Table. She has been assigned to Iowa.
Since 2018, Bigham-Tsai has served as the chief connectional ministries officer for the Connectional Table, which discerns and articulates the vision of The United Methodist Church and helps determine how finances are used for worldwide connectional mission. She has been a member of the Connectional Table since 2012.
She has been actively involved as a delegate from the Michigan Conference at General Conference and North Central Jurisdictional Conference since 2012. She was co-chair of the 2022 delegation as a clergy delegate. She also serves as secretary of the North Central Jurisdiction Committee on the Episcopacy.
As superintendent of the Lansing District of the Michigan Conference for five years, from 2013 to 2018. Ordained as a United Methodist elder in 2009, Bigham-Tsai served congregations in Portage and East Lansing, Michigan.
The Rev. Lanette Plambeck receives her episcopal pin following her election to at the North Central Jurisdictional Conference. Photo by Kaitlyn Winders Photography.
The Rev. Lanette Plambeck, assistant to the bishop and director of clergy and leadership excellence in the Iowa Conference. She has been assigned to Dakotas-Minnesota.
Ordained an elder in the Iowa Conference in 2005, Plambeck earned her B.A. from Morningside University in religious studies and political science. After serving as an intelligence analyst in the Army, she worked as an executive and therapist for person-centered agencies. In 2001 she completed her master of divinity degree with an emphasis on evangelism at Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, then received a doctor of ministry in church leadership excellence in 2013 from Wesley Theological Seminary.
Before being on staff at the Iowa Conference, Plambeck was the lead pastor for Broadway United Methodist Church in Council Bluffs, First United Methodist in Atlantic, Manning United Methodist Church in Manning and Emmanuel United Methodist Church in Granger, all in Iowa. She also served as the chaplain at Morningside University.
The Rev. Dan Schwerin reacts to being elected bishop Nov. 3 at the North Central Jurisdictional Conference. Photo by Lisa Wink.
The Rev. Dan Schwerin, assistant to the bishop for the Wisconsin Conference. He has been assigned to North Illinois.
Schwerin has enjoyed many contexts for pastoral ministry, including urban and rural churches; a new church plant; and a multi-staff downtown setting that became a Reconciling Congregation. He launched non-profits to benefit persons with disabilities, children dealing with grief, persons wanting to help battle generational poverty, and children who desired instruments and music lessons.
In the Wisconsin Conference, he served as the superintendent of two districts. Bishop Jung selected Schwerin to lead a collaborative effort with conference partners to increase racial justice and radical inclusion.
He was elected in 2019 as a delegate to General Conference and the North Central Jurisdiction. He has served on the General Conference Task Force on Funding Patterns in The United Methodist Church and the North Central Jurisdiction’s Episcopacy Committee.
Northeastern Jurisdiction
The Rev. Héctor A. Burgos-Núñez addresses the Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference after being elected bishop. His wife, Jazelis Burgos, is at his side. Photo by the Rev. Thomas Kim, UM News.
The Rev. Héctor A. Burgos-Núñez, the superintendent of the Central District in the Greater New Jersey Conference. He has been assigned to Upper New York.
With his election, he became the first Hispanic/Latino bishop elected in the Northeastern Jurisdiction. Burgos was the endorsed candidate of MARCHA, the Hispanic/Latino caucus of The United Methodist Church.
Burgos has served as superintendent of the Central District since 2019. Prior to that, he served as director of connectional ministries from 2015 to 2019.
He also served as interim executive director, NextGen Ministries, in the Greater New Jersey Conference; director of worship and urban ministries in Greater New Jersey; lead pastor at Oasis United Methodist Church in Pleasantville, New Jersey, from 2009 to 2014, and as associate pastor, First United Methodist Church in Tuckerton and assistant pastor at West Creek United Methodist Church, both in New Jersey.
Western Jurisdiction
The Rev. Carlo A. Rapanut greets delegates at the United Methodist Western Jurisdictional Conference, after he was elected to the episcopacy. Photo by Patrick Scriven of the Pacific Northwest Conference.
The Rev. Carlo A. Rapanut, assistant to the bishop in the Greater Northwest Episcopal Area. He has been assigned to Desert Southwest.
Rapanut is the first Filipino American bishop in The United Methodist Church, and the first U.S. bishop who was ordained in a central conference – a United Methodist region outside the U.S.
Rapanut is an elder in the Pacific Northwest Conference.
Since 2014 until May this year, he served as co-dean of the Greater Northwest Area bishop’s cabinet and conference superintendent of the Alaska United Methodist Conference. He also was the Alaska Conference’s director of connectional ministries from 2014 until becoming assistant to the bishop. He previously served as pastor of United Methodist Church of Chugiak in Chugiak, Alaska.
Rapanut grew up in Baguio City, Philippines. Before moving to the U.S., he was senior pastor of Baguio City First United Methodist Church and later assistant to now-retired Bishop Benjamin A. Justo.
The Rev. Cedrick Bridgeforth addresses the delegates, guests and his new episcopal colleagues, shortly after his election. His husband, Christopher Hucks-Ortiz, stands at his side. Photo by Patrick Scriven of the Pacific Northwest Conference .
The Rev. Cedrick D. Bridgeforth, director of innovation and communication in the California-Pacific Conference. He has been assigned to Greater Northwest.
Bridgeforth becomes the first openly gay African-American man to be elected a bishop in The United Methodist Church.
An elder in the California-Pacific Conference, he has directed its office of innovation and communications since 2021. He previously has served as lead pastor of Grace United Methodist Church, a historically Black congregation in Los Angeles, and before that as lead pastor of Santa Ana United Methodist Church, a multi-ethnic congregation. During that time, he was also director of academic programs and outreach for the Ecumenical Center for Black Church Studies at the University of La Verne.
He also served as a district superintendent in the California-Pacific Conference from 2008 to 2015 and cabinet dean from 2011 to 2015.
Bridgeforth has written books on leadership and prayer. In 2021, he published his memoir, “Alabama Grandson: A Black, Gay Minister’s Passage Out of Hiding.”
A native of Decatur, Alabama, Bridgeforth is a U.S. Air Force veteran.
The Rev. Dottie Escobedo-Frank, a United Methodist elder in the Desert Southwest Conference, is accompanied to the podium by young people from MARCHA West, honoring her roots in the Hispanic/Latino community. Photo by Patrick Scriven of the Pacific Northwest Conference.
The Rev. Dottie Escobedo-Frank, senior pastor of Paradise Valley United Methodist Church in Paradise Valley, Arizona. She has been assigned to California-Pacific.
Escobedo-Frank will be the Western jurisdiction’s third Hispanic bishop,
Escobedo-Frank, an elder in the Desert Southwest Conference, she has served appointments as pastor to churches ranging from the small and rural to the big and urban. For three years, she also was an associate pastor at an Evangelical Lutheran Church in America megachurch in Glendale, Arizona.
She also has experience as a district superintendent based in Tucson and dean of the bishop’s cabinet. She served twice as Hispanic Ministries chair in the Desert Southwest Conference.
She also is a prolific writer, publishing seven books about church life and church seasons with Abingdon Press, an imprint of the United Methodist Publishing House.
South Central Jurisdiction
The Rev. Delores “Dee” Williamston acknowledges applause after her election to the United Methodist Episcopacy at the South Central Jurisdictional Conference. Photo by Sam Hodges, UM News.
The Rev. Delores “Dee” Williamston, director of clergy excellence and assistant to the bishop of the Great Plains Conference. She has been assigned to Louisiana.
Williamston is the first Black female bishop for the South Central Jurisdiction. She has been assistant to the bishop and director of clergy excellence at the Great Plains Conference since 2021. Prior to that, she spent seven years as a district superintendent in the Great Plains.
She has a bachelor of science in management and Christian ethics from Manhattan Christian College; a master of divinity from Saint Paul School of Theology, with a specialization in evangelism and Black church studies; and is scheduled to receive a doctor of ministry degree in transformational leadership in improvisational ministry from Phillips Theological Seminary in May 2023.
Williamston is a 22-year veteran of the Kansas Army National Guard, rising to sergeant first class, and has also worked for the U.S. Property and Fiscal Office, State of Kansas food stamp department, American Federation for Television and Radio Artists, and a New York law firm.
The Rev. David Wilson, the first Native American United Methodist bishop, accepts congratulations after his election to the episcopacy at the South Central Jurisdictional Conference. Photo by Sam Hodges, UM News.
The Rev. David Wilson, assistant to the bishop of the Oklahoma and Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference. He has been assigned to Great Plains.
Wilson became the denomination’s first Native American bishop.
Wilson has been the assistant to the bishop for the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference since 2021, following 19 years as a conference superintendent. He was lead coordinator for the North Oklahoma City Native American Ministry for eight years, following eight years as a pastor of a church in Norman, Oklahoma. He served seven years as director of promotions/interpretations for the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference, after being pastor of a church in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and campus minister for the Native American Campus Ministry program at Northeastern State University.
He received an undergraduate degree in mass communications from Oklahoma City University, a master’s degree in divinity from Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and an honorary doctorate in humane letters from Bacone College in Muskogee, Oklahoma.
The Rev. Laura Merrill accepts congratulations from delegates at the Nov. 2 United Methodist South Central Jurisdictional Conference. Photo by Sam Hodges, UM News.
The Rev. Laura Merrill, Central District superintendent for the Rio Texas Conference. She has been assigned to Arkansas.
Prior to her current position, she was assistant to the bishop and director of clergy excellence for Rio Texas. A former church secretary, she served as assistant to the dean and director of communications for Candler School of Theology at Emory University before becoming associate pastor at a church in Victoria, then pastor of churches in Los Fresnos and Wimberley.
Merrill also served as a missionary in Chile for the Desert Southwest Conference.
She received a bachelor’s degree in international studies from Southwestern University in 1984, and a master’s in divinity from Candler in 1995.
A third-generation United Methodist pastor, she has two children.
This story was adapted from the UM News reporting. To read UM News’ full coverage, click HERE. Top photo: Newly elected United Methodist bishops David Wilson (third from left, wearing blue jacket), Laura Merrill (wearing green print jacket) and Delores “Dee” Williamston (second from right) are joined by other bishops and church leaders as they pray after being elected during the South Central Jurisdictional Conference. Photo courtesy of the Great Plains Conference.
NEW EPISCOPAL ASSIGNMENTS
Here are the assignments, by conference.
North Central Jurisdiction
Dakotas-Minnesota: Bishop Lanette Plambeck
Ohio East: Bishop Tracy S. Malone
Illinois Great Rivers: Bishop Frank J. Beard
Indiana: Bishop Julius C. Trimble
Iowa Area: Bishop Kennetha Bigham-Tsai
Michigan Area: Bishop David A. Bard
Northern Illinois: Bishop Dan Schwerin
Ohio West: Bishop Gregory V. Palmer
Wisconsin: Bishop Hee-Soo Jung
The North Central Jurisdiction includes the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
Northeastern Jurisdiction
Baltimore-Washington and Peninsula-Delaware: Bishop LaTrelle Easterling
Eastern Pennsylvania and Greater New Jersey: Bishop John R. Schol
New York: Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton
Susquehanna: Bishops Sandra L. Steiner Ball and Cynthia Moore-Koikoi
Upper New York: Bishop Héctor A. Burgos-Núñez
West Virginia: Bishop Sandra L. Steiner Ball
Western Pennsylvania: Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi
*New England: A new servant leadership coverage model will be revealed later, covered by the college of bishops.
The Northeastern Jurisdiction includes the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and West Virginia, as well as the District of Columbia.
South Central Jurisdiction
Arkansas: Bishop Laura Merrill
Areas of North Texas and Central Texas: Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr.
Great Plains: Bishop David Wilson
Louisiana: Bishop Delores “Dee” Williamston
Missouri: Bishop Robert “Bob” Farr
Oklahoma, Oklahoma Indian Missionary: Bishop James G. “Jimmy” Nunn
Rio Texas: Bishop Robert C. Schnase
Texas: Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey
*Schnase will provide coverage for the New Mexico Conference and Nunn for the Northwest Texas Conference, as they have been doing.
The South Central Jurisdiction includes the states of Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.
Southeastern Jurisdiction
Alabama-West Florida and South Georgia: Bishop David Graves
Florida: Bishop Thomas M. “Tom” Berlin
Holston and North Alabama: Bishop Debra Wallace-Padgett
Kentucky and Central Appalachian Missionary: Bishop Leonard Fairley
Mississippi: Bishop Sharma Lewis
North Carolina: Bishop Connie Mitchell Shelton
North Georgia: Bishop Robin Dease
South Carolina: Bishop L. Jonathan Holston
Tennessee-Western Kentucky: Bishop William “Bill” McAlilly
Virginia: Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson
Western North Carolina: Bishop Kenneth Carter
The Southeastern Jurisdiction includes the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
Western Jurisdiction
California-Nevada: Bishop Minerva Carcaño
California-Pacific: Bishop Dottie Escobedo-Frank
Desert Southwest: Bishop Carlo A. Rapanut
Greater Northwest: Bishop Cedrick Bridgeforth
Mountain Sky: Bishop Karen Oliveto
The Western Jurisdiction includes the states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
by Steve | Nov 4, 2022 | In the News, Nov-Dec 2022
By Rob Renfroe —
This editorial will be a bit different. It’s an invitation to play a game titled “Name that Bishop.” Bishops in The United Methodist Church play a critical role. They not only provide administrative oversight and vision for their episcopal areas, they are also charged in the Book of Discipline “to guard the faith, order, liturgy, doctrine, and discipline of the Church.”
Before we begin our game, it’s worth noting that several of our best-known traditionalist bishops are retiring in 2022. Scott Jones (Texas Annual Conference), Mark Webb (Upper New York Conference Annual Conference), and James Swanson (Mississippi Annual Conference) have announced they will retire this year.
It’s also worth stating that the leaders of all the traditionalist renewal groups, including Good News, believe that after this year The United Methodist Church will never again elect a thoroughly orthodox bishop in the United States. With the mass departure of traditional churches which has already begun, the votes simply will not be there in the future to elect bishops like Jones, Webb, and Swanson.
So, back to our little game. I’ll give you the quote and you try to “name that bishop.” Some are newly retired, others still very active. All of them influential in the future of the Post-Separation UM Church and in guarding its doctrines.
Writing about Jesus’ encounter with the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15, this UM bishop stated that Jesus had to “come around” to see her as a genuine person and treat her as she deserved because he first judged her according to her gender and ethnicity. The bishop continued, “Like you and me, he (Jesus) didn’t have his life figured out. He was still growing, maturing, putting the pieces together about who he was and what he was supposed to do. We might think of him as the Rock of Ages, but he was more like a hunk of clay, forming and reforming himself in relation to God.” Then this bishop gives us a stern warning about Jesus: “too many people make an idol out of him.”
Who was this bishop who said Jesus was prejudiced, didn’t know who he was well into his ministry, and that he could be an idol, i.e., a false god? Karen Oliveto, bishop for the Mountain Sky Area. Now, can you name the bishop who admonished her for teaching that Jesus can be a false god? You can’t because none of those charged with guarding our doctrine condemned or corrected her heretical teaching about our Lord Jesus.
Name the UM bishop who wrote the following about General Conference 2019: “We prayed for openness to different points of view, unity, communion, gracious listening, holy conferencing, empathetic feelings, and generosity of spirt. It didn’t work. At some point I shifted my own prayers to, ‘Lord, please melt the hardened hearts and smite everyone who intends to vote against the One Church Plan.’” The One Church plan allowed every pastor to determine if he or she would marry gay couples and it permitted every annual conference to determine whether to ordain practicing gay persons. If you disagreed with that policy, this bishop believes you have a hardened heart. The difference, in his mind, is not that you hold to 2000 years of Christian teaching and to what the Bible very clearly seems to state. The problem is not simply a disagreement among good people. The problem is your bad heart, and this bishop prayed for God to smite people like you.
Who was this bishop? Will Willimon, one of our most read and most influential bishops for the past twenty years. Can you name the bishop who called on him to rethink how he framed this message or soften his thoughts about literally millions of good United Methodists who love Jesus, attend church, go on mission trips, and care for the poor in their communities? Of course, you can’t because none did.
Which bishop stated it wasn’t your heart but your head that needed fixing if you disagreed with liberalizing the church’s position on sexual ethics? After stating that persons with a traditional sexual ethic were guilty of homophobia, this bishop went on to state that traditionalists possess an “inability to incorporate the value of reason in their thinking.” You’re simply lacking mentally if you agree with the historic Christian Church and you disagree with him. Which bishop made this statement? Robert Hoshibata, the recently retired bishop of the Phoenix Area.
Can you name which bishop challenged him that our episcopal leaders really shouldn’t call our members mentally defective? No, you can’t, and you can’t because – well, you know why.
Can you name the bishop who demeaned an entire continent of faithful United Methodists? After what this bishop viewed as a disappointing General Conference, she wrote: “Delegates from Africa once again proclaimed that their anti-homosexual stand was what U.S. missionaries taught them. I sat there wondering when our African delegates will grow up. It has been 200 years since U.S. Methodist missionaries began their work of evangelization on the continent of Africa; long enough for African Methodists to do their own thinking about this concern and others.” Disagree with what this first-world bishop believes, and you are juvenile in your thinking. You need to grow up. The world has moved on past what you were taught, past what the Bible states. You need to get with it and believe what post-modern western bishops and pastors believe. Who was this bishop? Minerva Carcaño, bishop over the California-Nevada Annual Conference.
Certainly, something that could be seen as colonialist or even racist would be condemned in a public statement by other bishops. Can you name just one who called upon Carcaño to retract her statement that was terribly unfair and hurtful to our African sisters and brothers? I’ll answer that for you. No, you can’t.
Which bishop was recently quoted in a newspaper article as saying, “And while I believe in our traditional, orthodox faith that’s rooted in the scriptures, I have also always believed that we have to adapt our doctrine and our scriptures to changing life circumstances that people have.” I mean if enough people are experiencing something or if circumstances today are different than they were when the Bible was written, that’s a pretty good reason to adapt our scriptures from what they originally stated and meant, right? We should keep up with the times and let human experience override what has been given to us in the Bible. I mean which would you trust – an old book written by people who don’t know nearly as much as we do or the ever-changing experiences and circumstances of fallen, sinful human beings?
Who made this statement? Ken Carter, the episcopal leader for the Florida and Western North Carolina Annual Conferences, and the president of the Council of Bishops from 2018-2020. And which bishop spoke out against – well, by now you know the next question and you know the answer.
If you have been told that you can “#stayumc” and your traditional views will be respected, you need to hear what our bishops really believe about you and your beliefs. Not what they say when they’re trying to keep your church and your people and your money in the UM Church. But what they say when they are being honest. These bishops who are to provide vision for the church, guard our doctrines, and determine who your next pastor will be, they have told you what they think. Disagree with a liberalized sexual ethic and you have a bad heart, you possess a weak mind, and you need to grow up. If you believe Jesus was not a hunk of clay working out his bigotries and coming to grips with his own identity, you might be guilty of idolatry. And at least one UM bishop has been honest enough to state that he has prayed that God might smite people like you. And all the rest remained silent when these things were said. If you believe these bishops and others elected to replace retiring traditionalist bishops will never send a liberal pastor to your church to “help” you become “a real Methodist church,” you have much more faith than I do.
Welcome to the post-separation UM Church. If you have ears to hear, it’s not hard to perceive where it’s headed and just how welcome you and your traditional beliefs will be.
Rob Renfroe is a United Methodist clergyperson and the president of Good News.
by Steve | Nov 4, 2022 | In the News, Nov-Dec 2022
By Steve Beard —
Richard Griffin, a former member of the royal security detail to Queen Elizabeth II, tells a delightful story about walking with the monarch near her beloved Balmoral Castle in Scotland and meeting two American tourists. “It was clear from the moment we first stopped that they hadn’t recognized the Queen … and the American gent was telling the Queen where they came from, where they were going next, and where they’d been to in Britain. Then he asked, ‘And where do you live?’” Queen Elizabeth responded in classic British understatement, “Well, I live in London but I have a holiday home just the other side of the hills.”
When asked how often she had visited Balmoral, she told them 80 years. “Well, if you’ve been coming up here for 80 years,” said the tourist, “you must’ve met the Queen.”
“Well I haven’t,” the monarch replied, “but Dicky here meets her regularly.” Knowing he could playfully respond to their question of what she was like, Griffin said, “She can be very cantankerous at times, but she’s got a lovely sense of humor.”
Wowed by his connection to royalty, the tourists asked Queen Elizabeth to take a picture of them with Mr. Griffin. After she played photographer, they also took a picture with her. As they waved farewell to the unsuspecting tourists, the monarch mischievously said, “I’d love to be a fly on the wall when he shows those photos to his friends in America, and hopefully someone tells him who I am.”
Even for those unfamiliar with the pomp and grandeur inextricably linked to a constitutional monarchy, the royal funeral proceedings for the Queen painted an elegant portrait of a treasured monarch – a woman with unmatched dignity who died at a venerable 96 years old and served in public life for seven decades.
Queen Elizabeth lived a truly extraordinary life. She was well known for her steadfast leadership through difficult times and overseeing a post-colonial dynasty. Courteous and whipsmart, she arguably met with more international leaders during her lifetime than any other person in history.
Before she was outfitted with a crown and royal scepter, she volunteered to work in filthy coveralls as “Inductee No. 230873” in the women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service during World War II wielding a monkeywrench as she did greasy engine work on heavy transport trucks. She even trained on military motorcycles.
The Queen was famous for doting on her Corgi dogs, which she personally fed, as well as her deep passion for horse racing. She is said to have kept a racing form on her desk next to the stack of newspapers. More importantly, however, she will be remembered for her dedication to service.
“The pattern for many leaders is to be exalted in life and forgotten after death,” the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said in his eulogy at Westminster Abbey. “The pattern for all who serve God – famous or obscure, respected or ignored – is that death is the door to glory.”
To a congregation of world leaders, Welby observed, “Jesus – who in our reading does not tell his disciples how to follow, but who to follow – said: ‘I am the way, the truth and the life.’ Her Late Majesty’s example was not set through her position or her ambition, but through whom she followed.”
According to Reuters, 500 of the funeral guests were presidents, prime ministers, foreign royal family members and dignitaries. “People of loving service are rare in any walk of life. Leaders of loving service are still rarer,” said Welby. “But in all cases those who serve will be loved and remembered when those who cling to power and privileges are long forgotten.”
Through ceremony, hymns, Bible verses, and prayers, the guests from the four corners of the earth heard about a woman who was devoted to her faith. Welby’s on-point message about servant leadership was coupled with the Queen’s faith in Christian hope. “Christ rose from the dead and offers life to all, abundant life now and life with God in eternity,” he said. “We will all face the merciful judgement of God: we can all share the Queen’s hope which in life and death inspired her servant leadership.”
The Anglican worship service included a famous hymn written by Charles Wesley (1707-1788), “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling.” He was the author of over 6,500 hymns and co-led the Methodist movement within the Church of England with his brother, John. In the grand crescendo, Wesley poetically concludes: “Changed from glory into glory/ till in heav’n we take our place/ till we cast our crowns before thee /lost in wonder, love and praise.”
Of course, Wesley’s mention of the crown was known to the Queen. Without flamboyant fanfare or posturing, she was England’s most reliable churchgoer. As a heartfelt believer, she knew that whether one lived in a palace or lived on the dole, God’s love was not restrained by title or status.
At her funeral, the Imperial State Crown – handcrafted with thousands of precious stones collected throughout history by British royalty – sat atop a pillow on the Queen’s coffin as it made its 20-mile trek from Westminster Abbey to St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. It was the unmistakable symbol of her royal office.
A few years ago, Queen Elizabeth candidly described the bejeweled crown as “unwieldly.” It literally takes agility to manage the crown’s weight. It has 2,868 diamonds, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, four rubies, and 269 pearls. Thankfully for her, she only had to wear it on rare occasions.
During the service of committal at St. George’s Chapel, the crown, orb, and scepter were removed from the Queen’s casket and placed on the High Altar – deeply symbolic that they were merely on loan.
“Although we are capable of great acts of kindness, history teaches us that we sometimes need saving from ourselves – from our recklessness or our greed,” the Queen once shared in her Christmas address. “God sent into the world a unique person – neither a philosopher nor a general (important though they are) – but a Savior, with the power to forgive. Forgiveness lies at the heart of the Christian faith. It can heal broken families, it can restore friendships, and it can reconcile divided communities. It is in forgiveness that we feel the power of God’s love.”
In another message 30 years prior, she poignantly proclaimed: “Christ not only revealed to us the truth in his teachings. He lived by what he believed and gave us the strength to try to do the same – and, finally, on the cross, he showed the supreme example of physical and moral courage.”
For those of us who watched the proceedings, it was a grand spectacle with Scripture-laden ritual, ornate costumes, bagpipes and bells, cannons and loyal soldiers. It may have been one of the most widely-watched events in history.
Although the Queen was able to be incognito with the pair of American tourists near Balmoral Castle, the heavens produced a photogenic bright and colorful rainbow over Windsor Castle as the Union Jack was lowered to half-mast on the afternoon the Queen’s death was announced. It was truly a fitting farewell to a regal woman.
Steve Beard is the editor of Good News. Photo: Queen Elizabeth II during a ceremony at the HMS Ocean in Devonport to rededicate the ship in 2015. Photo: defenceimagery.mod.uk
