by Steve | Jul 14, 2021 | July/August 2021, Magazine, Magazine Articles
The Rev. Keith Boyette addresses the WCA’s 2021 Global Gathering. WCA photo by Katy Patterson.
By Keith Boyette –
One of the hardest seasons in life is awaiting the birth of a baby.
I’ve done it three times. The nurses told me that my title was coach. I think that was to make me feel good about my presence in the room because I don’t think that my wife appreciated or needed my coaching. Labor and delivery often do not go by the book. There can be unexpected delays, changes in circumstances, and moments of uncertainty. But eventually one way or another the moment arrives and the baby is born. All that hard work and all that pain suddenly seems to evaporate as this new life comes into the world and you hold your flesh and blood, knowing that this is a gift from God.
The waiting part is filled with frustration, anxiety, and a desire to make things happen, but the birth is filled with joy, victory, and a new vision. As the psalmist declares, “Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5). The psalmist continues, “You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy. That I may sing praises to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever” (Psalm 30:11-12, NLT)
You and I are awaiting a birth. The name is revealed: The Global Methodist Church. We know a lot about this church, we eagerly await the moment of birth when it’s legally formed and begins to operate. But we’re not there yet and that is so frustrating and discouraging. More than a few of us are impatient. Some of us want to force the issue: Deliver that baby! After all, we’ve been waiting for this delivery for months, even years.
The Hebrews waited 400 years for deliverance from servitude in Egypt. They wandered 40 years in the wilderness before they could cross the Jordan to the Promised Land. And God’s people were in exile for 70 years before they were permitted to return to their homeland in Israel.
Our wait has been long but compared to those biblical delays, well, maybe not so long. Still, I’m tired of waiting. I’m impatient. I get anxious. I am discouraged at times, but I have learned that God does amazing work when we are waiting if we trust him and allow him to work.
If delivery had occurred sooner, would we have been ready? When the baby comes you can’t say it’s not convenient yet. You have to be ready to move. And if there is one thing I have learned in my lifetime, it is to trust the timing of God. I have seen over and over again his timing is perfect. His ways are mysterious. I don’t always understand them but in retrospect, I always see his wisdom.
I want to thank the thousands of people around the world who have worked to prepare for the launch of the Global Methodist Church. All of those persons who have served on the Global Council of the Wesleyan Covenant Association and delegates to our global legislative assemblies. So many people have served as officers and board members of our regional chapters, intercessors, and partners in ministry that have joined in this journey.
The members of the Transitional Leadership Council have met weekly for more than a year preparing to usher this new baby into the world. So many have generously given time, resources, and prayers to sustain this work.
The purpose of the Protocol of Reconciliation and Grace through Separation is to demonstrate to the world that we Methodists, despite significant conflict, could love one another as we part ways, blessing one another in our separation. God sent us a Jewish lawyer to find the way. Unfortunately, recent events in various annual conferences have undercut the environment created by the Protocol. I urge persons of good will in continuing to pursue the goals and objectives embodied in the Protocol.
Our stepping out into a new day is not dependent on the adoption of the Protocol but it is the best way for most churches to address the future if they are going to be a part of the Global Methodist Church. Launching the GMC does not free churches from their present entanglement. The Protocol implementing legislation justly permits churches to align with the Global Methodist Church with all of their buildings, property, and assets without paying significant sums of money.
This is the fair, the right, indeed, the Christian approach to resolving the impasse. Leading bishops, centrists, and progressives acknowledged this critical point when they endorsed the Protocol and committed to working for its adoption.
The announcement of the impending birth of the Global Methodist Church is a moment of great hope for Methodists worldwide. Committed to the Wesleyan tradition, the Global Methodist Church will unashamedly proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. Our unity will be in the person of Jesus – not in an institution.
We are single-minded in our mission. We dare to proclaim the message of our forefather John Wesley that God desires to transform our character so that we increasingly reflect the character of Jesus. Using Wesley’s phrase, we are prepared to become “more vile” for the privilege of sharing Christ with people of every nation, tribe, and tongue – especially with the poor, the outcast, and the marginalized.
We desire to be a truly global church that enables the strengths in one region of the church to be shared across the church in every part of the world so that we all mutually benefit. Rather than being a church dominated by being U.S.-centric, we expect to be a church that experiences the rich diversity of leadership and vision that rises from all corners of our connection.
We see our connection being rooted and grounded in the great confessions of faith so eloquently expressed in the sermons of John Wesley. I believe we’re on the cusp of a great theological revival. Rather than being fractured in what we believe and practice, we will humbly submit to Christ and live in obedience to the teachings that he affirmed from the Old and New Testaments.
I suspect most of you have heard the words of Mr. Wesley as he looked forward to our generation: “I am not afraid that the people called Methodist shall cease to exist in Europe or America, but I am afraid lest they exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power. And this undoubtedly will be the case unless they hold fast to both the doctrine, the spirit, and discipline with which they first set out.”
As we launch into the new future that God has called for the people called Methodists, we will not settle for the form of religion. We will press on to experience the fullness of the power of God that he promises to his church. We will hold fast to the doctrines that have been entrusted to us by those who have faithfully delivered the faith to our generation. We will know nothing but the Holy Spirit which God has poured out upon his people, seeking always to be filled to overflowing. And we will be a church that adheres to God’s discipline as we seek to be a fitting dwelling place for him as he draws near to us and draws people to himself.
We live in what some have referred to as an already-and-not-yet season – between the first coming as Jesus as savior and his second coming when the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our God and King. In a similar vein, we are already in another not-yet season – we can be Methodists of the Global Methodist Church in anticipation of its launch very shortly. We can live out its doctrine. We can embody its mission and vision. We can keep our eyes focused on where God is calling us. We can be the church God is calling us to be, regardless of what the powers and principalities of this world dare to say.
Declared in the phrasing of the 18th century, John Wesley said, “Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not if they are clergymen or laymen, they alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven on earth.”
Will you choose to be part of a generation who by the power of God working within us will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven upon the earth. Will you join me?
Keith Boyette is a United Methodist clergyperson and the president of the Wesleyan Covenant Association and the chairperson of the Transitional Leadership Council of the Global Methodist Church (in formation). He is an elder in the Virginia Conference of The United Methodist Church. This article is adapted from his address to the Wesleyan Covenant Association’s Global Gathering in April.
by Steve | Jul 13, 2021 | In the News
The Board of Trustees of the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church has voted to seize the assets of Mt. Bethel UMC and will operate the church effective immediately, the latest move in an escalating crisis with the East Cobb congregation.
In a statement issued late Monday, North Georgia Conference Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson said that “exigent circumstances” prompted the move, after Mt. Bethel strongly and publicly refused to accept the appointment of a new senior pastor, and made other moves she said violated the denomination’s Book of Discipline governing document.
The North Georgia Conference statement said that Mt. Bethel leaders and attorneys were notified Monday by Conference attorneys that the property seizures are immediate, and that the church has 10 days to complete the transfer.
According to UMC policies, individual congregations do not own properties or assets but are held in trust for the denomination.
Mt. Bethel church activities and operations will continue under the management of the trustees, according to the statement.
“The Trustees are mindful of the concerns of employees, families, and members of Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church and the families connected to the Mt. Bethel Christian Academy. Employment, instruction, activities, and worship at the church and Academy will continue, but under the direction and control of the Conference Board of Trustees,” according to the statement, which you can read in full here.
You can read the rest of the story HERE
by Steve | Jul 13, 2021 | In the News
Mt Bethel United Methodist Church.
Statement by Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church
Regarding North Georgia Conference UMC Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson’s Move to Close Mt. Bethel UMC’s Doors and Seize its Assets
July 13, 2021
Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson of the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church continues to escalate a crisis of her own making at Cobb County’s Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church. Originally claiming she wanted to move Rev. Dr. Jody Ray, the church’s senior pastor, to a conference position dealing with racial reconciliation, she has since changed her story at least twice, in long, rambling, and defensive videos posted to the North Georgia Conference website.
Last night, Haupert-Johnson claimed, “exigent circumstances” exist at Mt. Bethel that threaten its vitality and mission, and therefore, she has moved to close the church and “transfer” all its assets to the conference “effective immediately.”
Unfortunately, it is Haupert-Johnson’s failure to competently engage in the United Methodist Church’s prescribed consultative process that threatens the vitality and mission of the North Georgia Conference’s largest congregation, both in terms of membership and average worship attendance.
Instead of following the course of action nearly all United Methodist bishops take regarding pastoral changes at large churches, Haupert-Johnson hastily initiated an ill-timed and an ill-considered move that not only jeopardizes great ministry and missions at Mt. Bethel but also the health and reputation of her entire annual conference.
She has failed to resolve quietly and amicably a crisis of her own making. Instead, she is now engaging attorneys to go to civil court to seize assets that the faithful people at Mt. Bethel have freely and joyfully given for sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ in word and deed: assets which will become property of Mt. Bethel once it completes a process for disaffiliating from the United Methodist Church, initiated in April 2021. The Bishop is purposely delaying that process.
While she claims she is acting out of “love for the church and its mission,” enlisting attorneys and the courts to seize assets is a strange way for a bishop to show her love for one of the healthiest churches in her conference.
The people of Mt. Bethel Church will do all in their power to resist the aggressive actions against their church, and they will do all they can to restore the reputational damage Haupert-Johnson is inflicting on many local United Methodist churches that simply want to do ministry without the drama of her intrusive and threatening actions.
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by Steve | Jul 13, 2021 | July/August 2021, Magazine, Magazine Articles
Krystl D. Gauld was one of the featured speakers at the 2021 Global Gathering of the Wesleyan Covenant Association.
By Krystl D. Gauld –
One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!”
Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked.
The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter” (Acts 10:3-5).
According to Google, “audacious” means showing a willingness to take surprisingly bold risks. Merriam-Webster deems it an adjective, describing a person as intrepidly daring, adventurous, recklessly bold, and contemptuous to laws and decorum. But Luke, the author of the book of Acts, shows us what it means to be audacious.
It begins with the humble yet bold question of a Gentile: “What do you want, Lord?” And it leads to a breakthrough response that ushers in the opportunity for Jews to freely proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to all people of every culture, faith, and demographic.
In Acts 10, we meet Cornelius. The Bible tells us that he was a devout, God-fearing man, as was everyone in his household; but his pious lifestyle wasn’t enough. All of the good deeds he found in his heart to do could not buy him forgiveness and eternal life. It could not beget his freedom in Christ or bring him a forged relationship between him and the Father. Still, by way of messenger, God visits Cornelius in his home and enters in.
Luke also tells a similar story about Jesus and the centurion. Like Cornelius, the man was also a Roman military leader. “Lord, don’t trouble yourself,” the unnamed centurion tells Jesus by way of messengers, “For I do not deserve to have you come under my roof” (Luke 7:6). He says this, even to Jesus, because he knew that Jews didn’t visit the homes of people from other races. What if all of your life you were taught – through tales and practices, traditions and past events – that there was a group of people, a race, or a nation that was better than you and everybody else?
It was no secret. People of other nations understood very well that Jews were God’s chosen people, his favorites. It was widely believed that the Lord was on their side and only their side. It was also believed that certain people – Gentile people – weren’t good enough.
This created an international divide between Jews and non-Jews. It was believed that there were deserving and undeserving groups of people. Us versus them. The chosen versus the inferior. The favored versus the unseen. Those considered clean versus those who were so dirty that there was no cure for their human condition. Yet, at this moment, an angel crosses an interracial threshold to visit this Gentile in his home and calls out to him, “Cornelius!”
God calls out a Gentile! To the Gentile and the unbeliever, God says, I know your name. I know exactly who you are. I know exactly where you are, and I want to come in.
With confidence, we can shout out to the world, “God knows your name. You are not a bother. You are our brothers and sisters. You are not an afterthought. You are on God’s mind.”
With God no one is unreachable. No one is too dirty. No one is unredeemable. God is calling out to those people. He is saying, They may be different, but they are not less than. They are still worthy enough and worth dying for.
God accepts anyone who fears him and wants to do what is right. For any non-believer, foreigner, or stranger willing to turn away from sin and towards Christ, our response should be, “Here I am, Lord, send me to them. You want them reconciled: I am going in.”
What is it that you want, Lord? Some translations describe this as a frightening experience. Yet, Cornelius pushes past his fear and musters the audacity to ask, “What do you want, sir?” An angel responds: “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.” How meaningful it must’ve been for Cornelius to know that the God of the Jews was looking down on his gifts and his offerings.
The author makes it a point to tell us that Cornelius was a captain in the Italian regiment. He was a Roman. That means he was an enemy. Between the Jews and the Romans, there was a deep-rooted history of discord and animosity. By birth, Cornelius was a part of the group of people that had oppressed, mistreated, and persecuted Israel. About fifteen years prior, they participated in a hostile killing of the King of the Jews: our Jesus.
While Greeks, Romans, Jews, and several other people groups lived and mixed, it was only in a functional way. They were not friends. There was underlying hurt and ill sentiments among the nations. Yet, it’s almost as if God tells Cornelius, I see you, Gentile, seeking after me and you are going to find me. You let me in and now I am going to let you in.
God is still the redeemer, even of the Gentiles. The Son is still the man that enters neighborhoods to tell excluded women that he’s seen everything they’ve ever done. Jesus is still asking the lamest of folk, don’t you want to be healed? The Holy Spirit is still converting thousands, reaching the captives, and even our captors.
His spirit is still communicating the Father’s vision to his followers. It’s a vision not for ourselves to create a church that will solely separate us from those who want to compromise Scripture and the faith. But it is a vision that empowers us to “go with the gospel” into places where people who perceive themselves to be our enemies because they are still at odds with God.
We are to come out of our silos of safety and comfortability to permit access to our small groups and sanctuaries. We are to partake in fellowship with those who may have never been our friends before, those that are deviants, considered deplorable, disgusting, scary, and even dirty.
Our faith is about more than a group of people recognizing that God does not favor one nation, one race, or one group of people over another. It is so much bigger than Christ’s church cultivating the courage to love our contenders. It is about Jesus reminding us that he died for all – his friends and his enemies.
This is what the Lord tells Cornelius that he wants: “Send men to Joppa,” the angel says in verse 5, “to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter.”
Peter and Cornelius were on opposite sides of warring races. Still, God summons an audacity within Cornelius. He invites Peter, a Jewish person, to come into his home as if he were his next-door neighbor. This is culturally inappropriate, this is socially scandalous, this is even dangerous. However, this conversation reveals God’s vision for the church.
God is communicating his vision to Cornelius in a language that he would understand, the crossing over into territories, strategically beyond enemy lines, to extend kingdoms by evangelizing people.
God later speaks to Peter in a form that he would understand, hunger. Peter is up on a rooftop to pray. It was about noon, lunchtime, the next day. As Peter is praying, his stomach probably starts to rumble. For Peter, what looked to be a huge blanket contained a feast – an overwhelming presence of every kind of animal, reptile, and bird you could think of (Acts 10:11). God nudges a hungry Peter, to go, kill, and eat.
Yet, Peter objects. The Bible tells us that three times, Peter rejects what the Lord is offering. It was not aligned with tradition, and he was not going to cross that line. Peter did not realize it was God’s broadest and most vibrant vision for the church. He didn’t know that it wasn’t about food but it was about all kinds of people.
God is speaking to his church today in a language we understand: Renewal. Newness. A new and renewed Global Methodist Church. Even still, it is about evangelizing people. Every kind of person. Strategically and practically, that means we are going to have to cross our perceived enemy lines. God is revealing to us our future as a Global Methodist Church. He is showing what he wants. And it should stretch us. It should puzzle us. It should even scare us. It should make us want to say “no,” but through the providence, power, prompting, and pushing of God’s spirit, we can give birth to this new and radical disciple-making movement God has planned for us.
And this movement will not be about our way of life for people; it will be about a way to live everlasting for all people. It will be about the way, the truth, and the life, our Lord, who saves and redeems all people.
It won’t be about traditions and legalisms that create cultural divides and fortify enemy lines. It will be about how Jesus crossed those lines so that the dead could come alive. It will be about how when sin separated us from God, and lines were drawn between us and them, God took it upon himself to cross it: from heaven, Jesus crossed over into earth becoming fully man, while still divine, to carry the fault of our sin. We were at odds as sinners – doomed, dirty, due death, and destined for hell. And he was perfect, absolutely righteous.
He wanted to make things right with us. He carried an old rugged cross to the mount that he was willing to die on for us. He suffered for our transgressions so that truly, today, we can be with him in paradise. It will be a movement about Jesus; how he then went across the true enemy’s threshold into hell, snatching back the keys of death, damnation, and the grave. So that we could be set free from the slavery of our sin, so that we can be found blameless just as he is blameless, and so that we could be made well. It will be about how his resurrected life crossed out condemnation, crossed out a dire debt that we owed that we could never repay.
It crossed out the suffering and sin of those of us that have turned to him. And now we, too, can cross lines that will push back death in parts of the world where people are still hurting, sick, despondent, and in despair. For Jesus, he is our crossover king, our Passover lamb, and the undefeatable cure for our human condition.
Krystl D. Gauld is the Executive Director at Dignity Housing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. An advocate, student, and young adult leader in the church, she is currently working on a Doctor of Theology degree at Evangelical Seminary in Myerstown, Pennsylvania. The Eastern Pennsylvania Annual Conference has twice elected her to serve as a General Conference delegate. Newly married, Krystl lives with her husband Damian Gauld in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. This article is adapted from her address at the Wesleyan Covenant Association’s Global Gathering in April.
In an extremely rare move, the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church has seized the assets of Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church in Marietta amid a fight over who should be its senior pastor.