41 more Texas churches leave United Methodist Church amid schism over homosexuality

Attendees participate in a special called session of The United Methodist Church North Texas Conference on Saturday, March 4, 2023. | Courtesy of the North Texas Conference

Another 41 congregations in Texas have officially left The United Methodist Church in response to the mainline Protestant denomination's ongoing debate over its stance on homosexuality.

The UMC North Texas Annual Conference held a special called session on Saturday in which clergy and lay members voted to approve the disaffiliation votes of 41 congregations that formerly belonged to the regional body.

According to a statement emailed to The Christian Post by a conference spokesperson, the regional body "releases these churches with its full blessing," adding that no churches seeking to leave the UMC were denied dismissal.

"Following the day's vote, more than 230 churches in the North Texas Conference remain committed to the mission and values of The United Methodist Church and will continue to help people grow in their love for God; proclaim new life in Christ; serve others — especially the poor; and pursue mercy and justice so people can live whole lives," the statement reads.

According to the UMC Book of Discipline, the denomination considers homosexuality "incompatible with Christian teaching" and prohibits the blessing of same-sex unions and the ordination of noncelibate homosexual clergy.

Over the past several years, the UMC has been embroiled in a divisive debate over whether to change this official stance, with many progressive leaders in the church outright refusing to enforce the rules.

In January 2020, a theologically diverse group of United Methodists came together to propose a compromise in which the UMC would allocate funds to create a new denomination that congregations who supported the current standards could join while the remaining member congregations would be free to change the Book of Discipline.

A proposal to implement this compromise was originally slated to take place at the UMC General Conference in May 2020. However, the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the event to be postponed.

After the UMC announced the postponement of the General Conference to 2024 in response to ongoing pandemic concerns in March 2022, conservatives within the UMC launched the Global Methodist Church in May.

"It is anticipated that some theologically conservative local churches will find annual conferences willing to negotiate fair and just exit provisions, while others will, unfortunately, face obstacles placed in their paths," the GMC said in a statement at the time.

"The Transitional Leadership Council decided it was time to launch the Global Methodist Church, so those who can leave early will have a place to land, to begin building and growing, and making room for others to join later."

More than 1,800 churches successfully disaffiliated from the UMC last year, according to a report by UM News, with hundreds of those departing congregations being located in the Lone State State.

For example, the Texas Conference lost 294 congregations via special session vote, while the Northwest Texas Conference lost 145 congregations and the Central Texas Conference lost 81.

Some congregations have faced hurdles. Last November, the UMC Arkansas Conference rejected the disaffiliation votes of three churches while approving the disaffiliation of 35 others.

Several churches, including dozens in North Carolina and Florida, filed lawsuits against their regional bodies. Thirty-eight churches have accused the United Methodist Church's Western North Carolina Conference of "holding their church buildings and property hostage" by enforcing a trust on their properties that they consider "a financial ransom."

Bishop Ken Carter issued a letter contending that the litigation was unnecessary, saying 41 other churches have followed the disaffiliation process.

Last June, over 100 congregations filed a lawsuit against the UMC Florida Annual Conference for requiring them to pay a "sum of money" to retain control of their properties. The total, the lawsuit claims, "is determined in the discretion of the aforementioned parties, and is always substantial and often prohibitive, yet nonnegotiable and unappealable."

Bishop Carter, who also served as bishop of the Florida Conference from 2012-2022, wrote in an open letter that he was grieved by the lawsuit and claimed that the conference tried to "engage those churches in that process but they have refused to follow that process choosing to file this lawsuit instead." He warned that abrupt separation could "damage benefits and pensions for retired pastors and their spouses who devoted their lives to service."

A proposal to implement this compromise was originally slated to take place at the UMC General Conference in May 2020. However, the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the event to be postponed.

What the report doesn’t say is that all the progressive and moderate participants withdrew their support for the Protocol for Separation at the same time the UMC hierarchy pushed back the GC to 2024 for the specific purpose of making sure African delegates who would have voted for separation couldn’t vote until after their terms expired. It was bald-faced deception and lies. THAT’s why the Wesleyan Covenant Association elected to move forward with the GMC - because of the repeated and open flouting of the very Book of Discipline the UMC leadership swore before God to uphold. It was less the human sexuality angle than the utter arrogance of the leadership.

My oldest sister is a music director for a Methodist Church in the DFW area. They have really struggled through the years, many people left because of bad ministers, and then the pandemic did a number on attendance which they have yet to fully recover. They then voted to be a "reconciling church" which according to a website is, "committed to intersectional justice across and beyond the United Methodist connection, working for the full participation of all LGBTQ+ people throughout the life and leadership of the Church."

They are staying for now, but the church is now on the ropes. Leadership has given them two options: merge with a larger congregation, or shut down.

My sister, a former teacher and super compassionate progressive, can't seem to understand that love for an individual does not mean making them comfortable in their sin. And someone in open rebellion, has no business in church or even religious leadership. Its a fine line, since all Believers were once sinners. But we come to Christ and leave our old life behind. There are plenty of testimonies from the LGBT world of folks who were Born Again, and left that lifestyle behind - set free by Jesus. That should be the goal.

I pray for them all, because I see the pain being caused, the broken relationships, and even some young Believers being made scapegoats for the failure of this church. One, my nephew's wife, a young mother of two, kept their books for peanuts. The leadership accused her falsely, so she resigned. And like many young folks, will likely not return any time soon. I had a similar story in my youth, allowed older bullies to chase me away. I foolishly stopped attending Sunday school and youth events all through high school because of this.

It all comes down to who is in charge. These religious groups continue to put men and women in charge, and not Believers. Jesus is the HEAD and only Head of the Body. He needs to be firmly in charge. And the folks in leadership better be led by the Spirit.

I've been away from the UMC for some time. But it was a big part of my life, and my family going back to my circuit riding grandfather. I do not wish it to fail. But every church/denomination will eventually fail where Jesus is not in charge.

There was a prophetic word spoken several decades ago about turmoil coming to churches, with many fading and shutting down almost overnight. But new churches committed to the Word rising just as fast. I think that time is upon us.

Tuesday night, I went to Epworth UMC in Phenix City, Alabama to vote yes on disaffiliation from the United Methodist Church. All professing members of the congregation could vote if they came in person, showed an ID, and signed in. The ballots were counted in front of the assembled faithful. A 2/3rds yes vote was required for disaffiliation. The vote went 190 yes and five voted no. Apparently, the LGBTQP momentum is facing some push back in Alabama. This was a defeat for the church leadership that mirrors shallow trendy thinking and a victory for those who believe in the veracity of scripture.

Count me and my family in those numbers, except we left around 2005. We used to attend a small UMC that was fairly conservative. Subscribed to the Wesleyan Advocate and saw the writing on the wall with the push from California and the Northeast for inclusion. Hubby refused to support any denomination that allowed for perversions and voted with his feet, even though our parents, grandparents, and great grandparents had been members of the Methodist denomination. He was right (as usual) when he said that Satan had taken over the hierarchy.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.