1 million United Methodists Exit in 1 day!

Christian Post ^ | 06/03/2024 | Mark Tooley

[SeekAndFind]

United Methodism’s largest overseas jurisdiction has voted to quit the denomination in response to the church’s divorcing sex from marriage at its governing General Conference earlier this month.

The United Methodist Church in the Ivory Coast voted on May 28 to exit the denomination. In 2022, this conference reportedly had over 1.2 million members. So, its departure means over one tenth of United Methodism has in one day left the denomination. Oddly, United Methodist News Service reported the vote very briefly in an emailed news digest but as of today has no article on its website. Perhaps it will post a fuller account later.

A European website, La Croix International, offers a fuller account:

“For reasons of conscience before God and His word, the supreme authority in matters of faith and life,” the annual conference of the United Methodist Church of Ivory Coast (EMUCI, Eglise Méthodiste Unie Côte d’Ivoire), gathered for an extraordinary session on May 28 in Abidjan, and decided “to leave the United Methodist Church denomination.”

The Ivorian United Methodists said United Methodism “deviates from the Holy Scriptures” and prefers “to sacrifice its honor and integrity to honor the LGBTQ community.”

La Croix International quoted Bishop Benjamin Boni saying “the United Methodist Church now rests on socio-cultural values that have consumed its doctrinal and disciplinary integrity.”

Here’s the text of the Ivorian resolution.

Amazingly, as shared in this video, the decision-making process for the Ivorian Methodists transpired over only a couple of weeks after the United Methodist General Conference concluded on May 3 in Charlotte, North Carolina. At that General Conference, delegates removed the church’s longtime stance that sex is only for marriage between husband and wife. Adultery and extramarital sex were removed as chargeable offenses for clergy, along with homosexual behavior.

The quickness of the Ivorian exit may inspire other United Methodist regions in Africa to act likewise. United Methodism in Africa is overwhelmingly conservative and displeased with United Methodism’s new direction set by the recent General Conference. African delegates at the General Conference were widely ignored and already underrepresented, thanks to an unfair representation formula. Plus, over 70-90 delegates, at least one quarter, and perhaps one-third, failed to get U.S. visas.

Some African delegates unsuccessfully urged the General Conference to establish a process for their exit, as there had been for U.S. churches 2019-2023. But unlike in the U.S., most African nations don’t have clear laws giving the denomination clear ownership of church buildings. If an entire overseas conference votes to exit, there’s little to nothing that U.S.-based church officials can do.

Ivorian Methodism is different from United Methodism elsewhere in Africa because it originated with British Methodism. It gained independence in the 1980s and joined United Methodism in 2004. Now it returns to its previous independence.

There are between 7 million and over 4 million United Methodists in Africa. In 2022, United Methodism reported nearly 7 million members in Africa, where the church often grows by several hundred thousand members annually. This number included 1.3 million in Ivory Coast. But now United Methodism reports 4.6 million members overseas with no explanation of the discrepancy. The recent United Methodist News Service report about Ivory Coast’s exit assigns it one million members.

United Methodism now reports 5.4 million members in the U.S., presumably based on 2022 figures. It does not include the full impact of 7,700 exiting churches, which combined with closed churches, included 1.5 million church members. U.S. membership is now likely close to 4 million, with Africans outnumbering Americans.

But likely not for very long, as the impact of the dramatic General Conference liberalization sinks into African churches. Ivory Coast’s example will be instructive for many others. In five years, very probably nearly all of Africa will have exited United Methodism, leaving a rump church of perhaps several million U.S. members.

U.S. progressives at the General Conference were celebratory about their huge victories, even as they approved massive budget cuts reflecting the United Methodist membership decline.

Maybe they should recall Winston Churchill’s warning after the Munich agreement: “And do not suppose that this is the end. This is only the beginning of the reckoning. This is only the first sip, the first foretaste of a bitter cup which will be proffered to us year by year unless by a supreme recovery of moral health and martial vigour…”

Only divine intervention could restore United Methodism to moral health and martial vigor. In the new age of post-denominational America, likely United Methodism, with other denominations, will not meaningfully exist as a national body in 10 years. But Methodism in Africa, in whatever format, will continue to thrive.

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Originally published at Juicy Ecumenism.

[MIchaelTArchangel]

That church seems to have split into the UNITED portion and the UNTIED portion.

[Scrambler Bob]

I guess that is the Rapture.

Oops, I am still here posting.

[Songcraft]

:-)

(Some of them also probably became the "Un-Methodists".)

[Maris Crane]

I have noticed that any title of an organization that has the word “UNITED” is usually Socialist/Communist.

[Dilbert San Diego]

African Methodists do not want to embrace homosexuality?

[cowboyusa]

WE are not, but the Cold War is being fought here now.

[Ciexyz]

I’ve followed this issue closely over the past several years. The American delegates and the churches that sent them to the conference knew full well that their vote would cause a split by the African churches and they did not care, they’re willing to let them leave the international church body as long as their beloved human rights issue is passed and implemented. Ditto for United Methodist congregations in the US, the official national church body is willing to let dissenting congregations disaffiliate because the churches that remain are proudly offering themselves as sanctuary churches. My relatives’ congregation left and got to take their church building with them.

[TexasFreeper2009]

I now call the Methodist church the Church of Latter-Day Sodomites.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: I have noticed that any title of an organization that has the word “UNITED” is usually Socialist/Communist

How about the UNITED States of America?? 😆 😝

[Maris Crane]

That is NOT an Organization.

[SaveFerris]

[United Methodism “deviates from the Holy Scriptures” and prefers “to sacrifice its honor and integrity to honor the LGBTQ community.”]

Godspeed to those who walked away - they had no choice

Anyone who doesn't believe that we're in the Days of Lot, as prophesied in Luke chapter 17, isn't paying attention.

The hour is very, very late indeed. There's not much time to freely share the Word of God and the opportunities are already closing.



--------------------------------

Genesis 19:27-28 KJV

27 And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord:

28 And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+19%3A27-28&version=KJV

[can't find the door]

Genesis 19:1-11 - New King James Version

Sodom’s Depravity

1 Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground.

2 And he said, “Here now, my lords, please turn in to your servant’s house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.”

And they said, “No, but we will spend the night in the open square.”

3 But he insisted strongly; so they turned in to him and entered his house. Then he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

4 Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house.

5 And they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally.”

6 So Lot went out to them through the doorway, shut the door behind him,

7 and said, “Please, my brethren, do not do so wickedly!

8 See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, since this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof.”

9 And they said, “Stand back!” Then they said, “This one came in to stay here, and he keeps acting as a judge; now we will deal worse with you than with them.” So they pressed hard against the man Lot, and came near to break down the door.

10 But the men reached out their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door.

11 And they struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they became weary trying to find the door.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+19%3A1-11&version=NKJV

[Lou Foxwell]

The blind arrogance of Bishops in Methodism has brought this venerable institution of faith in the eternal God to its knees in obedience to Satan, ruler of men and deceiver of women. The feminized UMC lies prostrate before the ruler of this world. The church has accepted the offer made by Satan which Christ rejected. They have won the world but lost their immortal souls. Nor does this matter to them since the world is their prize and not eternal joy with the Lord.

[Cronos]

Any news from the inside?

[Cronos]

I'm going to guess that a large chunk of the weekly attendance was from Ivory Coast Christians

[Cronos]

[SaveFerris]

Yep - I think it’s been helped along by do many “believing” in Barack and his abomination of the White House on June 26, 2015.

The downward slide of America since 2008 is breathtaking and alarming.

The god of this world 🌍🌎🌏 is working overtime.

The attacks are on all fronts.

✝️🙏🛐

[xzins]

In my view, the umc has had its candle stick removed. The recent denominational gathering removed all homosexuality prohibitions, AND it removed the prohibitions on fornication, adultery, and polygamy. They truly are a thyatira, if they’re any church at all.

[Rlsau1]

People need to understand the motivation of the lefties vis-a-vis the Protestant denominations. It was never about diversity, inclusion, gay rights, etc. It has always been about the destruction of the church.

Here it is, and they told us what they intended to do in advance.

www.ethanallen.org/45_communist_goals_from_58_years_ago

[AppyPappy]

Any time a church “centralizes”, it liberalizes. It’s just the natural tendency for the people who come to work at the central office.