It IS a big deal. Once they "officially" change their stance, they will be able to "officially" persecute those who disagree with the heretical views that are incorporated into their policy.
Not ALL Methodists are pro-sodomy leftists. Our resident retired Army Chaplain is an example.
I am also a conservative Methodist...My church is in Texas so it does not promote the lib pronouncements.
They are not doctrine..
The Discipline is what matters and that is what I pray they fail to change.
Perhaps for outsiders it isn't a big deal, but for insiders it is. Conservatives have fought this for years, and they've succeeded for years. I have an email sent from Good News, a renewal group in our denomination, detailing their understanding of where this will go at the next general conference.
Most don't understand our governance and policy making in the UMC. We have only 1 meeting ever 4 years for about 10 days at which ANY official rulings, changes, or policies can be changed, dropped, or added. That is why things move so incredibly slowly in the UMC.
People will point to bishops who say this, agencies who say that, but what they don't realize is that those folks speak for themselves and not for the denomination. The ONLY body that speaks for the denomination is that once every 4 years General Conference. Obviously, I don't agree with the liberal bishops or agency heads, but it is absolutely true that they don't speak for the denomination. If they did, gay marriage would have been approved a decade ago.
How did these shameful people get into positions of leadership? The same way leftists do in most hierarchies. They lied about themselves in the 50's and 60's, and when they ascended they appointed like-minded derelicts to position. All kept themselves somewhat secret until the last 2 or 3 decades. So, they have control of the hierarchical offices for the most part, and faithful pastors and people have control of the majority of churches, particularly south of the Mason Dixon and overseas.
The bottom line is that this same sex marriage is between two homosexuals, neither of which is a pastor in the UMC. The one pastor did resign. It surprises me a bit, since Michigan is a blue state, that he didn't expect support from the heretic caucus.
For the record, saying that so and so should fire so and so is easy for them to say, but the rules of evidence and conviction in a church trial in the UMC are virtually the same as in our civil courts. IOW, unless you have videotape of someone actually ENGAGING in homosexuality, you can't prove it. And even words of support from their mouths can be recanted or claimed to be misunderstood.
My personal prayer is for a denominational split.
See #44
I am referring to only the UMC, and similar apostate groups.
In fact, any group which ordains women is well on its way to the same fate.