Posted on 12/06/2022 10:56:44 AM PST by SeekAndFind
More than 400 congregations in Texas have voted to leave The United Methodist Church amid the mainline Protestant denomination's ongoing schism over LGBT issues.
Over the weekend, UMC regional bodies in Texas voted to approve the disaffiliation votes of hundreds of churches, with most planning to join the recently created Global Methodist Church.
The total number of departing congregations includes 294 of the 598 churches belonging to the Houston-based Central Texas Conference and 145 of the 201 churches belonging to the Lubbock-based Northwest Texas Conference, reported The Dallas Morning News.
The departing congregations constitute nearly half of all UMC congregations in Texas and are in addition to hundreds of churches in other states that have had their departures affirmed by their regional bodies.
The UMC has faced a divisive debate over its official stance on homosexuality, as laid out in its Book of Discipline, which prohibits the blessing of same-sex unions and bars the ordination of noncelibate homosexuals.
Although theological liberals have failed to change the official stance, many leaders have refused to enforce or follow the rules, leading to much frustration among theological conservatives.
An example is the election of the Rev. Karen Oliveto as bishop of the UMC Mountain Sky Area. While Oliveto is in a same-sex marriage and had her election declared invalid by the United Methodist Judicial Council in 2017, as of this month, she remains in office.
Mark Tooley, head of the theologically conservative Institute on Religion & Democracy, put the tally of churches that have left the UMC in recent months to over 1,300 in a recent piece, with more expected.
"By the end of next year (the deadline for exiting with church property), at least 3,000 and possibly 5,000 churches are expected to exit," wrote Tooley the day before the Texas conferences finalized the churches' departure.
"Denominational agencies are preparing for a 38 percent drop in funding for 2025-2028, which implies an approximate expected membership loss of 2.3 million members from the nearly 6.3 million the denomination had in the United States in 2020. That is not a minor exodus."
The Rev. Nathan Lonsdale Bledsoe, the senior pastor of St. Stephen's United Methodist Church of Houston, told The Texas Tribune he believed the departures reflect the overall divisiveness in the United States.
"It parallels this moment in the broader world," said Bledsoe, whose congregation plans to remain with the UMC. "It's a hard time to bring people together. We really reflect the brokenness of the culture and the world."
In May, the GMC was officially launched to serve as a theologically conservative alternative to the UMC, with many United Methodist congregations deciding to join the new denomination.
Last month, the UMC North Carolina Conference held a special session to officially approve the disaffiliation votes of 249 congregations, nearly a third of the conference's member churches.
"The future is bright, especially because God has something to do with it," said North Carolina Bishop Leonard E. Fairley in a statement. "We know the end of this story because of who Jesus Christ is. May you hold each other dear regardless of what we voted on here. Hold each other dear in your prayers."
I’m surprised it took so long. The UMC went woke years ago.
The people of God have no business consorting with the people of the flesh. They are doing the right thing.
What part of Leviticus 18:22 and Romans 1: 13 does the UMC not understand ?
“ It is interesting how uninformed they are of their own scripture, ”
Most main stream churches these days cite little scripture.
I go to a church that isn’t afraid to preach the full Bible. All of it.
Amen
There were a lot of good pastors. There still are some. However, the rot at the top has worked its way down. I think it’s a mixed bag today among pastors. Congregations themselves is another topic.
Frankly, I hope almost every Methodist switches to the Global Methodist Church, leaving the liberal leadership and pastors high and dry. They can serve Government as social workers.
Yep, I remember my local Methodist church putting up pink triangles and rainbows on the church sign with a big “ALL ARE WELCOME” in about 1990.
RE: What part of Leviticus 18:22 and Romans 1: 13 does the UMC not understand ?
Oh, they understand these verses, they just choose to “interpret” and “understand” them differently in light of modern times.
UMC going into the Episcopalian toilet?
RE: I remember my local Methodist church putting up pink triangles and rainbows on the church sign with a big “ALL ARE WELCOME” in about 1990.
Why not just have the sign “ALL ARE WELCOME” without the pink triangles and rainbows?
Well, I think they were particularly interested in rolling out the welcome mat to a certain type of person, at least that’s the way I read it.
I guarantee the congregations leaving have many more regularly attending members than the apostates do.
I think they just think the Bible is wrong and God is a bigot, so they need another god which they can still call God, but approves of sin and going to hell instead of being so uninclusive.
Romans 1;27
All are Welcome, and All Lives Matter!
In the same way MOST churches comport...they don’t ask their members and congregation to actually read the bible, but instead, they provide them reading/worship materials with THEIR interpretation of the scripture listed!
It’s ridiculous, how EVIL many churches and congregations have become!
When the Commandment “Do not use thy Lord’s name in vain” is judged against the world, many entire congregations and “feel-good” religious leaders will be mightily surprised they have been cast out, while the guy who occasionally uttered the phrase “G** D***”, may very well be moving to the higher ground!! There is NONE who uses the Lord’s name in vain, more so than those who warp and eschew the Lord’s word and guidance for His people, just for their own worldly benefit!!
“What part of Leviticus 18:22 and Romans 1: 13 does the UMC not understand ?”
Pretty much most of the bible.
The media likes to hype the split as an LBGTQ issue, but its much broader. Primarily, its due to UMC’s adoption of progressive theology (which includes the LBGTQ issues), and its desire to be all inclusive (”big tent”), which is a significant departure from Wesleyan principals upon which Methodism is founded. Other criticisms include a top down structure that minimizes influence from the congregations, and a lack of discipline among the UMC leadership to hold UMC teachers and laypersons accountable.
So far, about 50% of the churches have voted to leave in some regions, while in other regions of the country church votes to disaffiliate are being blocked (the last step for a congregation to disaffiliate requires approval of the UMC leadership at regional conferences).
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