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As someone who was kicked out of a UMC church over a decade ago, I can't say loud enough how proud I am of you, your local church, so many other Methodist churches, and even the one that had kicked me out. I married into that church and didn't have multiple generations of my family attending the church like many of my fellow Methodists did. I'm well aware of how to people trying to implement a necessary reform, it feels more like you're going against the grain if you're in a multi-generational church setting like that and have a lot to lose by making too many waves. I say that as a compliment to Methodists like you who bucked the trend, much like Wesley himself did when he was part of the Holiness Movement.

I was kicked out when I learned that part of our general fund went to abortion lobbyists since the 1970's. When I learned of it, the General Board of Church and Society (the political lobby arm of the UMC) was starting to push the gay thing too. At first I thought the gay thing was a distraction meant to undo the efforts of the North Alabama conference leaders at the Miami general meeting (the Alabamians were a loud voice to disband the GBCS and the UMC's and GBCS's abortion efforts). So I was focused on the abortion element. Over about 6 months I asked too many questions with my local pastor, the retired pastor, and the elders in my church (I was in my 40's) and they told me to quit volunteering, to just show up on Sunday morning, attend service, and leave. I was in no way disruptive to the services; my discussions were at appointment times with the pastor and with pulling elders to the side for private conversations when we'd gather to eat and such. Yet their devotion to Moloch was too much to let a pro-lifer like me every now and then ask why our offing plate money paid to lobby that even pro-lifers financially support their employees' abortions. People like me were no longer allowed to lead men's Sunday school classes and lead children's church and volunteer at most youth services, even though I never brought it up in those settings. I just kept pushing mainly faith in Jesus, being humble in believing we're saved by grace, reading the Bible on our own, and being grateful enough to live it like we mean it (mirroring John Wesley's holiness teachings). So I quit attending and found another church that realizes Christianity is a participation sport, not a spectator sport.

I went back to the Methodist building one Monday evening for a Boy Scout event and was yelled at by the pastor. I asked him to take our discussion to his office on the other side of the building away from the scouts. While he yelled at me I didn't yell back, just calmly asked him how I should have handled things differently after I learned our offering plate money funded hedonism. He never admitted I was right. But eventually he cried, and asked me why I didn't stay with the church when it needed reform. I calmly told him he removed whatever influence I had with teaching people to live holy lives, and he made it clear reform at the higher levels (where the money was managed) wasn't going anywhere. But I could tell even while he was mad that he was a good man in an ugly situation. I believe some hedonist devout Democrats in our church threatened to make up a stink to mess up the pension he was expecting in his soon retirement. I'm not saying he was in the right. Just saying I respect that even a righteous man can be tempted to join dark forces when others grip you by the financial gonads. While crying, ye yelled at me to "walk out that door and never come back". I left and didn't go back into those church buildings until years later after he left. And even since then I've been there only a few times for things like funerals. I didn't have to say anything about the funding going to abortion and the push for gay. Everybody at the funerals knew and I knew without us having to say it. And I was hugged warmly by all but the devout Dims. I was especially hugged by the "kids" I remember from the years of children's church and youth group who are now adults.

A few months ago my neighbor, who still goes to that church, told me I'd be proud of the young adults who were the main push to get that local church out of the hedonistic UMC and into the GMC. He's 100% right. I am very proud!