Joining with the many others speaking about their hope for the future of The United Methodist Church as the special called session of General Conference draws near, a group of John Wesley Fellows has issued the statement below. Speaking for the group Drs. Rebekah Miles and Steve Harper said, "We want to express our appreciation for the work of The Way Forward Commission and The Council of Bishops, and voice our support for The One Church Plan."
Here is their statement...
A Statement of Support for the One Church Plan by a Group of John Wesley Fellows
As the called session of General Conference in St. Louis draws near, we want to register our support of the One Church Plan. We do not speak officially for A Foundation for Theological Education, nor do we claim to represent the entirety of the John Wesley Fellowship.
Rather, we speak as a group of Fellows who wish to state our affirmation of the One Church Plan as the overall best design for the future of The United Methodist Church. We do so particularly opposing the expressed or implied bent toward schism or dissolution that some are voicing. And we also do not agree with the way some are using words like biblical, orthodox, and Wesleyan to make their case, instead believing there are other legitimate ways to speak of them.
In supporting the One Church Plan, we recognize that it is not perfect, but it gives us a spacious and generous place to stand as we move into the future, and as we continue the work to better incarnate Wesley's admonition to "do no harm" toward any individual or group of people.
We join with everyone in praying for the General Conference session in February, and we do so with the hope that the institutional unity of The United Methodist Church will be preserved through the implementation of the One Church Plan.
Signers (as of January 8, 2019) listed in order of selection for membership in the Society of John Wesley Scholars
Steve Harper 1977
Paul Chilcote 1979
Dan G. Johnson 1981
Mark Abbott 1983
Michael G. Cartwright 1985
L. Dan Hawk 1985
Alan Padgett 1986
Priscilla Pope-Levison 1986
D. Stephen Long 1988
Rebekah Miles 1988
K. K. Yeo 1990
Kenda Creasy Dean 1991
Lester Ruth 1991
Brent Laytham 1993
Elaine Heath 1998
Jason Byassee 1999
Charlie Collier 2000
Roger Owens 2001
Joel Marcus LeMon 2003
Kristin S. Oh 2004
Melanie Dobson 2007
Stephen S. Cady 2010
Zhenya Gurina Rodriguez 2012
Amy Valdez Barker 2012
Natalya Cherry 2013
Collin Mueller 2014
Maureen Knudsen Langdoc 2015