Officially or Unofficially, Church Will Separate

October 11, 2018

11:14 AM

Sept. 28, 2018 | UMNS

I write this commentary inspired by the Holy Spirit, with the love of Jesus Christ and for the sake of God’s Kingdom.

Since the beginning of the Wesleyan Movement we, as faithful United Methodists, have shared the same values. These values have been the driving force behind all that is good in our denomination. These values have been the glue that has held us together.

Thomas Bowsher

The Rev. Thomas Bowsher

We have valued our Christian roots and our Wesleyan heritage. We have valued the historical creeds and John Wesley’s sermons. We have valued the doctrine of the Trinity and justification by faith. We have valued our theological understandings and our Social Principles. We have valued our understanding of grace, as well as of love of God and neighbor. We have valued the unity of the body of Christ and our distinct witness to the world.

These are historical values we have all shared as a denomination. These are values that we have held dear to us and have put into action as expressions of our faith.

I firmly believe that we all still share these values; however, with the passage of time, our understanding of some of these values has changed. This is apparent with what has resulted from the issues revolving around human sexuality and how to be in ministry with LGBTQ people, which has led to the rapidly approaching special General Conference in February of 2019.

As we all know we are at one of the most, if not the most, significant crossroads throughout our history. It is imperative that we own the reality in which we are in and stop deceiving ourselves.

The deception:

We are deceiving ourselves if we believe we are not already divided. The reality is that we are not of one mind any longer. Individuals, clergy, congregations, conferences, bishops and outside groups have dug in their heels and sincerely believe they are right and others are wrong. They are working diligently to influence and promote their positions. An enormous amount of time, energy and money is going toward winning the denomination.
We are deceiving ourselves when we do not acknowledge our fundamental, distinct and unchangeable differences with regard to understanding of Scripture. The issue is not about human sexuality, nor is it about love. This is the key to our current state of affairs and our differences on Scripture are unwavering.
We are deceiving ourselves if we believe that any of the three petitions coming from the Commission on a Way Forward will bring unity to the denomination. The One Church Plan will ostracize those who support the current church policies on homosexuality. The Traditional Plan will ostracize those who support same-sex marriage and ordination of gay clergy. The Connectional Conference Plan could ostracize both. If any of the plans are accepted, the debate will linger on and we will be addressing the issues again in 2020 and beyond.
We are deceiving ourselves if we believe that maintaining unity as a denomination is the same as unity in the body of Christ. We are not biblically commanded to maintain unity as an organization. However, we are called to be in unity as brothers and sisters in Christ.
We are deceiving ourselves if we believe that any of these petitions will somehow maintain or improve on our witness to the world. The fighting will escalate. The lawsuits will be incalculable. The losses in membership/attendance to the denomination will be significant. The financial hardship will be challenging.

We are divided, and none of the petitions submitted by the Commission on a Way Forward can reconcile this. No amount of persuasion, influence, conversation or money will reconcile the divide. We will separate, whether officially or unofficially.

If we have any respect for the legacy of The United Methodist Church, it would be wise and prudent for us to own this reality. It would be in the best interest of our witness to the world to lovingly encourage and support a plan for amicable separation.

I encourage everyone who reads this to step up on the balcony and survey the climate. I ask that you prayerfully consider the reality we are in. I ask you to stand together this one last time, as a people called United Methodists, to be a loving witness to the world.

The Rev. Thomas Bowsher lives in Milbank, South Dakota, and is an ordained elder in the Dakotas Annual Conference.

Comments (6)

Comment Feed

How infirm a foundation

There are thousands of Christian denominations which more less use the same Bible, yet can have radically different beliefs. I am sure they all feel supported by scripture, but obviously, that cannot be the case. The Bible is large enough to have conflicting verses and it is easy to pick and choose those passages that suit your purpose.

David more than 7 years ago

So agree

Rev. Bowsher, this is an excellent article that truly reflects where the UMC is currently. You are so right that nothing can heal this divide except amicable separation. In reality, when the Wesleyan Church split everyone survived, when the Nazarene's left everyone survived. All will survive and perhaps the Wesleyan witness will be strengthened. With nastiness no one wins.

Jeff more than 7 years ago

Separation is Needed

I agree with the author, unofficially we are already divided/separated. The progressives depend upon social justice issues for their “worship”. Whereas we non-progressives still believe that the Bible is the true word of God, and we want to make it the focus of our worship. The LGBT issue was simply the straw that broke the camel’s back. As a church, we have not been united for a long time and our differences are too broad and deep to think that they can be reconciled by any of the plans being put before the GC19. I agree with Jeff, instead of discussing, bickering, etc over these plans, their time would be better spent discussing the terms of amicable separation.

Your loving Brother in Christ,
Steve

Steve more than 7 years ago

The Bible says next to nothing

...about human sexuality, and what it does say is irrational, like for instance the provision that menstruating women have to be considered "unclean" and live separately from their families. This is certainly not about The Bible in so many ways. It is about the prejudices of the antigay contingent who seek to weaponize their hatred. If they leave, good riddance. It'd be better to not listen to their carping. But they should leave without any of their assets and depend on funding from right-wing dark money just like the rest of the Religious Right do.

George Nixon Shuler more than 7 years ago

Dear George

What a bitter uncaring spirit you exhibit for those who believe different than you. While many traditionalists are willing to let so-called “Progressive” congregations leave with their assets so long as they pay they share of any pension funding obligations, you want to kick out the majority of United Methodists to the curb with their properties. How do you propose the minority of Our current denomination centered mainly in the dwindling Western and N. E. Conferences pay for upkeep of all those properties you and your ilk wish to rip from those of us who disagree with you on spiritual matters. I love how “Progressives” are so very tolerant except towards those with whom they disagree. God bless you and I wish you success on your faith journey. Just a pity you can’t do the same for those who read Scripture differently than you.

John more than 7 years ago

Really?

“They should leave without any of their assets. . . “. How very Christian of you. With an attitude like that I am sure the new Progressive church will go far.

Actually, when I call for separation, it is my expectation that it will be the progressives who need to leave as I fully expect them to be in the minority. Should the progressives leave without any of their assets and depend upon George Soros?

Steve more than 7 years ago