One Church Plan is 'Formula for Chaos'

January 17, 2019

1:55 PM

LANCASTER, Pa. — The Rev. Joseph F. DiPaolo, a 2019 General Conference delegate, argues that the One Church Plan will merely shift denominational conflict over homosexuality to local churches. He sees other major problems with the plan. “It is a formula for chaos, conflict and accelerated decline,” he writes in an essay posted by the Wesleyan Covenant Association.

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It is all about legitamizing progreessive theology

While appearing to be 'inclusive". Many of the American Bishops who endorse the One Church Plan are progressives who want the church to move in a progressive direction. As other mainline denominations have shown, local options are only the first step in moving the denomination in a progressive direction. And it does not matter that it has been proven time and again that once a church has embraced progressive theology that there are no progressives waiting outside the door to come in and balance the accelerated exodus of traditionals. And if you want proof from within the UMC, just look at the Western Jurisdiction where the election of a lesbian to the post of bishop did nothing to stave off a numerical and financial decline in the area where she was sent to serve. Embracing progressive thinking will not reverse the 50+ years of numerical decline; it will only exacerbate it. And why UMC Bishops persist in being blind to that already established reality is beyond my comprehension.

betsy more than 1 year ago

Amen, Brother DiPaolo.

Anyone who has ever served on a church board will attest to the "minutia ad nauseum" of decision making therein, but the One Church Plan will put it on steroids. Battle lines will be drawn, allegiances established so that every meeting will be a confrontation.
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Exacerbating the turmoil will be the propensity of humans to seek "exceptions". For example, what if the homosexual daughter or son of a significant contributor in a traditional church wants to have their wedding in that traditional church? Would that significant contributor take a simple "no" for an answer? I don't think so... Or, the homosexual bishop wants to "open the hearts and minds" of a traditional church by sending a homosexual pastor there. What could go wrong?
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Do they somehow remove common sense from UMC upper management? Maybe they just exclude it by holding closed meetings...

Reese more than 1 year ago

Notable Quotes

“Part of being in a church is to be with people that you don’t agree with and many of whom you don’t like. As a bishop, I should be the person saying, ‘I’m going to make it as hard as I can for [this division to occur].’”

– Retired Bishop Will Willimon, quoted in the Duke Chronicle, the student newspaper of UMC-related Duke University.

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