New Willimon Book
Retired Bishop Will Willimon, a prolific author, has written a book about the disaffiliation of his "home church," historic Buncombe Street UMC in South Carolina. (South Carolina Advocate Photo)
South Carolina Advocate | July 30, 2025
When he preached at the 175th anniversary of his home church, Bishop Will Willimon had no idea that a group was secretly working to remove the congregation from the denomination that birthed it.
The 2023 disaffiliation of Buncombe Street United Methodist Church from the denomination was a historic moment for United Methodism in South Carolina also instructive and revealing for American church leaders. At least that’s the way Will Willimon sees it. In his new book, “The Church We Carry: Loss, Leadership, and the Future of Our Church,” published this month by Abingdon Press. In the book Willimon tells the story of the disaffiliation of South Carolina Methodism’s historic, second-largest congregation.
In the introduction, Willimon describes the book as, “a memoir, a letter from a jilted lover, an exposé of a church fight, an account of what I learned about the disaffiliation of my well-remembered home congregation, an ecclesial whodunit, a reflection upon the major dynamics within mainline Protestantism today, and an invitation to pastors, lay leaders and members of today’s church to learn from what once happened at my home church as they figure out how to be the church that we bear into the future.”
“'The Church We Carry’ is in part, memoir, in which I show my gratitude for how a large, urban Methodist congregation made me a Christian and then helped sense my call to preach,” Willimon said. “It’s also an account of how a determined small group of laity, unintentionally aided by their cautious clergy, convinced a significant segment of the congregation that their future lay outside United Methodism.”
Willimon spent more than a year interviewing more than 200 laity and clergy, mostly from the congregation, including denominational officials. He also viewed all of the sermons preached at Buncombe Street church during this period, watched the online congregational meetings and read the transcripts of board meetings. Comparing Buncombe Street’s disaffiliation with a number of similar South Carolina congregations that disaffiliated or stayed UMC, he reconstructs the events that led this historic church, founded after a visit by Bishop Francis Asbury, to lead disaffiliations in South Carolina United Methodism.
“I try to depict and account for the multiple stresses and strains that enabled a small group of members to talk a majority of the congregation into leaving the denomination they had generously supported and benefited from over the years,” he said. “This is my home church and a major reason for writing the book are the painful, sometimes angry, testimonies I heard from many friends who felt ostracized by process that led to the vote. Many of them helped to begin Open Hearts UMC. I tell the story of that new congregation too.”
“I hope it will be clear that this book has relevance beyond those of us who love Buncombe Street,” Willimon said. “One reviewer has called my book ‘the only sociological/theological/organizational account we have of a momentous time in American Christianity.’ My intention is to set the Buncombe Street’s disaffiliation in the context of American politics, social tensions, denominational declension, theological/ethical arguments and the continuing work of Jesus Christ with his church.”
Admitting that the story he tells is conflicted, one that some may not want to be told, he said, “The loss of a third of United Methodism’s churches (Buncombe Street being among the most prominent) is a cautionary tale for today’s church leaders. I try to be fair to the parties involved, but more than anything, I try to tell the truth. There was much misinformation and misrepresentation and the response of denominational leadership was inadequate. Many loyal United Methodists were damaged. The congregation made some unfortunate decisions that should have been challenged by those in the ministry of oversight. However, it’s also a story of Christ’s redemptive work among people who are determined to live through and to recover after what went down at my home church.”
Among the places where “The Church We Carry” will be the subject of discussions and presentations this fall are
- Furman University, Greenville, S.C., on Sept. 8 (10:30 a.m. to noon).
- Wofford College, Spartanburg, S.C.,on Sept. 16 (10:30 a.m. to noon).
- The Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, on Sept. 28.
- Washington Street UMC, Columbia, S.C., on Nov. 9 (before and after services).
Jessica Brodie
Jessica Brodie is editor of the South Carolina Advocate, the news publication of the South Carolina Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church. This article is republished with permission.