Clergywoman’s Book Describes Cronyism, Bullying, Nepotism in Ordination Process

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A United Methodist Insight Exclusive

Copyright 2022

When the Rev. Beth Caulfield answered God’s call to ordained ministry, she expected to become a United Methodist elder. Instead, she has become a whistleblower, shining a light into an ordination process and workplace that she found marked by nepotism, cronyism, bullying and sexism.

Rev. Caulfield’s new book, "People Throw Rocks At Things That Shine: A Clergy Whistleblower’s Journey," documents her experience in the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference as a provisional elder seeking full ordination. The title comes from a French proverb roughly translated as "people throw rocks at trees that bear fruit." The actual wording came from a Taylor Swift song.

"People come against others out of their own insecurities; jealously and narcissisms fuel cruelty," Rev. Caulfield said. "That’s what we’ve experienced in the Greater New Jersey Conference."

In a telephone interview with United Methodist Insight, Rev. Caulfield described some of her experience going from being a rising star in the conference to becoming a pariah relegated to low-paying, incompatible appointments. She said she wrote the book "to be a blessing and an agent of change for those suffering in silence."

"It really came down to: if I don’t tell my story, who will?" she told Insight.

Overall, she said, her book is about "many forms of power abuse, including undermining the ministry of clergy" which is a chargeable offense in the Book of Discipline. In what many would see as a risky approach, she names specific Greater New Jersey leaders including Bishop John Schol as responsible for the incidents she cites.

United Methodist Insight invited Bishop Schol to respond to the book. His response and that of other Greater New Jersey leaders can be read here.

Rev. Caulfield said she devoted months of research and interviews to crafting her story. One of those who have endorsed her book is the Rev. Dr. Rob Nelson, chair of Associates in Advocacy, an organization of volunteers who accompany those brought up on charges in The United Methodist Church. Dr. Nelson comments: “This book reveals truth, a frustrating truth about a system needing repair. It should be required reading for ALL Candidates for Ministry.”

Rev. Caulfield said, "A number of those injustices [cited in the book] are chargeable, but because of our system there’s more danger in filing a charge than sucking it up."

Among the injustices she lists in the book are:

  • Nepotism,
  • Patriarchy in the abuse of female clergy;
  • Cronyism;
  • Manipulation of laity and clergy by conference leaders;
  • Ignoring UMC policy, from failing to consult clergy in advance about appointments to refusing to mandate basic sexual ethics training for clergy, among other infractions.

Business background

Rev. Caulfield said she felt called into ordained ministry after 10 years in the business world, primarily in human resources management.

"I started in full-time ministry as a layperson in the local church in a parachurch organization, Community Bible Study International," she said. "I taught first in Paris, France, where we moved because of my husband's work. When we moved back to New Jersey I started Bible study programs in my local church and in two prisons.

"I went to Drew (Theological School) on a full scholarship, earned a master of divinity degree and received two prestigious awards, The awards I received at Drew were the Hoyt Hickman Award for Liturgical Excellence from the Order of Saint Luke and the Chalice Press Book Award for Outstanding Achievement."

Rev. Caulfield became a provisional elder in 2013, serving six months in a local church appointment before being recruited to join Bishop Schol's staff.

"I served three years with distinction, receiving both praise and gratitude," she said. "During my time as provisional elder I gathered lots of fruit for Christ in both the local church and the annual conference."

The first time she was turned down for ordination as an elder in full connection, she said it took her a while to understand that jealousy and resentment played roles in her rejection.

"The sermon I recorded for the Board of Ordained Ministry was one that received a standing ovation when I preached it at church," Rev. Caulfield said. "The sermon included a reference to the 'Hunger Games' series."

That year when she went on a retreat with the ordained ministry board, she said, the leader of the interview team, who a few months later was named board chairman, teased her that the event was the church's "Hunger Games" to weed out candidates.

Second rejection

The second time she was rejected for ordination, she said she believes the move came directly from Bishop Schol's anger at her for supporting her close friend and clergy colleague, the Rev. Jisun Kwak, a former district superintendent, in the wake of allegations that included financial impropriety. These allegations were made through a complaint filed against Rev. Kwak by the Greater New Jersey cabinet three weeks before the 2016 Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference in which Rev. Kwak was a candidate for bishop. Rev. Kwak found her campaign was derailed by the complaint. The case eventually went to trial where she was acquitted of all charges and counts.

Rev. Caulfield said she believed her support for Rev. Kwak also affected her second ordination review. She writes that the review was so obviously unjust that members of the Board of Ordained Ministry were upset by it.

“Cabinet members took charge of the second interview retreat regarding me," Rev. Caulfield told Insight. "They bullied me and twisted my words to the point that Board of Ordained Ministry members were disturbed at their behavior, but they couldn't say anything because it was too risky."

Within weeks of her second ordination interview, Rev. Caulfield said she was pushed out of the bishop’s staff and sent on increasingly difficult appointments with declining income.

"As a result of my treatment I refused to go before the BOOM anymore," she said. "I continued to endure until I resigned my position in 2021, when I began to work to free myself and others from the system of abuse."

Traditional theology a factor

In her book, Rev. Caulfield asserts that her traditional theology also incited the abuse she endured in Greater New Jersey. She documents episodes in which conference leadership aggressively pursued ordination and marriage of LGBTQ persons while she advocated for theologically traditional stances.

Rev. Caulfield is president of the Greater New Jersey chapter of the Wesleyan Covenant Association and serves on its global council. She advocates in the book for adoption of the Protocol for Reconciliation and Grace through Separation, the independently negotiated agreement that would allow for dividing the United Methodist Church. She also supports the newly organized Global Methodist Church.

Insight asked Rev. Caulfield if she thought her traditionalist associations undermine the credibility of her book in light of recent allegations that WCA supporters are spreading misinformation about the UMC. Rev. Caulfield said she didn't think such allegations affected the book because she wasn't responsible for other people's statements or actions.

“My book speaks for itself in terms of what I say and believe,” she stated. "The instances I encountered are endemic to the entire denomination. They are a global concern."

Rev. Caulfield is donating more than a tithe of the book's profits to the United Methodist Committee on Relief.

Full disclosure: In her book Rev. Caulfield cites an email exchange involving United Methodist Insight in which a conference staff member objected to Insight reposting one of her essays. Insight was not consulted before the private emails were included in the book and was not involved in the writing, editing, or marketing of Rev. Caulfield's book.

People Throw Rocks at Things That Shine: A Clergywoman Whistleblower's Journey is available from Amazon.

Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, which she founded in 2011. This content is copyrighted and may not be reproduced elsewhere without permission from United Methodist Insight. To request permission, please email the Editor.