A Heartfelt Plea to the WCA: Stop Lying about the UMC

May 31, 2022

5:55 PM

Asbury College

The Rev. Dr. Mary John Dye is an alumna of Asbury College and posted this photo with her essay on Facebook.

These are very emotional days for me. I was so deeply touched by hundreds of birthday greetings I received this weekend. I was humbled at the wide array of people that wished me well. And, while sometimes it might be less challenging, I would not want my life to be lived in an an echo chamber of people who agree with me on everything. I am grateful to love deeply people who disagree on a lot of things. I grow into holiness better with deep roots of faith and good will across a full spectrum of maturity and Christian insight. When we love as Jesus taught us, we help each other to be better, fuller reflections of Christ.

This wide range of friends is also an unspeakable heartache when people in the faith family are at war with each other. While the tendency of the world is to attack and insult others, that is not the way of Christ. In the church of my heart and my life, to say I don’t know what to do is a daily heart-wrenching understatement.

No vote WCA

From the Reconciling Ministries Facebook page

I am fully ready to bless the friends and efforts dedicated to breaking from the United Methodist Church. I believe if will be healthy for them to devote their full energy in reaching others for Jesus without being consumed with constantly criticizing, correcting, attacking, gaslighting and disagreeing with others. The intense passion to tear others down disregards countless Scriptural admonitions against that very approach is terrible witness. I pray that the launch of the GMC frees them from the quicksand of insulting and attacking others and lets them get back to a focus on loving God, the Golden Rule and the New Commandment, the prayer of Jesus for his disciples, Romans 12, I Corinthians 13 and Ephesians 4.

For all my WCA friends, I have a plea:

Stop telling people that UMC pastors don’t believe in the Bible.
Stop telling people that UMC pastors don’t believe in Jesus.
Stop telling people that the UMC does not affirm the historic creeds of the faith.
Stop telling people that the UMC has changed its doctrine.
Stop telling people that there is no place for people with traditional beliefs and that all traditional pastors are going to leave the UMC.
Stop the phone calls, emails and conversations saying that all UMC pastors will be required to perform same-sex weddings.

I have heard all of these in the last several weeks. When I am asked about those statements, there is nothing to say except they are all lies. They are falsehoods that discredit you. It makes me miserable to be in the position of telling someone that what they have been told is a lie. Sadly, I have been in that spot regularly in recent weeks. I beg you to stop spreading lies.

Mythbusting the splinter

From the Reconciling Ministries Network's Facebook page.

And if you are not personally spreading them, know that the emails, the conversations, are shared in your name. You have showed no hesitancy in speaking publicly about the mistakes and missteps of others. Use your well-established voice and media savvy to rebuff these falsehoods. Distance yourself from them. Let the light of your integrity shine.

Tell people that you are deeply devoted Christians who are building a different structure of church. I will applaud and say “amen”. Tell people you believe a more congregation based system is more conducive to your evangelistic hopes. I will say “amen”. Tell people that based on your convictions, you are not able to support full inclusion of gay people in the life of the church. That would be an honest answer.

But please stop spreading falsehoods against me and other UMC pastors. You can’t build a church on the authority of God’s Holy Word and, at the same time, repeatedly violate the 9th commandment and countless Scriptural admonitions. You are hurting yourselves and your witness. It breaks my heart.

Of all the multi-layer heartbreaks of life, some of them are beyond the reach of mine to fix. This one—which has faced me repeatedly over the past few weeks—is fixable by people I love and care deeply about. I pray you will steadfastly apply the core standards of evangelical faith to the formation of your new denomination so it can be a church that God can bless. A church where people will find and follow Christ. A church committed to truth and good will.

Somehow, by God’s grace, a birthday is a good will window that opens up beyond the fray. I think that is a beautiful thing. A holy thing. And that wishing each other well and helping with our blind spots (in the spirit of love) is what we need more of. I cherish you, my dear friends across the full spectrum of beliefs and passions. I want what is best and what is healing and honorable and hope-filled for each of you. We need to figure this out. Not just on birthdays.

Mary John Doe

The Rev. Dr. Mary John Dye

Rev. Dr. Mary John Dye is pastor of Triplett United Methodist Church in Mooresville, NC. She will be retiring at the Western North Carolina Conference after 48 years of UMC ministry. This post is republished with permission from her Facebook page.

Comments (10)

Comment Feed

But yes those criticisms by the WCA are valid

--Stop telling people that UMC pastors don’t believe in the Bible.
Liberal Bishops have said the future of the chuch is personal connection, not holiness, nor the study of scripture. Then there are the candidates for the ministry. Recently the elevated person who goes by Penny Cost (drag queen extroadinare) preached the "Bible is Nothing".
--Stop telling people that UMC pastors don’t believe in Jesus.
If a pastor doesn't believe in his divinity, the whole claim is correct. The 2003 UMC ruling over Bishop Sprague said Methodism historically has been accepting of personal differences even though those differences. The Bishop denied the resurrection and the virgin birth was a myth.
--Stop telling people that the UMC does not affirm the historic creeds of the faith.
Refer to the 2003 ruling on Sprague, Iliff School of Theology in Denver teaching Paganism/Atheism and everything else as if equal to Christianity, Bishop Oliveto's claim the church needs to discard scriptural and traditional standards, etc.
---Stop telling people that the UMC has changed its doctrine.
Bishop Laurie Haller just tried doing that with Vision 2032 and others have inserted their own.
---Stop telling people that there is no place for people with traditional beliefs and that all traditional pastors are going to leave the UMC.
There is no place for Traditionalists when they are constantly told the Bible is allegory, their concerns about ordaining gay/lesbian pastors is invalid, and a slew of theology that does not align with tradition, scripture or reason.

---Stop the phone calls, emails and conversations saying that all UMC pastors will be required to perform same-sex weddings.
That is what is coming. It has happened in multiple congregations of other denominations and is easily predicted in the UMC once the split happens.

Brian Evers more than 2 years ago

Specificity Needed

Dr. Dye, first of all, Happy Birthday!

As I read through your article, I found a good number of generalizations, as if all WCA or all Post-UMC folks believe the same things. When you say that UMC pastors believe in "Jesus," it's important to specify which understanding of Jesus. Regarding the Bible, which approach to the Bible? Defining the nomenclature we use is imperative, as words can have multiple meanings.

I knew a UMC pastor from the Bible Belt who once declared from the pulpit, "The role of evangelism is to help people find their salvation." It sounded great to the conservative congregation he served, but what he meant (he shared this with me later) is that all are saved regardless of their belief; evangelism is merely to let them know they're already saved.

Generalizations of any kind are damaging, especially in the Body of Christ.

Mack more than 2 years ago

Generalizations

Do you not agree that many in the WCA and among those who plan to become part of the GMC are also using "generalizations" to gain a following, even when those claims are true of only some in the UMC? If you don't agree that this is the case, then your criticism is suspect, as "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Or don't you think that applies to you and the ones you support?

Douglas A Asbury more than 2 years ago

Not a supporter of the WCA

I have to admit I have never heard a WCA member ever say any of those things. I do not support advocacy groups, so I do not support them. But to be honest, the ones I have talked to only complain that the leadership in the UMC is not enforcing the BOD and that the post-UMC (or whatever it will be called) will act to change the UMC's current definition of marriage. That is all they seem to be arguing. I will admit that the GMC is all over the place with what they are saying and their traditional BOD.

That being said, your statement that those leaving do not "support full inclusion of gay people in the life of the church" is not accurate. There are literally thousands of LGBT+ affirming Christian churches. Gay people are already included in the life of the church. Whether the UMC changes its definition of marriage to join those churches will not change that. The issue is whether the UMC joins other once traditional denominations in changing their view of marriage that traditionalists argue is based on scripture. Of course, the UMC needs to accept that once that is done, our denomination will dramatically lose membership like those other denominations (some to the point of bankruptcy). That is ok if it makes you feel good for standing up for a "cause" that is already being achieved but some UMC members are not interested in social-political activism on a non-issue. Once again there are thousands of LGBT+ affirming Christian churches already out there. Inclusion already exists in the Christian church.

Steve more than 2 years ago

Either one is not Listening or Reading or both

All that was said in this article I have read in WCA articles and Good News Magazines. In the past five years WCA and Good news Magazine have been mischaracterizing the UMC leaders and pastors. Every item listed by the author I have read several times in WCA and Good News articles and more recently on GMC platforms.
It is sad that GMC people think the only way they build their denomination is by destroying the UMC through lies and disinformation. Their approach is burn the house as you exit it.
WCA writers sound like there is nothing in scripture that requires them to be truthful, Honest, integrity and fair talk. They can't talk about the new denomination GMC and what it stands for. They spend pages and pages talking about the UMC. The unfortunate part is they are telling lies about the UMC.

Lloyd more than 2 years ago

Details?

You offer an impassioned response, but you're short on specifics. What articles can you link? Generalizations are rarely helpful.

Mack more than 2 years ago

Differences

If you look at the bulk of articles being ciruclated in media, most are anti-WCA and anti-GMC. WCA is merely pointing out why we have reached this point...clergy, bishops, and leadership refuse to live by the will of the church (GC) to maintain BOD and church doctrine. Why is this? The methodist-affliated seminaries bought into the historical-critical interpretation of Scripture (and the social gospel) followed by narrative theology taught at liberal seminaries like Yale, Vanderbilt, Perkins, and Candler (not to mention the heresy at Iliff). We are where we are due to a differing of hermeneutics and view of Scripture in the church. On these differences there can be no argument. These differences have been talked about over and over. There has been meanness on both sides. For the meanness to stop all that has to happens is for the AC bishops to let departing churches take their property. Bishops are not negiotiating in good faith. Each bishop can decide to follow the protocol in their annual conferences. If methodists are going to continue as friends the bishops need to show genuine Christian leaderhip based in love and not follow in Haupert-Johnsons footsteps.

Jeff more than 2 years ago

Differences

Jeff, You are right on Target.

Roger more than 2 years ago

Well-said!

No traditionalist with whom I've personally spoken, nor whom I have read or heard speaking in public formats, has stated opposition to LBGTQ+ inclusion in churches. If anything we have discussed limits to their inclusion -- i.e. in terms of leadership roles.
Steve's comment here is also excellent for pointing out the self-destructive tendencies of liberals who choose to be perpetually unsatisfied with the status of particular causes. Centrists (perhaps like Steve?) who are content to "live and let live" will find that progressives will never stop agitating for change.

David Kingsworthy more than 2 years ago

"Causes"

LGBTQ+ persons are not "causes," we are human beings, created in the image of God, with unique gifts for the upbuilding of God's Beloved Community that some refuse to acknowledge, choosing, instead, to demonize us and to exclude us from the work God has for us to do. If we "will never stop agitating for change," perhaps it is for your sake that we do not, rather than for our own. God knows we have suffered many "slings and arrows" from your side of the church. We hope that our suffering will ultimate inure to your benefit.

Douglas A Asbury more than 2 years ago