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

by

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.

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.

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.

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.