'Ordinary' United Methodists Push Back Against Misinformation

Clergy and Laity Write Rebuttals to Disaffiliation Propaganda

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A United Methodist Insight Exclusive

A saying attributed to many sources claims that "a lie can circle the world while the truth is still putting on its boots." The adage appears to be especially true for The United Methodist Church as dissidents put pressure on local congregations to leave the 12-million-member denomination.

Top United Methodist officials have struggled for months to counteract twisted narratives and outright lies about the UMC being spread by forces committed to drawing as many congregations as possible out of the worldwide denomination. Lately, the battle for truth has shifted to "ordinary" clergy and laity who are digging deeply into tales about the UMC and publishing rebuttals they hope will offset misinformation.

Two examples of grassroots fact-checking and rebuttal emerged this week. A retired clergywoman in North Carolina created a pamphlet to inform the congregation she's serving as interim pastor. A laywoman in Missouri penned a multi-page letter to her pastor describing her research behind information and decision-making as her longtime congregation is pulled toward disaffiliation.

'What does it mean?'

In North Carolina, the Rev. Dr. Mary John Dye created a pamphlet to educate the members of Triplett UMC in Mooresville, NC, where she's serving as interim pastor. Triplett is scheduled to vote on disaffiliation Feb. 26. She constructed the pamphlet in an 11x17 format to make it easily reproduced and folded for churches considering disaffiliation. She titled the brochure: "Who Are We & The UMC: What Does It Mean to Disaffiliate and How Do United Methodists Make Decisions?"

"I poured my heart and soul into the pamphlet," Dr. Dye told Insight in an email. "I also had it double-checked and triple-checked by people in the conference to make sure that it was correct."

Dr. Dye posted about her pamphlet on Facebook and was overwhelmed by requests for copies.

"I was deluged with requests – nearly 125 within hours," she said in her email. "They came from all across the US – Oregon, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio, Pennsylvania and multiple requests from every conference in the Southeastern Jurisdiction (which is the jurisdiction that will benefit most from the history lessons!).

"I created the resource I have been begging for across the past few months," Dr. Dye said. "And I could tell from the outpouring of requests that I am not alone."

Pros and cons of disaffilliation

The pamphlet goes into detail about the advantages and disadvantages to a local church of disaffiliating with the denomination. Among other topics, Dr. Dye cites:

Advantages of Disaffiliation:

  • Allows churches to make their own decisions without the process and approvals required in the UMC.
  • Disaffiliation allows churches and members not to be associated or worried with UMC controversies.
  • Allows churches to own their own property.

Disaffiliation adds these responsibilities to churches:

  • Developing a leadership structure and guidelines for running the church. Recruiting and vetting ministers on their own. Taking complete responsibility for the accountability and ongoing supervision of the clergy.
  • Each church has a financial payout to disaffiliate based on appointment giving for 2 years and the projected pension liability for previous pastors of each church.
  • Disaffiliating churches need to establish their own 501c3 and petition again to be exempt from property taxes.
  • Each church would need to develop a doctrinal statement of beliefs to know and share the basic Christian beliefs of the church.
  • Each church would have to determine its mission giving.
  • Each church would have to send its historical records to the WNCC Commission on Archives and History.
  • Each church would have to assume full financial responsibility for property development and expansion without financial resources available through the denomination. That would also include disaster relief should that be needed. UM Members who want to stay UM will be invited to move their membership to the conference. Disaffiliated churches will need to reassess their member and financial base.

Dr. Dye also addresses past separations in Methodist history with a timeline, noting how past Methodists have disagreed about slavery, women's ordination and church leadership, and marrying divorced persons, among other issues.

Differences started at Methodism's beginning

"Differences of opinions started at the beginning of American Methodism," Dr. Dye wrote. "At the founding Conference, the Christmas Conference of 1784, Southern Methodists said they would not live up to Mr. Wesley's firm stand that no Methodist could own a slave. Southern Methodists continued to defy the Discipline for 60 years! It was a very contentious, ongoing controversy until, in 1844, the Southern Methodists broke away from the Methodist Episcopal Church and formed a new denomination: the Methodist Episcopal Church, South."

She continued: "Currently, some pastors defy the Discipline by refusing to baptize infants, defy the Disciplinary covenant that pastors go where they are sent or withhold apportionment giving.

"Except for the position of slavery – and now the issue of human sexuality – the many different opinions (often deep differences) have been able to be handled by respectfully working through our differences (even passionate differences) anchored by a common love for Christ ..."

In her email to Insight, Dr. Dye had strong words about the current state of the UMC:

"This disaffiliation drama is depleting and discouraging beyond description. And one more word:  disgraceful."

A laywoman's research

In the Missouri Annual Conference, a concerned laywoman, who asked that her full name not be used, conducted her own investigation into the information being spread about the denomination by her church leadership over two years of mostly clandestine campaigning for her congregation to leave the UMC. Audra said she found that quotes from UMC bishops had been taken out of context and misconstrued to cast an unfavorable light on them.

Audra said her church's leadership originally explained "The Protocol for Reconciliation and Grace Through Separation" in 2020, but then never signaled an intent to leave the UMC until late 2022.

"In the minds of leadership, disaffiliation was a foregone conclusion," Audra wrote. "In hindsight, it seems you considered this a done deal around 2021, the last time the church included the UMC's mission statement at the start of its weekly newsletter."

"The more I learned about the leadership's stated reasons for disaffiliation, the more my hesitation turned to shock. My shock turned to sorrow. My sorrow turned to shame. Not shame because of the UMC. Shame because of the misleading rhetoric published on the church website."

Audra also described what she saw as duplicity on the part of her church's leadership.

"If the church leadership and pastors had advocated for disaffiliation because, in their hearts, they genuinely found gay marriage and gay clergy incompatible with their faith, I would respect you," she wrote. “It's possible I might have even voted to disaffiliate even though I shared a different view.”

"But the church leadership didn't stop there," Audra’s letter continues. "The more I learned about the leadership's stated reasons for disaffiliation, the more my hesitation turned to shock. My shock turned to sorrow. My sorrow turned to shame. Not shame because of the UMC. Shame because of the misleading rhetoric published on the church website. Rhetoric premised on negative op-eds, sound bites taken out of context, and misleading quotes."

She also highlighted secrecy in the church's process.

"The congregation needed to hear the truth," Audra wrote. "What opportunity is there for someone with another viewpoint to share those views with the congregation? There isn't one. The church's 'Town Halls' are not true Town Halls. They are limited to sharing information that those who support disaffiliation want the congregation to hear. They 'are not intended for discussions.'

"... Nothing about this is fair. A discernment process shrouded in secrecy. Misinformation rampant. Alternative views suppressed."

Audra then extensively refuted out-of-context quotes from Mountain Sky Bishop Karen Oliveto, then-Desert Southwest Bishop Robert (Bob) Hoshibata, retired Bishop Will Willimon, Western North Carolina Bishop Ken Carter and newly installed Bishops Kennetha Bigham-Tsai (Iowa Area) and Dottie Escobedo-Frank (California-Pacific Area). In particular, Audra said, she found that several bishops' affirmations of orthodox Christian doctrines contained in the United Methodist constitution were removed from the information presented to her congregation.

"I could go on about the misrepresentations in the op-eds and soundbites the church has disseminated and relied on to form its FAQs, but I'm not going to do all of the work for you," Audra wrote. "Why? Because I'm tired of writing. More importantly, because through questioning the op-eds and soundbites, through reading the messages in full, I have a much deeper appreciation for the voices disparaged.

"Everyone should read the (bishops') messages in full. Are there controversial statements? Probably. Does the UMC have room to improve? Absolutely. ... Our differences can only be addressed through honest dialogue, not message suppression and misinformation."

Click here to download Dr. Mary John Dye's pamphlet.

Click here to download the full text of Audra’s letter with comments from Bishop Karen Oliveto.

A veteran, award-winning United Methodist communicator for 35 years, Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, an online journal she founded in 2011 as a channel for under-served and marginalized voices in the UMC. To reproduce this content elsewhere, please email the editor for permission.