African United Methodists: We Refute False Claims Made by IRD

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Editor's note: This article has been adapted from a March 24, 2021 statement posted on the Africa Voice of Unity website. It has been edited for clarity. April 5: The headline on this article was revised to clarify the authors' identity.

Greetings Friends,

May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

In this unprecedented time of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic, United Methodists across the globe have been engaged in ministries that express the love of our neighbors and finding creative ways to minister to a hurting world. Yet at the same time, some within the denomination have devised strategies that harm the core of who we are and the values we stand for. Instead of working together as we deal with pandemic, some have assigned themselves the role of colonial masters to dictate the present and future of our denomination, something we deeply regret.

We United Methodists in Nigeria, some of us delegates to General Conference, central conference, annual conference, district leaders, local church leaders, laity and clergy had our attention drawn to an article published by John Lomperis of the Institute on Religion and Democracy’s blog on March 18, 2021, claiming that Nigerian leaders support UMC Separation and rejects Africa Voice of Unity.

When lies are spread it is our responsibility to debunk them before they are assumed by some as truthful. We deplore the gross mischaracterization and intentional manipulation by the author of the blog post and wish to clarify the following:

  1. The meeting purported to have been held in mid-February as cited by IRD in its article published on March 18, 2021, was not a meeting of Nigerian leaders called to address Nigerian leadership’s position on separation. Furthermore, we want to make it very clear here that the Nigeria Episcopal Area composed of the four Annual Conference did not at any point support the separation agenda being promoted by some individuals in the Church. Neither has the United Methodist Church in Nigeria (UMCN) officially resolved to support the so-called “Protocol” proposal for the separation of our denomination into at least two new ones” as stated in the “Juicy Ecumenism” blog post. As delegates and leaders of the United Methodist Church in Nigeria (UMCN), we do not see the need for the separation of our denomination, nor the applicability of the provisions of the Protocol of Reconciliation & Grace Through Separation to our reality. We believe that the world doesn’t need new denominations but faithful disciples of Christ with hearts full of compassion, truth, justice, righteousness, and mercy as revealed by God in Micah 6:8. 
  2. We also want to note that the handwritten list of names of “…over 60 district superintendents, regional lay leaders and other conference leaders” at the end of the so-called document entitled “Re-Statement of Church Unity from United Methodist in Africa,” was misappropriated from another list and appended to the document. The full statement can be read here. The persons on the purported list were not delegates, neither were they extended cabinet members nor annual conference delegates. The Rev. Yunusa Kara, whose name appeared on the misappropriated list said, “I was not part of any meeting that resolved to support separation in the United Methodist Church and I do not know where such decision to divide the United Methodist Church was taken. I am disassociating myself from such fake news.” 
  3. As United Methodist Church in Nigeria (UMCN), we stand by the position of our Africa College of Bishops, where they resolved not to support any proposed legislation or plans that call for dividing or dissolving The United Methodist Church in their statement. We uphold the position of our current Book of Discipline that states “homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching” . This is what we believe and stand on as we continue to minister as United Methodists with the cross and flame, a symbol of the Holy Spirit among us.  
  4. We are aware that Bishop John Wesley Yohanna has agreed in this signed statement to join a new denomination without first consulting delegates, leaders, and members of the United Methodist Church in Nigeria (UMCN). We want to state categorically here that the bishop’s decision is a personal one and does not engage the United Methodist Church in Nigeria. We therefore do not support the bishop’s position to join the Global Methodist Church and we will not join any new denomination in Nigeria.  We want to reemphasize here that we will maintain our evangelical position on human sexuality while remaining in the United Methodist Church in Nigeria (UMCN) with our logo intact. 
  5. We do not support the Protocol and did not at any point reach an agreement with the Africa Initiative nor with any U.S.–based groups, like IRD/UMAction, Good News, the Confessing Movement, and the Wesleyan Covenant Association (WCA).
  6. We are aware that the “Africa Voice of Unity” released its statement of Church unity. We understand that document to be their rightful expression of ways for Africans to look at it as we head towards the next General Conference. The Africa Voice of Unity Statement is geared towards the unity of our beloved denomination in Africa; it does not in any way tend to liberalize our definition of marriage or demonize anyone as being falsely shared by the Institute for Religion and Democracy (IRD/UMAction).   
  7. On the rejoinder statement reported by the IRD, we want to emphasize here that the United Methodist Church in Nigeria (UMCN), comprising four Annual Conferences, did not formally resolve at any point in time to endorse the Protocol. The “Africa Voice of Unity” and the Africa Initiative are voices from Africa; neither takes precedence over the other. We deplore the tactics of polarization used by the IRD in seeking to demonize some so as to meet their hidden agenda of destroying our beloved denomination. We reckon that the Africa Voice of Unity statement was very clear and succinct and close to our aspirations. 

Contrary to IRD’s assertion, the signers of the Africa Voice of Unity statement didn’t claim to be writing on behalf of the church in any part of Africa or Nigeria. They were writing as sons and daughters of Africa, that is the reason why the statement clearly was titled “Statement of Unity from the United Methodist Church in Africa.”.We encourage the wisdom, courage and leaders demonstrated by the signers in light of the polarizing politics deployed by the IRD in its neocolonialist manipulations to destroy the United Methodist Church.

  1. We are concerned by the inconsistency and contradictions of the authors of the statement that revealed either a hypocritical view or lack of adequate knowledge regarding the legislations submitted to General Conference. In #3, the statement claims to uphold the separation plan with an amendment to regionalization of the Book of Discipline. We are asking ourselves, “How does regionalization amendment fit into the Protocol plan when advocates of the protocol demonize the proposal for regionalization?” 
  2. We want to conclude here by stating that, as delegates, leaders, and members of the United Methodist Church in Nigeria (UMCN), we appreciate the various ministries of the United Methodist Church among our communities which include:
  • Evangelism that has ushered in tremendous church growth,
  • Education that has provided schools for our people from primary to tertiary institution like Africa University,
  • Hospitals that has provided good healthcare services to our people most especially in the rural areas, and
  • Agricultural development that has provided food for our communities.

These ministries are what it means to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

In keeping with the good work of the United Methodist Church, we want to state here clearly that we are not going to leave the United Methodist Church for any new denomination. We will maintain an evangelical position while remaining in the United Methodist Church. No amount of coercion will compel us to move to a new denomination.  

This statement was supported by some 115 African clergy and lay leaders in attendance at a meeting of Africa Voice of Unity. The full list of attendees can be read here.