Moses the United Methodist

May 7, 2019

5:58 PM

“Resist” is the new buzzword among some moderates and progressives to describe their response to the results of General Conference. This has been the mantra of progressives for years that explained their protests at previous General Conferences. Now, many moderates have joined their righteous indignation.

There is something romantic about it. Being a part of “the Resistance” is cool like Luke Skywalker. It is a Rebel Alliance of moderates and progressives plotting to destroy the Death Star of the Traditional Plan.

I urge my fellow non-traditionalists to take their cues from Exodus rather than George Lucas.

Moses before Pharaoh 191

Moses demands that Pharaoh release the Hebrew slaves. From a 1919 Sunday school Bible primer from Internet Archive Book Images. (Wikimedia Commons photo).

God never told Moses, “Stay in Egypt and form the resistance. Create sleeper cells to overthrow the Pharaoh.” No. God told Moses to get out of Egypt as soon as they had the chance. Pretty soon, the Pharaoh will change his mind and the Red Sea will only stay parted for so long.

Also, I don’t recall Jesus forming a resistance in Gethsemane. He did not tell Peter to keep swinging his sword. He did not hire a team of attorneys to defend him in Pilate’s court. Yes, he did confront the Pharisees and he protested in the Temple. But there is a time for everything, and when it came time to carry the cross he did it without protest and he did not resist when they started pounding the nails.

There is a season for everything, said the Preacher, and the time for protests and resistance is coming to an end. Now is the time to get ready to leave Egypt. Now is the time for progressive United Methodists—and any moderates who want to join them—to leave the United Methodist Church. Let the Traditionalists have it. A denomination that has ratcheted down on its traditional ethics for nearly 50 years is rightly theirs to keep.

Remember the rest of the story. They had a short window to get out of Egypt and they had to move fast. There is a window of opportunity at the next General Conference to make this transition peacefully and to minimize the damage that could be inflicted on all congregations and annual conferences. If we stay in resistance-mode we will lose that opportunity for a truly gracious exit. Don’t waste your energy on perpetual acts of resistance because we will need that good energy to create the future.

Also remember God’s last instructions before they walked out of Egypt: Take as much of the riches of Egypt as you can carry. We must carry into a new Methodism the best of the old United Methodism. This is an opportunity to rectify the long-standing problems of the United Methodist Church while preserving the good things that have been created since 1968.

If you don’t agree with my interpretation of Exodus, then consider the cross. Now is the time for progressives to take up the cross of forming a new Methodist denomination. The temple protest ended a long time ago; now is the time to start carrying our cross to Calvary. Remember, resurrection only comes after the crucifixion.

Darren Cushman Wood

The Rev. Darren Cushman Wood

The Rev. Darren Cushman Wood serves as pastor of North United Methodist Church in Indianapolis. This post is republished with permission from his blog, The New Methodism.

Comments (1)

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Some obvious problems with this analogy

1. Moses and the Israelites were fleeing a pagan autocracy that enslaved them. So this is essentially suggesting that a) the United Methodists favoring the Traditional plan are non-Christians and b) that the liberal (and, let's face it, mostly white) faction of US Methodists has been enslaved by the largely African and Asian faction of UM's favoring the Traditional Plan.
2. The "take up the cross" bit is also off. Christ did not take up the cross in order to lead a secession movement from the Roman empire. He faced the unjust judgment and condemnation of the religious and civil authorities over him. He was mocked, slandered, brutalized, and finally murdered, and he submitted to this treatment in patience and love.

The Traditional Plan is unjust; the way of the cross is to stand before it in patient and peaceful witness. There is a disturbing tendency among the liberal American UM's to write off the entire continent of Africa as a lost cause, and ignore the quiet but real voices there for inclusion. They need support and solidarity. American UM's talking down to and dismissing their African counterparts undercuts these voices. And perhaps we need them more than they need us- an American liberal Methodist denomination, cut off from Methodists in Africa and Asia, will succumb to the soul-killing insularity of the American religious scene and wither.

Riain more than 4 years ago