The Future of the UMC

BY DR. CLAYTON OLIPHINT, SENIOR PASTOR

Over the last few months, newspapers have reported that some United Methodist Churches are disaffiliating. Some of those have done this to become independent congregations, while others are joining a new denomination, the Global Methodist Church. The ability to disaffiliate on grounds related to matters of conscience around ministry with LGBTQ persons was established by the special session of General Conference in 2019. As shared with the congregation several times last year, entering a process of discernment to consider disaffiliation is triggered by action of the church council, which is the governing body of the church.

Our Church Council was unanimous that we were not interested in pursuing disaffiliation. In terms of churches voting on disaffiliation, voting can only take place if the church, after a period of discernment, chooses to have a vote. While you read about hundreds of churches across the country voting, tens of thousands of churches will not vote. No church has to vote, and I am proud of our church council for recognizing the divisive nature of voting and for choosing to remain who we are. In the North Texas Conference, the vast majority of churches (80% or more) are not voting, and some who have voted have chosen to remain a part of the UMC going forward.

The divisiveness in our United Methodist Church perhaps reflects the divisiveness in our country. In the case of the UMC, it is in regard to human sexuality, specifically to marriage and ordination of LGBTQ persons. Please remember that as we discuss this (in mature conversations rather than rants and tantrums), we are talking about people’s lives. There is deep pain and passion on all sides of these debates, and deeply committed, faithful, Bible-believing Christians have arrived at differing conclusions.

Here is my hope for the future of the United Methodist Church and FUMCR:

1. That we will continue to be a “big tent” church. A "big tent" allows for people of differing opinions about a number of issues to join together in a common mission guided by our common faith in Christ. This is the church I believe the New Testament envisions when it says, “There is neither Jew

nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” 2. That we will recommit to our Doctrinal heritage. United Methodists are people who take the Bible seriously and seek to understand how God wants us to live our faith in relation to others. The Doctrinal essentials have not changed and will not change. John Wesley was committed to the idea that God’s grace is available to all and had a passion to share the Good News of God’s love in Christ with everyone. He also coined the term “agree to disagree,” finding that Christians could debate all kinds of issues as long as we keep the main thing the main thing – Jesus is Lord.

3. That we will minimize harm and maximize mission. People have been hurt by the words and actions of the church. I pray that we will remove damaging language and work together to stay focused on our God-given mission. How will we love God and our neighbor and also help make disciples of Jesus Christ? We have answered, “With open hearts and minds, we will welcome people for Christ, grow people in Christ, and serve people with Christ.” 4. That we will allow ministry to be contextual. The New Testament church allowed for contextual ministry. I believe local church leadership can best decide how to live out the faith in their context. We have trusted our local church lay leaders to make wise and faithful decisions regarding our church in the past, and I believe they are capable of doing so now and in the future. 5. That we will embrace our connectional nature. We are better together, joined with other United Methodists to engage in mission, train pastors, encourage laity, and speak out against injustice. Being part of a connectional church gives us an ability to be part of a larger movement of God’s grace in North Texas, across our country, and throughout the world.

I hope you will join me in praying for the United Methodist church and for FUMCR. Let us trust that God is God and will lead us through this process. We will continue to be a church that believes God’s grace is available to all, and we will continue to minister to our community and surrounding area in Jesus’ name.