Signs of a Dying Church
The United Methodist Church’s troubles stem from issues far darker than the ones surrounding sexuality that have ostensibly divided it for decades
___ UMC ¼ mile
Many years ago, I can only assume, the United Methodist Church must have engaged in a campaign to provide every local church with road signs marking the locations of their buildings. Perhaps you have seen these signs before? They are always the same shape and bear the familiar UMC cross and flame logo, and most of them mark the location of the fill in the blank United Methodist Church, most often located no more than ¼ mile away.
I recently had the opportunity to drive through the countryside of Western North Carolina as I was headed to move my son out of his dorm after the conclusion of his second year of college. The quickest route my GPS provided me from my current location just happened to follow mostly back roads through the rural parts of the western half of our state.
I could not believe the number of “fill in the blank United Methodist Church ¼ mile” signs that I passed as I wove my way through the countryside. Often in the middle of nowhere, these faithful signs stood as a reminder that somewhere close by, sometime long ago, a particular group of people’s lives were impacted by the Methodist movement that once actively pursued the far corners of this nation. These signs stood as a testament to the spirited beginning of the Methodist movement in the United States. A movement that defied the broken and dying institution from which it was born. A movement that embraced a lived Gospel and whose clergy dedicated their lives and their rear-ends to their ministries as they often rode horseback to these countless out-of-the-way congregations to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ.
There was a time when the Methodist movement took matters in its own hands to meet the spiritual and physical needs of this nation, ordaining its own clergy to administer the Sacraments and holding its members accountable through small groups. That was then.
Now, every sign I passed on my journey through these out-of-the-way areas of our state was faded and worn. Many of these signs were in a significant state of disrepair, signaling the death of this once Spirit-filled denomination. Yet on each sign, I was able to make out that familiar flame, signifying the mighty Spirit of God which was poured out upon the gathered Church on that Pentecost long ago, and that familiar Cross of “Christ the Lord, still giving his blessing to a ruined church.”1
A disappointing decision
You may consider this view overly cynical. And to be fair, there was much hope and enthusiasm expressed by many United Methodists following the conclusion of their recent Global gathering this month. If indeed I am overly cynical, I confess that my personal experience with this denomination may have contributed to that. It just happened that on this same day that I engaged in my reflective drive through the countryside, I also received a letter from our UMC Conference Director of Ministerial Services notifying me that the Board of Ordained Ministry had met and voted that same day to discontinue my status as a Provisional Elder of our Conference because I was “not meeting expectations for continuance”.
“This was a disappointing decision for the Board of Ordained Ministry, as well as for you,” they wrote.
I was uncertain how they would know that it was disappointing for me? No one from that Board of Ordained Ministry sought to hear from me before making that decision in secret and behind closed doors. I had not even been notified of their meeting. I learned long ago in law school the most basic components of due process on which our nation had been built – notice and an opportunity to be heard. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without this, right? And those merely represent our secular principles. Our religious principles are certainly more loving, right?
What expectation was I not meeting? Our Conference leadership had insisted that I fall in line with the Conference’s (bishop’s) position on disaffiliation (i.e, you must pick a side). I suppose that was the expectation for me that I was not meeting. What other expectations could I not have been meeting?
I had borne my heart to this same Board of Ordained Ministry only three months earlier, honestly expressing my desire to continue in service to a disaffiliated church while remaining a United Methodist clergy, and this Board approved the continuation of my status then. What had changed? I had faithfully continued to participate with my Residency in Ordained Ministry group and had received glowing praise from supervisors who reviewed my work there. Even my direct supervisor (my District Superintendent) had expressed how he did not want the denomination to lose me when he practically begged me to fall in line with what our Conference leadership (bishop) was demanding – pick a side.
Truth in numbers?
So, is my assessment of the death of the United Methodist Church skewed? Perhaps. But the numbers do not lie, right? No one can dispute that in the United States, the UMC has approximately 50% (5 million) fewer members today than it did at its inception in 1968. In fact, the denomination has not grown in the United States since The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church joined to form the UMC in 1968. The only place the denomination is growing is in Africa.
If then, my anecdotal evidence and these numbers do indeed depict a dying church, we cannot help but wonder, why? Many people will point to the decline of many Christian denominations in the United States, a trend which corresponds with the growth in the religiously unaffiliated (the nones). However, that does not really answer the question of why?
Destruction from within
I believe the UMC is destroying itself from within. I would contend that its growing bureaucracy is eating the church alive and claiming the souls of its clergy and its members. All of the small road signs I passed by the other day were in a state of decay. But you know what was not in a state of decay? - The District Office in our District. This is the regional headquarters for our District Superintendent who supervises the clergy and churches across the many counties in our region.
I was called into that office the other day in a final attempt to persuade me to pick a side. I was amazed, as I always am with the opulence of that building. I imagine that not all of the dollars for its upkeep come from the Conference, but our Conference headquarters, which were built a few years ago and which likely are supported solely by Conference funds are even more impressive. A far cry from the days when clergy road thousands of miles on horseback to meet the needs of their many congregations.
This same bureaucracy purports to exist in order to fulfil the mission of the Church (making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world), but it seems to me instead to relentlessly pursue its own self-serving agenda, training its clergy to fall in line and do precisely the same thing. The clear message I have received from Conference leadership which appears to be enacting the will of the bishop is that continued relationship with disaffiliated churches is not to be tolerated. You must pick a side.
Following the exodus of the vast majority of conservative membership, our Western North Carolina Conference at our Annual Conference meeting last year voted overwhelmingly to support the removal of language the bishop described as harmful and discriminatory from the Discipline (or the denomination’s governing rules), specifically the language that barred LGBTQIA+ marriages and clergy. The bishop forbade any clergy from allowing other denominations, specifically the Global Methodist Church, from speaking to their churches about their rights to disaffiliate from the UMC.
The clear message delivered to our Annual Conference last year was this:
The season of disaffiliation is rapidly coming to a close; there is a small window of time left for churches desiring to disaffiliate; we are moving forward to advocate for the removal of “discriminatory” language from our rules; it is time that we all move forward together, and if you cannot support this position, you should go with our blessing.
Even though our Conference has insisted that it is a “purple” denomination (whatever that means), it seems to me that any dissent from this position will not be tolerated, and the bishop has absolute power to ensure that.
Ordination appears to me to require a firm adherence to this bureaucracy’s positions and a blind trust of the proposition that it and only it can ascertain and follow the Will of God despite any signs to the contrary. I was asked why I would think that I could discern the Will of God for my appointment better than the bishop and his Cabinet.
Sure, that is the basic tenant of the itinerant system to which all United Methodist clergy subscribe (go where they send me), but how often is that tenant adhered to in practice? Instead, I believe this system of itineracy has devolved into a political system of rewards/punishments where loyal, long-time, politically positioned clergy are rewarded with more lucrative appointments, while newer, less-experienced, un-positioned clergy are used to plug the holes in struggling appointments that unreasonably over-extend their abilities.
In my case, as a brand-new student Licensed Local Pastor, I was appointed to two small churches and expected to balance that with Seminary and a full-time non-church job. When I later inquired about an associate position at one of our larger local churches, I was told they were seeking a female clergy, so I would not be eligible for that appointment.
I believe that the Discipline (denominational rules) only serves as a shield for this bureaucracy, as opposed to a containment for it, since the only arbiter of the execution of those rules is the bureaucracy itself. Despite my repeated requests, Conference leadership refused to provide me with the Conference’s process to consider my request for an extension appointment or their process for discontinuation of my clergy status. In fact, oddly enough my District Superintendent did not even seem to know the process. He mistakenly thought he would have to begin the process to strip me of my credentials and was surprised (and a bit relieved) to discover that he was incorrect.
Bishops (in the U.S. at least) enjoy lifetime appointments and have little to no oversight. They are free to enact blanket policies like the one in our Conference prohibiting clergy (including retired) from serving a disaffiliated church in any capacity. In my case, the only due process to which I am entitled under our Conference’s interpretation of the Discipline’s rules is a hearing before a committee that the bishop has appointed following the Board’s decision to discontinue my status. Forgive me if I am not confident that my position and requests will be given the careful and honest consideration they deserve by this bishop-appointed committee.
I realize that my one experience provides only anecdotal evidence and that I am probably too close to the situation to provide an unbiased perspective; however, that is not my intent. Many have asked me:
Why don’t you just leave? If you really feel this way about this denomination, why would you want to stay?
There was once a dream
I found myself watching the beginning of the movie, Gladiator last night. Granted, it’s probably too violent for a good pastor. But I’ve never claimed to be one of those! And I did fall for this movie long before I became a pastor. I hadn’t watched it in a long time, and I just paused on the beginning of it while channel-surfing. But I had forgotten some of the early dialog between the Roman Caesar Marcus Aurelius, played by Richard Harris and the main character, Maximus, played Russell Crow. The Caesar tells Maximus, as he laments over what Rome has become:
“There was once a dream that was Rome. You could only whisper it. Anything more than a whisper and it would vanish... it was so fragile.”2
I believe in what the United Methodist Church could be. And I love so many of the people still there. Its issues are not as simple as disparate views on sexuality. The darkness within the UMC goes far beyond that issue. And we are called to shine Christ’s light into the darknesses that overwhelm this world. Ultimately, my prayer is that I may participate in Christ’s light that will illumine all of the darknesses seeking to destroy the Church. Shouldn’t that be all of our prayer?
Barbara Brown Taylor, Sermon: “He Who Fills All in All”.
“Gladiator”, DreamWorks/Universal Studios, 2000.
It's all very simple . The Churches of the past Were Led By God His Holy Spirit , His Word The Holy Bible . Any Denomination That does not follow The Sound Doctrine of The Holy Bible What God Says God will Destroy .The Messiah Jesus Christ Was , Is and Will Be Our Example to follow Never to Leave Out His Teachings His Examples Or That of The Whole Bible It Is Not to be Changed No Part , Word or Passage is to be Changed Ever by man , women Never Ok With God Almighty including To conform His Plan And His Word to The Sins of Our Flesh . Any ? ‘S Here’s only one Example of the many Examples in The Bible look what Happened to Sodom and Gomorrah . Yes God has a Certain amount of grace and tolerance for us an Abundance of Love But we Should never underestimate His Detest For Sin . Just take a look at what He did to Satan and 1/3 Of All of His Angels in Heaven . He threw them down here on Earth with us . On You Tube you can see all kinds of different scenarios of what happens to people who commit Blasphemy Of The Holy Spirit .
So this is Simple God says that We Cannot Serve Two Masters Because We’ll end up Loving One and Hating The Other . This is the passage of scripture that comes to my mind when I think of the split with UMC . Sadly it’s not just with this Denomination it’s with others as well .
If we continue to battle the Enemy Satan and all of his Demons As Written in The Book of Ephesians and Do what’s Right In the eyes of God then Where and When it’s our turn to see Him in All of His Glory in Heaven ,Under His Judgment , “He tells us My Son , My Daughter A Job Well Done!” and We are in His Book Of Sainthood the Highest Realm of Heaven Then Separating Ourselves From the Agenda of Satan is Well Worth it !!! This Should be our Greatest Mission and Achievements in Our Lifetime here on Earth !! Remember We are all Tested here Our Faith Trust and Believe in God . Many times When Choosing God , Our Savior Jesus Christ and Walk in Heavenly Light an Ambassador For Jesus in a Very Dark World We will have to Constantly make the right choices and Decisions and many times that will sever friendships , relationships with family , People anyone or anything that is a representative of Darkness , the Dark Forces , Spirits Angels of Satan The Worldly Views . We Cannot Please everyone and be Wishy Washy , in between in our walk we can’t be In between We All must choose a side .
It astounds me how clear and christlike your position is while those in positions of power dissent from what they should easily learn from. But then again maybe I shouldn't be surprised; look how often Jesus had to explain and repeat lessons to his disciples because they were constantly focusing on the wrong things.