Congregations that left the UMC to form the Global Methodist Church opposed recognition of same-sex marriage and the ordination of non-celibate gay clergy.[11] Its doctrines, which are aligned with Wesleyan-Arminian theology, are contained in the Transitional Book of Doctrines and Discipline, its Book of Discipline, and in The Catechism of the Global Methodist Church.[12][13][14] The church allows both women and men to serve as clergy.[15]As of 2024[update], the church is composed of nearly 4,500 congregations and a similar number of pastors.[3][4]
In the United Methodist Church, polarization started to occur between traditionalist Methodist theologians and clerics and those with progressive tendencies.[16] Traditionalist caucuses within the United Methodist Church, such as the Confessing Movement within the United Methodist Church, Good News, Concerned Methodists, Transforming Congregations, UM Action, Lifewatch, and the Institute on Religion and Democracy for a number of years, promoted what they saw as historic Methodist positions in various General Conferences, Annual Conferences, districts, and local churches.[17][18] The United Methodist Church, spurred by its global growth, was moving "in a more traditionalist and orthodox direction" as a whole.[19] Every General Conference of the United Methodist Church since 1972 continued to uphold a traditionalist stance on human sexuality and in the United Methodist 2016 General Conference, the Church adopted more pro-life stances with respect to abortion.[20][21][22]
In 2016, at the United Methodist Church's General Conference in Portland, Oregon, delegates voted 428 to 405 to delay conversation on homosexuality and proposed a review of ecclesiastical restrictions, with the Book of Discipline's injunctions remaining in effect, that "homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching" and that "marriage is only between a man and a woman."[22] Despite the UMC prohibiting the ordination of "'self-avowed practicing' gay clergy" in its Book of Discipline, one Filipino and more than a hundred progressive American clergy in attendance at the General Conference came out as gay.[23]
Two major plans regarding the UMC's position on homosexuality were suggested at the 2019 General Conference in St. Louis, Missouri: the Traditional Plan, which supported the denomination's current stance against same-sex marriage, and the One Church Plan, which called for the loosening of restrictions. Supporters of the Traditional Plan (who were aligned with the traditionalist caucuses), citing the Book of Discipline, succeeded in passing their proposal with a delegate vote of 438 to 384.[24] Prior to the April vote, discussion of possible schisms over gay issues had grown following a February special session that recommended the Traditional Plan.[25] In late 2020, two progressively-aligned UMC-originating groups announced their establishment: Liberation Methodist Connexion and The Liberation Project.[26][27]
Despite the passing of the Traditional Plan in the 2019 General Conference of the United Methodist Church, several modernist United Methodist clergy announced a refusal to adhere to it and the United Methodist Book of Discipline.[28][29] As a result, the traditionalist caucuses began to plan the formal erection of a new traditionalist Methodist denomination, the Global Methodist Church.[30] The denomination's name was chosen in the spirit of a quote from the father of Methodism, John Wesley, who stated with regard to evangelism, that "The world is my parish."[5]
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, plans to discuss and formalize the schism, inclusive of the creation of the Global Methodist Church, were delayed until 2022. In August and September of that year, the UMC General Conference was expected to vote on the proposal referred to as the "Protocol of Reconciliation and Grace Through Separation".[31][32] However, Reverend Keith Boyette, chairman of the Transitional Leadership Council of the Global Methodist Church, published a letter in January 2022 that expressed concern this General Conference would also be delayed.[33] In February 2022, the UMC announced that it was examining again postponing the General Conference.[34] Not wanting to wait for the General Conference to occur, some conservative United Methodist congregations left the United Methodist Church to become a part of the Free Methodist Church.[35][36]
The denomination launched on May 1, 2022. On 6-7 May 2022, leaders and delegates of the Wesleyan Covenant Association met in Avon, Indiana.[37] They selected Jay Therrell of Florida as their leader, replacing Keith Boyette of Virginia, who will remain in as a member of the GMC's leadership. Also, they approved core beliefs and policies for the denomination.[38] In September, a group of UMC bishops in Africa suspended cooperation with the Africa Initiative and Wesleyan Covenant Association after accusing the groups of working "to destroy our United Methodist Church" and attempting to raise the Global Methodist Church's profile.[39] By July 2023, the Global Methodist Church reported 3,000 churches had joined the denomination.[40]
In September 2024, the GMC held its convening general conference in San José, Costa Rica. The nearly 1,000 delegates overwhelmingly ratified a new constitution and elected a set of bishops for the transitional period until the next general conference in 2026, at which point the denomination will begin holding general conferences every six years.[41][42]
Much like both the UMC and Free Methodist Church (FMC), the GMC will have an episcopacy that will oversee annual conferences.[44] Unlike the UMC, bishops within the GMC will be consecrated to serve for a set term, as opposed to a lifetime role.[45] The role within the UMC of district superintendent will be replaced with that of a presiding elder.[46]
At its September 2024 convening general conference in Costa Rica, the GMC approved a constitution in which bishops function as "general superintendents," working collectively to guard the doctrine and practice of the whole church instead of being assigned to oversee individual conferences. At each future general conference, scheduled to take place every six years, the GMC's episcopal areas (groups of six to eight annual conferences) will nominate from their areas candidates to serve as bishops for the next six-year period.[47][48] Following election to a six-year term, bishops are eligible to be elected to one additional term.[41] The convening general conference also elected and consecrated six bishops to serve the church in the intervening period before the next general conference in 2026. The newly appointed bishops—Kimba Everiste of the Democratic Republic of the Congo; John Pena Auta of Nigeria; and Leah Hidde-Gregory, Kenneth Levingston, Carolyn Moore, and Jeff Greenway of the United States—joining former United Methodist bishops Scott J. Jones and Mark Webb of the United States and Johnwesley Yohanna of Nigeria in the general superintendency of the GMC.[49] The church also selected Mike Schafer of Texas as its first connectional operations officer, the lead staff member for the denomination, succeeding Keith Boyette, who retired after holding the role on a transitional basis.[50]
Annual conferences
In May 2022, the Judicial Council of the United Methodist Church ruled that none of the 51 annual conferences in the United States can leave the church for the GMC and that only individual churches can do so. However, the ruling does not apply to conferences outside the United States. The Romania-Bulgaria Conference had already voted to leave the UMC,[37] and in June the Evangelical Methodist Church in Zagreb, Croatia, joined as a member congregation of the GMC.[51] Four United Methodist conferences in Nigeria voted to leave and were received into the GMC in July 2024.[52]
Provisional annual conferences on the Global Methodist Church as of June 2024 are:[53]
United States
Alabama Emerald Coast Provisional Annual Conference (Alabama and the Florida Panhandle)
Allegheny West Provisional Annual Conference (Ohio and western Pennsylvania)
Florida Provisional Annual Conference (Florida east of the Panhandle)
Great Lakes Provisional Annual Conference (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin)
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christian tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother Charles Wesley were also significant early leaders in the movement. They were named Methodists for "the methodical way in which they carried out their Christian faith". Methodism originated as a revival movement within Anglicanism with roots in the Church of England in the 18th century and became a separate denomination after Wesley's death. The movement spread throughout the British Empire, the United States and beyond because of vigorous missionary work, and today has about 80 million adherents worldwide.
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelicalism. The present denomination was founded in 1968 in Dallas, Texas, by union of the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church. The UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley in England, as well as the Great Awakening in the United States. As such, the church's theological orientation is decidedly Wesleyan. It embraces liturgical worship, holiness, and evangelical elements.
The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Methodist denomination based in the United States. It adheres to Wesleyan–Arminian theology and has a connexional polity. It cooperates with other Methodist bodies through the World Methodist Council and Wesleyan Holiness Connection.
The Church of the United Brethren in Christ is an evangelical Christian denomination with churches in 17 countries. It is Protestant, with an episcopal structure and Arminian theology, with roots in the Mennonite and German Reformed communities of 18th-century Pennsylvania, as well as close ties to Methodism. It was organized in 1800 by Martin Boehm and Philip William Otterbein and is the first American denomination that was not transplanted from Europe. It emerged from United Brethren churches that were at first unorganized, and not all of which joined this church when it was formally organized in 1800, following a 1789 conference at the Otterbein Church.
The Confessing Movement is a largely lay-led theologically conservative Christian movement that opposes the influence of theological liberalism and theological progressivism currently within several mainline Protestant denominations and seeks to return those denominations to its view of orthodox doctrine or to form new denominations and disfellowship (excommunicate) them if the situation becomes untenable. Those who eventually deem dealing with theological liberalism and theological progressivism within their churches and denominations as not being tenable anymore would later join or start Confessional Churches and/or Evangelical Churches that continue with the traditions of their respective denominations and maintaining orthodox doctrine while being ecclesiastically separate from the Mainline Protestant denominations.
The Reconciling Ministries Network (RMN) is an organization seeking the inclusion of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities in both the policy and practices of United Methodist Church. It is one of many Welcoming Congregation organizations to emerge in American Christianity in the 1980s. The ministry has over 1100 affiliated congregations and 42,000 affiliated individuals.
A bishop is a senior role in many Methodist denominations. The bishop's role is typically called the "episcopacy", based on the Greek word episkopos (επισκοπος), which literally means overseer. Superintendent is another translation of episkopos but in most Methodist denominations this is a role distinct from bishop. The first Methodist bishops were appointed in America, and many Methodist denominations, such as the Free Methodist Church, recognize the office of bishop. Others, such as the Methodist Church of Great Britain, do not have bishops.
Robert Tsugio Hoshibata is a bishop of The United Methodist Church (UMC), the second-largest Protestant denomination in the United States. He was elected to the episcopacy in 2004. His first assignment was as Bishop of the Oregon-Idaho Conference of the UMC. He currently serves as Bishop of the Phoenix Episcopal Area, Desert Southwest Conference for the UMC.
An annual conference is a regional decision-making body within various Methodist denominations. Conferences are a key characteristic of the connexional (connectional) system of government in Methodism. Annual conferences are composed primarily of the clergy members and a lay member or members from each charge. Each conference is a geographical division. In general, the smaller states in the United States hold one conference each, while larger states often include two or more conferences. Several annual conferences are held in other nations as well.
The Evangelical Methodist Church (EMC) is a Christian denomination in the Wesleyan-Holiness tradition headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The denomination reported 399 churches in the United States, Mexico, Burma/Myanmar, Canada, Philippines and several European and African nations in 2018, and a total of 34,656 members worldwide.
The General Conference, in several Methodist denominations, is the top legislative body for all matters within the denomination.
The Evangelical Church of North America (ECNA) is a Wesleyan-Holiness, Protestant Christian denomination headquartered in Clackamas, Oregon. As of 2000, the Church had 12,475 members in 133 local churches. The Church sponsors missionaries in seven countries.
Methodist viewpoints concerning homosexuality are diverse because there is no one denomination which represents all Methodists. The World Methodist Council, which represents most Methodist denominations, has no official statements regarding sexuality. Various Methodist denominations themselves take different stances on the issue of homosexuality, with many denominations holding homosexual practice to be sinful, while other denominations ordain LGBT clergy and marry same-sex couples. The positions of the various Methodist denominations around the globe are outlined in this article.
The ordination of lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender (LGBT) clergy who are open about their sexuality or gender identity; are sexually active if lesbian, gay, or bisexual; or are in committed same-sex relationships is a debated practice within some contemporary Christian denominations.
The North Alabama Conference is an Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.
The history of Methodism in the United States dates back to the mid-18th century with the ministries of early Methodist preachers such as Laurence Coughlan and Robert Strawbridge. Following the American Revolution most of the Anglican clergy who had been in America came back to England. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, sent Thomas Coke to America where he and Francis Asbury founded the Methodist Episcopal Church, which was to later establish itself as the largest denomination in America during the 19th century.
Cynthia Fierro Harvey is an American bishop in the United Methodist Church and served as president of its Council of Bishops. She is the first Hispanic woman to lead the Council of Bishops. Harvey is the Resident Bishop of the Texas Annual Conference.
Church membership, in Christianity, is the state of belonging to a local church congregation, which in most cases, simultaneously makes one a member of a Christian denomination and the universal Christian Church. Christian theologians have taught that church membership is commanded in the Bible. The process of becoming a church member varies based on the Christian denomination. Those preparing to become full members of a church are known variously as catechumens, candidates or probationers depending on the Christian denomination and the sacramental status of the individual.
1 2 3 Hodges, Sam (March 22, 2021). "Planned traditionalist Methodist denomination gets name". The Christian Century. Retrieved December 14, 2022. Traditionalists committed to leaving the United Methodist Church have chosen "Global Methodist Church" as the name for the denomination they plan to launch. ... The name "Global Methodist Church" is in the spirit of Methodism founder John Wesley's statement, "The world is my parish," a press release said.
↑ Hodges, Sam (May 9, 2022). "Traditionalist group not going away". United Methodist News Service. Retrieved December 14, 2022. The WCA took the lead in the creation of a new traditionalist Methodist denomination, the Global Methodist Church, which formally began May 1.
↑ Hodges, Sam (April 11, 2022). "Bulgaria-Romania United Methodists vote to leave". United Methodist News Service. Retrieved December 14, 2022. The Bulgaria-Romania Provisional Conference voted to leave The United Methodist Church for the Global Methodist Church, a traditionalist denomination that begins operations May 1.
↑ Tooley, Mark (August 17, 2022). "Traditional Methodists Search for New Path Forward". The Gospel Coalition. Retrieved December 14, 2022. The 13-million-member United Methodist Church is shattering, and traditionalists are building a new Global Methodist Church committed to theological and ethical Christian orthodoxy.
1 2 Matthews, Cabe (August 2, 2022). "The Center Cannot Hold". Firebrand Magazine. Retrieved December 14, 2022. Of course the headline issue is that of human sexuality: should the church maintain the classical understanding of Christianity (and before it, its Judaic mother) on same-gender sexual relationships, or is this traditional view now properly understood as retrograde, oppressive, and offensive? Meanwhile, many traditionalists insist that matters of human sexuality are not their primary concern. Instead, they often suggest that orthodox Christian doctrine is what is at stake. The post-separation UMC, some claim, will not only be progressive in its sexual ethic, it will quickly abandon classical Christian teachings like the virgin birth, the atoning death of Christ, the Trinity, or the bodily resurrection of Christ.
↑ Shepherd, Josh (December 7, 2022). "Over 400 TX Congregations Exit United Methodist Church Over LGBTQ Issues". The Roys Report. Retrieved December 14, 2022. Similarly, White's Chapel in Southlake, which has over 6,000 weekly attendance, exited the denomination last month and stated it seeks to uphold "Wesleyan Theology" and "Methodist traditions, rites, and rituals" as it moves forward.
↑ Short, Faye (May 10, 2022). "A Response to the Rebranding of United Methodist Women to United Women in Faith". Renew Network. They are the issues that caused the formation of renewal movements (Good News, UM Action, The Confessing Movement, Concerned Methodists, The Wesleyan Covenant Association), within the UMC, including, in behalf of women, the Esther Action Council, The Good News Women's Taskforce and the ECUMW/RENEW Network. They are the underlying concerns, among others, that brought about the formation of the WCA, and the subsequent Global Methodist Church.
↑ Goodstein, Laurie (May 3, 2012). "Methodists Keep Stricture on Homosexuality". The New York Times. Retrieved December 14, 2022. The United Methodist Church at its convention in Tampa, Fla., on Thursday voted against changing long-contested language in its book of laws and doctrines that calls homosexuality "incompatible with Christian teaching." The vote was 61 percent to 39 percent against the change to the church's Book of Discipline. The delegates also defeated by a similar margin a compromise proposed by gay rights advocates, which said that Methodists could acknowledge their differences on homosexuality while still living together as a church. In other historically mainline Protestant denominations in the United States, liberals have prevailed so far in the battles over homosexuality. The Episcopal Church, the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America have all voted in recent years to end their outright prohibitions on openly gay clergy members. But in the United Methodist Church, theological conservatives have held sway in the 40 years that the church has been debating the issue. An influx of non-American members has even bolstered the conservatives. The United Methodist Church is the largest mainline Protestant denomination in the United States, but its American membership has declined to about 7.8 million in recent years. Meanwhile, its membership abroad has grown to about 4.4 million, mostly in Africa and the Philippines, where homosexuality is not accepted.
1 2 Strode, Tom (May 24, 2016). "Baptists praise UMC reversal on abortion". Baptist Press. Retrieved December 14, 2022. Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, told Baptist Press, "Christians of all denominations should praise God for the United Methodist Church's historic repudiation of abortion. This is good news for orthodoxy, for the unity of the Body of Christ, and for the vulnerable unborn and their mothers. ... The Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD) — which seeks the renewal of mainline Protestant denominations — commended the UMC pro-life actions. John Lomperis, IRD's United Methodist director, called them "HUGE steps in the right direction." Regarding homosexuality, the delegates in Portland voted 428 to 405 in support of a recommendation from the UMC's Council of Bishops to defer votes on "human sexuality" at the conference. Instead, the recommendation, passed May 18, empowered the Council of Bishops to appoint a special commission to study the UMC's Book of Discipline for possible revision on sexual issues. The council said it may call for a meeting to address the matter prior to the 2020 General Conference. The Book of Discipline — which will remain in effect in the meantime — says homosexuality is "incompatible with Christian teaching" and maintains marriage is only between a man and a woman.
↑ Garrison, Greg (March 14, 2022). "With Methodist split delayed again, churches mull whether to go now or stay". Advance Publications. Retrieved December 14, 2022. Even though the denomination has repeatedly voted to keep its traditional stance on marriage as only between a man and a woman, conservatives complain that progressives in the denomination have repeatedly ignored the rules. "We've come to an impasse," said the Rev. Vaughn Stafford, pastor of Clearbranch Church.
↑ Lambrecht, Thomas (October 7, 2022). "Reasons for Affiliating with the Global Methodist Church". Retrieved December 14, 2022. The Global Methodist Church was formed by people who want to see the GM Church committed to making disciples for Jesus Christ. They have served in leadership in the same Renewal and Reform groups that have worked for decades to promote doctrinal integrity and biblical positions in The United Methodist Church. These include The Confessing Movement, Good News, and the Wesleyan Covenant Association. They are dedicated to the advancement of a Scripturally-based, historic Wesleyan understanding of the Christian faith.
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