I’m Christian. Can I Still Attend a United Methodist Church?
Yes, of course. Err, maybe. Well…go ask your Father.
I grew up in the United Methodist Church. My childhood and teenage years are filled with joyful memories of Sunday mornings in a stain-glassed sanctuary, long wooden pews, ceiling fans whirring above, hymns exuberantly sung off-key, responsive readings, and concise twenty-minute sermons😊. Here, church wasn’t only a Sunday event. It was a community. In our small town of two hundred, our UMC drew from surrounding areas and attendance sometimes exceeded that number.
However, recently UMC leadership broke God’s first commandment by placing their own words above God’s words, thereby declaring themselves to be god. These actions evidence a problem within UMC leadership. Let me explain.
Virtue, Sin, and Gray Areas In Between
Some teachings of the Bible do, admittedly, fall within gray areas of interpretation. However, all Christians believe in the same basics: that all of us have sinned, that we are powerless to save ourselves, that God loves us, that he recognized our situation and sent his son Jesus to receive our punishment in our place, and that he offers us the gift of eternal life if we accept it. Minor caveats aside, even the most devout of Catholics can smile, reach across the aisle, and shake hands with Protestants regarding these.
However, UMC leadership now states certain acts are permissible, even virtuous, which God clearly states are not. Things which God – the creator of the entire universe, mind you – stated are not beneficial. In fact, he says these acts eventually lead to spiritual death. God warns us away from them, not because he’s meanspirited, but because he loves us and knows what works for our benefit as well as our detriment. These acts are called sins, and they are dangerous not because they break a rule, but because they break us. UMC leadership now states certain sins are to be embraced.
God’s Words Versus UMC Words
Between April 23rd to May 3rd, 2024, UMC leadership met at General Conference and passed much praiseworthy legislation. Some, however, was not.
LGBTQ
UMC leadership decided they now embrace LGBTQ as an acceptable sexual practice, even for clergy.1, 2, 3 By contrast, God says, “Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.” (Leviticus 18:22). Just for clarity, God says this while listing a slew of people/things one is not to have sex with, including your mother, sister, and animals. And then, for further clarity, God repeats this instruction two chapters later. In the New Testament God addresses homosexuality in several places and explicitly says homosexuals, “will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). In other words, it’s a scarry big deal.
Marriage
UMC leadership redefined biblical marriage to be between any two consenting adults.2 In contrast, God says, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24). Jesus – God in the flesh – later quotes this verse in Matthew 19, validating its applicability for today. In both instances, the original language is gender-specific.
They also no longer consider adultery a sin for clergy by redacting it from their Book of Discipline.7 Conversely, God, while dictating his ten commandments, says, “You shall not commit adultery.” (Exodus 20:14) A little explanation here: both “immorality” and “sexual misconduct” are still not allowed per the Book of Discipline, but they are undefined. So, how does the UMC define them? They certainly can’t be referencing the Bible or else LGBTQ would still be unacceptable. Thus, despite whatever UMC leadership may verbalize, their written words now allow adultery among clergy.
Abortion
UMC leadership stated they believe it is OK to kill babies, as long as they are still inside the mother (abortion).4 Further, they extended this resolution to the entire world, stating they will support it through lobby and protest. However, God states, “You shall not murder.” (Exodus 20:13) Additionally, God’s exquisitely intimate relationship with his creation at this most vulnerable time is explained in Psalm 139: “For you formed my inward parts; you covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.” And finally, when God lists seven things that are an abomination, he includes, “hands that shed innocent blood”. (Proverbs 6:17)
Support of Israel
UMC leadership no longer supports Israel possessing the lands that God gave them.5 However, to Abraham, the father of the Israelites, God says, “I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession”. (Genesis 17:8) And just a little later in that chapter God clearly states that this promise will flow through Abraham’s son Isaac (Jewish nation), not Ishmael (Arab nations).
UMC leadership urges the U.S. and “all governments to end all military aid, arms transfers and arms sales to the region”. 5 In context, the “region” includes Israel. They also no longer allow investments in Israeli bonds.6 God says, “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you”. (Genesis 12:3)
Details on each of these new positions are aptly provided by the UMC itself as well as from other sources. I encourage you to do your own research. However, I can recommend this synopsis of key issues provided by PeopleNeedJesus.net which draws directly from UMC sources.
UMC Replaces God
That heading sounds a bit extreme, doesn’t it? After all, the UMC in no way stated they were placing themselves above God. However, it is what their actions say. Think about it. In contrast to God’s instructions, they embrace LGBTQ and pledge to force it from the top down, promote abortion even in non-abortion countries, and deny Israel God’s promises. These are not trite speakings, rather written instructions. Consider the references cited below this article. In this manner, by promoting their own written words over God’s written word, they place themselves above God.
But God saw this coming and gave us a heads-up on how to deal with it. He said, “You shall have no other gods before Me.” (Exodus 20:3) In fact, it’s the first of the ten commandments. It’s as if God knew what was going to happen…🤔
By this, UMC leadership effectively created a new religion. But a religion based upon what? The whims of society? Well, those change all the time. Society was largely appalled by LGBTQ thirty years ago. Now, it’s celebrated…at least by some within the U.S. Society once considered children within the womb wholly sacred. Now, their lives hinge upon a mother’s “choice”. At the end of WWII, the nation of Israel was formed out of hallowed duty and many Jews returned to their promised land. Now, antisemitism is the fashion of the day among universities. Society’s ideals are a fickle narcosis.
So, upon what is UMC leadership basing their new religion? The Bible, of course. Well, not really. They’re ignoring portions of the Bible they don’t want, and accepting what they do. Hmm…this sounds familiar. “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth”. (2 Timothy 4:3-4) Here, “they” refers to the church.
Society’s ideals are a fickle narcosis.
Why’d leadership throw out marriage between man and woman, but keep the part of it being between two people? Why not three? Or more? Open marriage is a trend, after all. Society is talking about it. News agencies publish articles purporting its many benefits. It’s a good thing, right? And adultery is no longer on the “bad” list. So now UMC clergy can have an affair, divorce their spouse, and marry their new same-sex partner? Why not just skip the divorce and let all three enjoy a sacred union? That is what society now says is good, after all.
You see, once a church places their own words above God’s, chaos ensues because anything, given enough social pressure, will be considered “godly”.
A Secular View
In addition, the UMC now faces a plethora of legal challenges. If a conservative congregation wanted to leave the UMC, they had a clear path to do so, but only through December 2023.
“Wait, but they made this radical change after that date.”
Yep. In law, that U-turn represents a “material change” to the organizational agreement. In other words, it’s such a big change from normal operations that affected parties should be allowed to part ways and be made whole by the party at fault – the one causing the change. Let me state this clearly: due to the recent radical change by UMC leadership, any UMC congregation that desires to disassociate themselves now (theoretically) has a legal right to do so and be compensated for any resulting financial loss. Conservative pastors who cannot morally embrace the new UMC ideology should also be allowed to leave without loss to their retirement investments.
This said, I exhort both parties to settle this split outside court proceedings as instructed in 1 Corinthians 6. A mutually agreed mediator is one of several options.
Breaking Faith
A special mention is required regarding the tactics the U.S. based progressive UMC leadership utilized to bully this agenda through vote. Eyewitness reports indicate it was anything but kind. With Hitleresque efficiency, they denied many of their conservative African counterparts sufficient time and aid to obtain visas, thus stacking their progressive deck, guaranteeing conservatives were not adequately represented when the time came to vote. They erected new barriers to communication before the vote was taken. They interrupted conservative delegates when they had the opportunity to express disapproval. In short, while claiming an agenda of tolerance, they broke faith with their fellow brethren. The monumental nature of this move cannot be understated. UMC leadership effectively took the work, tithes, and donations of prior decades handed to them to steward and tossed it upon the floor at the feet of their forefathers, saying, “Your labor, beliefs, and your very Bible are a stench to us.”
I’m Christian. Can I Attend a United Methodist Church?
Many members of my local community are reeling in grief over UMC leadership’s recent decisions. Similar cries are echoing across the entire world. Their shock parallels symptoms of a blindsided divorce. They suddenly find themselves in need of moving out, but their friends and community are within the UMC. Can they still attend?
To them, I say, “Talk to your Father.” He will guide you and give you grace, whether it be to stay or to leave. For me, I can’t attend a UMC because of the principle of spiritual authority. I do not want to be under a sickly church head which denies its spiritual authority for fear of the downstream consequences which may land upon me or my family. I cannot donate to the UMC either, since those funds will be used to promote and further their new anti-Christian doctrine.
While voicing inclusiveness and tolerance, the actions of UMC leaders produce division. While preaching God’s morality, they place their own words above His. While extolling the ten commandments, they break the first…as well as allow their clergy to trample the seventh (adultery). While claiming to love everyone, they deny life to the most innocent and vulnerable (abortion). While claiming to love God, they break relations with his chosen people Israel.
To UMC leadership, Jesus says, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17) In fact, he says this to us all. Repentance is a gift. Receive it, and live.
References
1. umnews.org: 40-year ban on gay clergy struck down
2. umnews.org: Church ends 52-year-old anti-gay stance
3. umnews.org: United Methodists remove same-sex wedding ban
4. Daily Christian Advocate, Volume 3, Supplement for 2024
5. Daily Christian Advocate, Volume 2, Section 1
6. umnews.org: Resolution opposes investment in Israeli bonds
7. Daily Christian Advocate, Volume 2, Section 2
Photo Credits
Church Door With Pride Flag courtesy of Haanala 76 and licensed under CC0 Public Domain
I should have mentioned the Church of Jesus Christ has replaced Israel. Current political Israel is not the theocracy of Israel in the Old Testament. In addition, too many have swallowed William Darby's hijacking of the Book of Revelation about 200 years ago, erasing 1,800 years of the Church's doctrine and so this is how Evangelicals are all in love with Israel. Ironic if you go to Israel and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, they will deport you on the next airline out. The Church is also silent on the clear genocide of Palestinian civilians, cutting off food, water, electricity, and medical care even from women and children, not to mention bulldozing buildings just to make life as unbearable as possible. There are Christian Palestinians suffers and the Church is silent because they are confused as to who is who. We are the Church; there isn't a second entity equal to the Church of Jesus Christ. There is only one bride of Christ.
All sinners should be welcome to attend any church. The problem arises when the sinners are running the church. Clearly the UMC no longer believes what the Scriptures clearly teach. No sermons on sin, repentance, and holy living, just love, love, love. Go read some of Rev. John Wesley's sermons and see if you hear anything even remotely as powerful. When UMC churches have liturgical dancers, you know the ebb tide is indeed out. Yes, I saw this in a local UMC while on vacation. I wish there was a local Methodist Church on fire for God, as I would love to worship there, so my truth about the UMC isn't coming from someone who doesn't love the old Methodist doctrine. The Rev. John Wesley always said he wasn't worried about the Methodists going away, but he was worried about their long-term spiritual condition. He knew the danger of just flowing with the tide and human nature and knew how a church founded in a white-hot revival can cool as cold as ice.