PlainSpoken

In this segment, I cover a series of memes published last week on the Friends of The United Methodist Church Facebook Group. It is functionally a big cope that has great potential to continue destructive trends of self-justification and projection. I worry that a lot of folks who decided to stay might unquestioning adopt some of this reasoning, and I would rob them of that if I could in order to facilitate mutual understanding. Faith seeks understanding, remember. I left the UMC, but that doesn't mean I gave up on the ability of all United Methodists to reason through things. In the lead up to General Conference 2020 in 2024, I think it is important for as many UMs as possible to sober up!

Rev. Dr. Matt O'Reilly is Lead Pastor of Christ Church in Birmingham, Alabama, Director of Research at Wesley Biblical Seminary, and a fellow of the Center for Pastor Theologians. He has been facilitating Methodist theological education online for many years. His effort is called Theology Project. Matt and his church will be hosting the Reconstructing Methodist Conference on April 26-27. Those who want to attend can get a $10 discount by the promo code ’PS10.’ YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/theologyprojectonline Web: www.theologyproject.online Twitter:@mporeilly Books * Paul and the Resurrected Body: Social Identity and Ethical Practice (SBL Press) https://amzn.to/48tlyvu * The Letters to the Thessalonians (Seedbed)https://amzn.to/3GTduIP * The Question of Holiness (Seedbed, forthcoming) Links: O’Reilly’s List of Methodist Doctrines & Practices - https://5c8c126c-2e97-491d-8c3d-c68de0039a1b.usrfiles.com/ugd/5c8c12_d6a7debb6cb345b3af3dcf38dd2a2fc7.pdf Reconstructing Methodism Conference Page - https://www.reconstructingmethodism.com

We pick up in ¶409 with the specifics involved in ordaining deacons and elders, and proceeding into various ideas and capacities for ordained clergy in the GMC. We covered some good ground, so make sure to come along for the ride. Link to Transitional Book of Doctrines & Discipline - https://globalmethodist.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Transitional-Discipline.20231130.pdf

On Monday it was announced that Roman Catholic practice can now be changed to be more accommodating of homosexual unions and other nontraditional couplings. There is still some confusion about to what degree this is implicitly or explicitly declaring sexual behavior to be no longer problematic in one’s relationship with the Lord or his church. While many Roman Catholics tout the faithfulness of their ‘one true church,’ Protestants like me are getting the impression that their house in struggling similarly to ours. This segment covers some of the particulars of the new language and ties the undergirding theology around sexual behavior and gender to phenomena we also see in many other denominations. In particular, we will look at the Episcopal Church and its postmortem sanctification of gay martyr Matthew Shepard, coupled with the drag show phenomenon. For those who are incredulous at the continued development of these insults, I hope it helpful to think through these things and to connect some of these dots. Links: NPR Article “Pope Francis approves Catholic blessings for same-sex couples, but not for marriage” by Becky Sullivan - https://www.npr.org/2023/12/18/1220077102/pope-francis-blessings-same-sex-couples Fiducia Supplicans (the Roman Catholic document in question) - https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2023/12/18/0901/01963.html#en Roman Catholic Bishop Robert Barron’s Statement on the document - https://twitter.com/BishopBarron/status/1737574875395391530/photo/1 IRD Article on Drag Worship Service for Matthew Shepard “Drag ‘Sister’ Indulges Episcopal Washington National Cathedral” by Jeffrey Walton - https://juicyecumenism.com/2023/12/12/perpetual-indulgence/ YouTube Video of the Actual Service at the National Cathedral - https://www.youtube.com/live/J0VGWyE6Tw0?si=xd2psBP0XOavEe9n Wikipedia Page for Matthew Shepard - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Shepard

Yesterday’s report dealt partly with an article written by Ruth Graham for the New York Times. Part of it stated the primary reason for disaffiliation from The United Methodist Church being opposition to gay marriage and ordination. I got an email from a gentleman who wanted me to speak about this. Is it really the case that the primary reason for the “biggest denominational split ever” is the gay stuff? Or are things perhaps a bit more complicated than that? Links: This PlainSpoken Substack Article - https://open.substack.com/pub/plainspokenpod/p/is-it-really-all-about-the-gay-stuff?r=17brpc&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcome=true New York Times Article “With a Deadline Looming, The United Methodist Church Breaks Up - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/18/us/the-united-methodist-church-schism.html

The denominational woes of The United Methodist Church has been remarked upon by worldly sources a few times over the years. Now that disaffiliation season under Paragraph 2553 has concluded, a couple larger outlets have decided to tell our story to the rest of their reading audiences. In this segment, I walk through the reporting of both outlets to some degree, while also consulting a couple of other resources for ascertaining where things currently stand. While my commentary (and the buzzy audio) might be lacking in this one, the resources presented here, especially the interactive map and the GCFA list of largest churches, are worthy resources, so here are all the links to the resources consulted in this segment: Liam Adams Tweet Thread: https://twitter.com/liamsadams/status/1735718114367504847 Tennessean Interactive Map “Total churches that have disaffiliated from United Methodist Church since 2019” - https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/11865260/ UMNews Disaffiliation Numbers Spreadsheet - https://www.umnews.org/en/news/disaffiliations-approved-by-annual-conferences Jimmy Boone’s UM Disaffiliations Tally - https://www.facebook.com/groups/197734687313310/permalink/1841598499593579 Talbot Davis Tweet on NYTimes Article - https://twitter.com/TalbotDavis New York Times Article “With a Deadline Looming, The United Methodist Church Breaks Up - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/18/us/the-united-methodist-church-schism.html?unlocked_article_code=1.G00.GTs9.wlHnAcOOD46l&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare GCFA’s “2020 Top 100 Churches by Attendance” - https://www.gcfa.org/_files/ugd/5524b1_20f39c75fee649c69ec49751578b2b08.pdf

This segment covers the requirements for consideration for ordained ministry in the Global Methodist Church. What background is needed in order to be recommended by one's church? Once recommended, what does the educational and candidacy process look like? We have an extended reflection on the relevance of modern psychotherapy in the culling the candidates for ministry. The final content deals with the historic questions asked of clergy and how they might should be interpreted and applied today. Enjoy! Link - Allie Beth Stuckey on Social Justice - https://youtu.be/yBX-9eUtwzU?si=m7TEMjPayzvqaKnV

¶401-403 Deals with "The Ministry of the Called." It establishes a basic theological framework for ordained church leadership, beginning with Certified Lay Ministers but then getting into Deacons and Elders. In this segment, we talk through a theology of calling and how it stands against other traditions that have other litmus tests for who should lead. We also try (and largely fail) to suss out where the boundary lines are between the different roles for leadership in the church. We hope you enjoy!

A reflection on a strange farewell - This segment deals with the conclusion to the recent 'special called' Florida Conference, at which they said goodbye to another 74 local churches. The bishop had some choice words for people who 'did not leave in peace.' What could this mean? Links: Florida WCA post - https://www.facebook.com/WesleyanCovenantAssocFl/posts/pfbid0pZUXzzGa1LLZX5WADxNJyyAENKYmc8VGRmdRV1Yz6UXeFATSyaCbmhmBmbXujiTsl Florida Conference Article - https://www.flumc.org/newsdetail/with-disaffiliation-complete-the-florida-conference-looks-to-a-united-future-18162480

At the special called conference of the Western North Carolina Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church (held only online), a 17-minute video of Bishop Ken Carter was played to set the tenor of the separation. His tone was mostly warm and pastoral, but near the end he turned paternal and controlling, instructing churches leaving on how they were and were not to act after separation. I haven’t seen anything like this yet and thought it worthy of note. What will happen if churches refuse to obey his commands? What if churches or pastors insist on publicly speaking about what they have experienced to be dysfunction, or even abuse?

Also, where do things stand in Western North Carolina? Did any churches get voted down? What does the future look like? Links: Bishop Carter’s Full Address (or at least the version I found) - https://vimeo.com/881210107?fbclid=IwAR02jimNpNODzK_oiJMOHtcj33iG8daCVimR6esB2qaRqndbmPHRt3cbPPk Report on Disaffiliation by Western North Carolina Conference - https://www.wnccumc.org/november-results?fbclid=IwAR2YIHKEJr3Z4PbGJrqW2lCkUecTcyJ6W9ru4R4ch68SissKw-HUz_0S6_A

Karen Oliveto has been given the status of bishop in The United Methodist Church, even though, by the denomination’s standards, she is not eligible even for ordained ministry, much less the episcopacy. Since her ‘consecration’ as a bishop, she has revealed herself to be aligned against all forms of traditional Christianity, compromising the integrity of the UMC from within. Her continued standing in the denomination delegitimates among the episcopacy who continue to suffer the lawlessness of her administration. 

In this segment, I go through a recent piece she did and connect it some other work that I have done, as well as some previous reporting on her claiming to be a Muslim and railing against the ‘basket of deplorables’ culture found within some parts of the UMC. This isn’t meant to preach to the choir (although I’m sure many choir members will appreciate this) so much as educate those outside of the Western Jurisdiction who may not know very much about her. Links: Judicial Council Decision #1341, which delegitimated Oliveto’s episcopacy - https://www.resourceumc.org/en/churchwide/judicial-council/judicial-council-decision-home/judicial-decisions/in-re-petition-for-declaratory-decision-from-the-south-central-jurisdiction Conversation with Rev. Robert Barnes, in which he details the rigged dismissal of his complaints against Oliveto - https://youtu.be/Av4Z9ENR54A Conversation with Rev. John Nadasi, in which he details the kindness of Oliveto - https://youtu.be/32rEGl0DHWQ Video Oliveto Recorded - https://www.facebook.com/MountainSkyUMC/videos/2247578005443624/?vh=e&extid=MSG-UNK-UNK-UNK-AN_GK0T-GK1C Article w/ Picture of Oliveto Claiming to be Muslim - Lesbian Bishop Seeks to ‘Reshape United Methodism for a New Era’ - https://juicyecumenism.com/2022/01/17/lesbian-bishop-reshape-united-methodism/

Being connected together is a hallmark of being a Methodist, unfortunately we as conservatives can sometimes forget that. Rather than banding together and tackling issues head on we've isolated ourselves in our smaller communities, its time for that to change.

Church membership is important. Sometimes our local church membership rolls look much different than the reality of a Sunday morning. When churches vote to leave the UMC and members suddenly show up that haven't been to church in years who is really at fault? And should we be mad at the Annual Conference for trying to contact members directly? Here is a short video directed at that very subject, we will release a longer video going further in depth later, let us know which format you prefer and don't for get to subscribe and share our content if you find it helpful!