Lifelong United Methodist Seeking Revival

God looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. Psalm 53:2

When faced with difficulties in our local churches, we tend to quickly acknowledge the challenge, try our best to deal with the issue if it is within our control, and move on believing that "this too shall pass". At least that's what I've found myself doing since entering ministry in the local church. If we're really bothered by the situation or motivated to pursue change, we may even follow Jesus' model of conflict resolution found in Matthew 18:15-17:

15 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

I grew up within the United Methodist Church (UMC) being baptized into the church at a young age. I personally accepted Christ as my Savior at a summer camp (Sumatanga) at the age of 11. My family comes from a long line of Methodists...dating back at least 5 generations in Alabama as far back as we can trace. I've found that in many of our local churches, roughly half of the congregation members come from a Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, or other Protestant background. In many cases, the other half of the church members are lifelong Methodists.

I have many immediate family members and hundreds of extended church family within United Methodist (UM) churches across Alabama. Hundreds of men and women of God served as my Sunday School teachers, VBS leaders, Youth Ministers, "adoptive" mothers and grandmothers, friends, and pastors throughout my Christian walk. They have truly been a vibrant example of the "great cloud of witnesses" (Heb. 12:1) to me as I've grown in the faith and opted to pick up the cross of Jesus Christ as a disciple. I'm so grateful for the grace of Jesus Christ which has been so tangible and real to me in local UM churches.

Since at least 2016, I've found myself (alongside many of my fellow pastors and clergy) growing more saddened and disappointed over the direction of the UMC as a denomination. All churches have conflicts and fall "short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:23) since we are made up of imperfect people on a journey of sanctification through Jesus Christ. We can see plentiful evidence in the New Testament of the early churches veering from the faithful path as Paul writes passionately to help correct, rebuke, and lead them all back on the narrow path of Jesus. Despite the gift of the New Testament witness, the "God-breathed" (2 Tim. 3:16) teaching of the Holy Scriptures, and decades of sermons preached which have called the church to repentance and a return to personal and social holiness, our denomination is in the midst of a Great Divorce (article for review: After years of debate, conservatives split from United Methodist Church - The Washington Post). Whether you prefer to call it a schism or a splintering, the effects will be long-lasting.

Simply put, we cannot agree on the Scriptural definitions of sin or of marriage, and we've been unable to work past these differences despite decades of General Conferences which have upheld the Biblical view of marriage (one man and one woman in covenant before God). The Book of Discipline (the UM book of church law and official beliefs) has effectively been discarded by some UM bishops and pastors, and this has led to the unravelling of any sense of a denomination existing "in connection" with one another.

What are we to do as we experience a growing discontentment with the current situation facing our local churches when we know we can play a role in leading the church to greater faithfulness in the future? Could our time, energy, and attention be directed to more fruitful efforts as we live out the Great Commission and the Great Commandments of Jesus while building relationships and creating new ministries with those beyond our local church walls?

I invite you to join me and other Jesus followers on this journey of Spirit-led discernment and discovery. I look ahead in faith believing revival and new life will not only occur, but I believe we will see it happening in our own local communities "soon and very soon"! If you find yourself on an opposing side of this key issue, my prayer is that this will serve to help inform and be the voice of others you may know in your local church setting. We may agree to disagree on these fundamental issues facing the future of the UMC, but as John Wesley taught us, "though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike?"

photo credit to andrewtaylorarts.co

Grace and peace to you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

Wes