United Methodists on the clock: Will 2021 see America's biggest church split since Civil War?

Park Avenue United Methodist Church. Creative Commons Image.

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(OPINION) The United Methodist Church is on the brink of America's biggest religious schism since the Civil War, with the conflict centering on sexual morality, biblical authority and theological liberalism.

At stake is an empire with 6.7 million U.S. members and 31,000 congregations located across most American counties, 6.5 million members overseas and $6.3 billion in annual donations (though there's now a severe money crunch). Many of those churches sit on prime urban and suburban real estate.

But when? The 2020 General Conference to settle matters was postponed until this coming Aug. 29- Sept. 7 in Minneapolis, a city that currently limits meetings to 150 people. News calendars are iffy until the imminent UMC decision on whether it can meet then, or must delay a second time or whether it's possible to manage such a complex international meeting online.

Whenever and however delegates assemble, by most accounts they're prepared to adopt some version of the 33-page "Protocol of Reconciliation & Grace Through Separation" (.pdf here) hashed out last year via professional mediation among representatives of various factions.

One breakaway has occurred prematurely. Online worship last Nov. 29 established the hard left "Liberation Methodist Connection." The new denomination is intended for Methodist exiles to live out their "God-given identities" regardless of not only same-sex identity but e.g. gender expression, sexual non-monogamy, immigration status, piercings, body art or drug use.

However, the main event involves who inherits the UMC's name, logo, endowments, properties and structures. In U.S. Methodism, liberals and centrists combined have political power to install a laissez-faire LGBT policy, while the evangelical wing dissents alongside millions of Methodists in Africa and the Philippines. (This structure is unusual. Most "mainline" denominations that have legislated full LGBT inclusion are U.S.-only.)

The Wesleyan Covenant Association figures conservative congregations and pastors will happily leave behind UMC assets, schools and agencies and is busily preparing a new breakaway denomination under "Protocol" terms that would merge Americans and booming churches overseas. (Reporters can find leaders of WCA's 51 U.S. regions on its website.) A big unknown is whether the Africans will form their own independent church instead of joining Wesleyan Covenant's international design.

The outlook among Africans, largely neglected by U.S. media, is surveyed in pointed Juicy Ecumenism articles here and here and then here. The author of these pieces is the Rev. Forbes Matonga, (matonga.forbes1@gmail.com or What's App +263774087573) is a pastor in Zimbabwe, secretary of the UMC Africa sector and a General Conference delegate.

According to Matonga, liberal violations of the UMC's official conservative standard on sexuality make the UMC ungovernable, and theological differences are "irreconcilable," so division is inevitable and wise for all. Some African bishops lean left on sexuality, he reports, but the pastors and active members are overwhelmingly evangelical. He says Africans will seek changes in the proposed breakup "Protocol." Matonga himself favors a new international Methodist church, not an Africans-only one.

Meanwhile, a similar showdown looms on whether the Reformed Church in America, which predates the Puritans' landing in Massachusetts, should alter its conservative sexuality policy. A commission dealing with the agonizing dispute proposed options that include "mutually generous separation." Last June's decision-making synod was postponed, and officials ruled out a virtual synod. They will confer March 1 on whether an in-person synod can meet this coming June or must be postponed till the fall or else 2022. Media contact: Christina Tazelaar (616-541-0891).

A Church of the Brethren schism just occurred while nobody was looking. Last October, conservatives founded the "Covenant Brethren Church" because this small pacifist denomination has not enforced its teaching against same-sex relationships. Contacts: Interim CBC leader Grover Duling, former chair of the West Virginia-Maryland district (groverduling@gmail.com and 540-810-3455). Church of the Brethren General Secretary David Steele (generalsecretary@brethren.org and 800-323-8039 X 301). The "Supportive Communities Network" www.bmclgbt.org/scn unites LGBTQ advocates in Brethren and Mennonite churches (bmc@bmclgpt.org).

Reporters and readers following the United Methodist story can stash these contacts:

A pivotal leader in establishing such a denomination will be Bishop John Wesley Yohanna, leader of 786,000 Methodists in Nigeria (234-08-656-9911 or 234-806-347-5207 and jywesley@yahoo.com). U.S. leaders of the Wesleyan Covenant include Houston Bishop Scott Jones (713-521-9383 and sjjones@txcumc.org).

The official United Methodist News Service www.umnews.org/ covers all factions.

Liberation Methodist Connection can be e-mailed off its website — thelmx.org. Its "Wisdom Council" leaders include Althea Spencer-Miller at Drew University Theological School (aspencer@drew.edu and 973-408-3281).

"UMC Next" organizes those urging full LGBT inclusion; media contacts are Cathy Bien (cathy.bien@cor.org and 913 - 544-0210) and Toska Medlock Lee (toskamedlock@mac.com and 214 - 729-6144).

The Wesleyan Covenant's president is the Rev. Keith Boyette (president@wesleyancovenant.org, office 540-891-4007).

Conservative operatives also include John Lomperis of UM Action (jlomperis@theird.org and 872-230-2149), who posted this URL and document-packed analysis on Monday, and Patricia Miller of the Confessing Movement (317-356-9729).

Richard Ostling is a former religion reporter for the Associated Press and former correspondent for TIME Magazine. This piece first appeared at Get Religion.