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Global Methodist Church

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Global Methodist Church
AbbreviationGM Church
ClassificationChristian
OrientationProtestant
ScriptureChristian Bible
TheologyMethodist
GovernanceConnectionalism[1]
(modified episcopal polity)
Connectional
operations officer		The Rev. Mike Schafer
OriginMay 1, 2022 (2022-05-01)[2]
Separated fromUnited Methodist Church (2022)
Congregations4,495[3][4]
Ministers4,504[3]
Official websiteglobalmethodist.org

The Global Methodist Church (GM Church, or GMC) is a Methodist denomination within Protestant Christianity subscribing to views that were propounded by the conservative Confessing Movement.[5][6][7] The denomination is headquartered in the United States and has a presence internationally.[8][9] The Global Methodist Church was created as a result of a schism with the United Methodist Church, after members departed to create a denomination seeking to uphold "theological and ethical Christian orthodoxy."[5][10][11]

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, the church is composed of nearly 4,500 congregations and a similar number of pastors.[3][4]

History

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Further information: History of Methodism in the United States

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]

Beliefs

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Main article: Methodist theology

The doctrines of the Global Methodist Church, which are aligned with Wesleyan-Arminian theology, are contained in its Book of Discipline and in The Catechism of the Global Methodist Church.[12][43]

Structure

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Leadership

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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

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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)
  • Heartland Provisional Annual Conference (Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma)
  • Korean American Provisional Annual Conference
  • MidSouth Provisional Annual Conference (Kentucky, middle and east Tennessee, West Virginia and the Virginia Panhandle)
  • Mid Texas Provisional Annual Conference
  • Mississippi–West Tennessee Provisional Annual Conference
  • North Alabama Provisional Annual Conference
  • North Carolina Provisional Annual Conference
  • North Georgia Provisional Annual Conference
  • Northeast Provisional Annual Conference (Delaware, Maryland, New England, New Jersey, New York and eastern Pennsylvania)
  • South Carolina Provisional Annual Conference
  • South Georgia Provisional Annual Conference
  • Trinity Provisional Annual Conference (Arkansas, Louisiana, East Texas)
  • Upper Midwest Provisional Annual Conference (Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming)
  • Virginia Provisional Annual Conference
  • West Plains Provisional Annual Conference (New Mexico, Oklahoma Panhandle and West Texas)
  • Western States Provisional Annual Conference (Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington)

Nigeria

  • Central Nigeria Provisional Annual Conference
  • Northeast Nigeria Provisional Annual Conference
  • Northern Nigeria Provisional Annual Conference
  • Southern Nigeria Provisional Annual Conference

Philippines

  • Covenant Philippines Provisional Annual Conference
  • Mega Manila Provisional Annual Conference

Other countries

  • Bulgaria Provisional Annual Conference
  • Central African Republic Provisional Annual Conference
  • Democratic Republic of Congo Provisional Annual Conference
  • Kenya–Ethiopia Provisional Annual Conference
  • Panama Provisional Annual Conference
  • Slovakia Provisional Annual Conference
  • South Africa Provisional Annual Conference
  • Spain Provisional Annual Conference
  • Tanzania Provisional Annual Conference

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Our Beliefs & Governance". Global Methodist Church. July 6, 2021. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  2. ^ "The Early Growth of the Global Methodist Church". Making Disciples of Jesus. January 18, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Fenton, Walter (January 31, 2024). "Making Room for Delegates and Others at the Global Methodist Church's Convening General Conference". Global Methodist Church. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Gryboski, Michael (January 4, 2024). "Conservative alternative to United Methodist Church surpasses 4,200 member congregations". The Christian Post. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c 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.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ Zauzmer, Julie (January 3, 2020). "United Methodist Church is expected to split over gay marriage, fracturing the nation's third-largest denomination". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ Matonga, Forbes (April 15, 2021). "The Latest Developments in the Global UMC and Their Impact on the Church in Africa". PNJ. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ a b 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.
  12. ^ a b Vickers, Jason (August 25, 2022). "The Catechism of the Global Methodist Church" (PDF). Wesleyan Covenant Association. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ "Our Beliefs & Governance". Global Methodist Church. July 6, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  15. ^ "Methodist Church | Learn More | Global Methodist Church FAQ".
  16. ^ Matthews, Cabe (August 2, 2022). "The Center Cannot Hold". Firebrand Magazine. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  17. ^ Hodges, Sam (May 4, 2021). "WCA Plans New Denomination". UM Insight. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  18. ^ 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.
  19. ^ Miller, Emily McFarlan (April 29, 2019). "United Methodist court upholds Traditional Plan's ban on LGBTQ clergy, same sex marriage". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  20. ^ Shellnutt, Kate (May 20, 2016). "Evangelicals Cheer Pro-Life Vote at Methodist Conference". Christianity Today. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  21. ^ 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.
  22. ^ a b 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.
  23. ^ Hahn, Heather; Hodges, Sam (May 18, 2016). "GC2016 puts hold on sexuality debate". United Methodist News Service. United Methodist Church. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  24. ^ Hahn, Heather; Gilbert, Kathy L.; Butler, Joey (February 26, 2016). "2019 General Conference passes Traditional Plan". United Methodist News Service. United Methodist Church. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  25. ^ Miller, Emily McFarlan (March 7, 2019). "The 'Splainer: What happened at the United Methodist General Conference?". Religion News Service. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  26. ^ Hahn, Heather (December 2, 2020). "New progressive Methodist denomination starts". United Methodist News Service. United Methodist Church. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
  27. ^ Moran, Dan (December 7, 2020). "Liberation Methodism Isn't Leaving the UM". Juicy Ecumenism. Institute on Religion and Democracy. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
  28. ^ Gryboski, Michael (July 19, 2022). "106 Florida churches sue United Methodist Church over disaffiliation process". The Christian Post. Retrieved December 14, 2022. The churches are frustrated with the annual conference's violations of the Book of Discipline and refusal to honor the Traditional Plan as outlined in the 2019 General Conference.
  29. ^ 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.
  30. ^ 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.
  31. ^ Miller, Emily McFarlan (March 2, 2021). "Conservative United Methodists Plan Breakaway Denomination". Religion News Service. Retrieved November 2, 2021 – via Christianity Today.
  32. ^ "General Conference further postponed to 2024". United Methodist Church. March 3, 2022.
  33. ^ Boyette, Keith (January 12, 2022). "Launch of Global Methodist Church Eagerly Anticipated" (PDF). Global Methodist Church. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 12, 2022. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  34. ^ Adams, Liam (February 25, 2022). "United Methodist leaders weigh postponing conference where vote on split is expected". The Tennessean. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  35. ^ Hahn, Heather (February 8, 2022). "Church disaffiliations, court cases mount". United Methodist News Service. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
  36. ^ Taylor, Scott (March 4, 2020). "Free Methodists think UMC split could help them grow: Dating from days of slavery, splinter church against 'changing rules to fit their needs'". Northglenn Thornton Sentinel. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
  37. ^ a b Adams, Liam (May 11, 2022). "United Methodist conferences cannot disaffiliate from denomination, church court rules". The Tennessean. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
  38. ^ Adams, Liam (May 6, 2022). "The new, more conservative Global Methodist Church just launched: Key takeaways from its start". The Tennessean.
  39. ^ Miller, Emily McFarlan (September 14, 2022). "UMC bishops in Africa break with Africa Initiative, Wesleyan Covenant Association". Religion News Service. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
  40. ^ "1 in 5 United Methodist congregations in the U.S. have left over LGBTQ conflicts". NBC News. July 6, 2023. Retrieved July 8, 2023 – via Associated Press.
  41. ^ a b Silliman, Daniel (September 26, 2024). "Global Methodists Find Joy in Costa Rica". Christianity Today. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  42. ^ Adams, Liam (September 30, 2024). "A new denomination has formed amid split: What it means for Methodism". The Tennessean. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  43. ^ "What do Methodists Believe?". globalmethodist.org. Global Methodist Church. July 6, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
  44. ^ Hodges, Sam (June 20, 2017). "Comparative Wesleyan Global Polity - The Free Methodist Church". United Methodist Insight. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  45. ^ "Organizational Distinctives Pamphlet" (PDF). Global Methodist Website. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  46. ^ "Transitional Book of Doctrines and Disciplines" (PDF). Global Methodist Church. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  47. ^ Ritter, Chris (September 25, 2024). "Convening General Conference, Day Five: General Superintendency". PeopleNeedJesus.net. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  48. ^ Tooley, Mark (September 29, 2024). "A New Methodist Denomination Emerges". The Dispatch. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  49. ^ "GMC elects slate of new bishops". Good News Magazine. September 25, 2024. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  50. ^ Fenton, Walter (June 5, 2024). "Rev. Mike Schafer Selected as GM Church's First Connectional Operations Officer". Good News Magazine. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  51. ^ "A New Global Methodist Congregation in Europe". June 7, 2022. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
  52. ^ "Letter approving Nigerian provisional annual conferences" (PDF). GM Church Transitional Leadership Council. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  53. ^ "Provisional Annual Conferences". Global Methodist Church. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
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