Disaffiliation
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Let them Lobby
This topic is about a month old, but I wanted to mull it over a bit before responding. According to UMNews.org the Wesley Covenant Association and Good News Movement, among others, will be lobbying at General Conference in April. They will mostly be working to convince folks to join the Global Methodist Church (which formed Continue reading
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Thoughts on the Correspondence Related to Wesley Memorial UMC
I have received several messages related to the status of Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church in High Point, North Carolina and the various emails, letters, and more that have gone out advising folks to vote for or against the disaffiliation of this congregation. I want to provide some insight based on polity to the situation Continue reading
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WNCC Petition 18: A reactionary historical repeat
I am headed up to Lake Junaluska on Wednesday, and I am glancing over the petitions again, and one comes back to me that bothers me. I am not usually one to encourage votes one way or another, but this one is something I passionate about, due to my work. Petition 18: Voting at Church Continue reading
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DISAFFILIATION RUMORS, MYTHS, AND OPPORTUNITIES – #12: North Georgia and Florida Lawsuits
Two legal issues related to disaffiliation have been in the news this week. The first one: The lawsuit against the Florida Conference has been dismissed for similar reasons as the Western North Carolina suit: separation of church and state/The UMC has it’s own governing and judicial bodies to handle this. The second one: A lawsuit Continue reading
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Disaffiliation Rumors, Myths, and Opportunities – #10: The Western North Carolina Lawsuit
This originally appeared on my Facebook page on March 21, 2023 The lawsuit filed by several churches in the Western North Carolina Conference to sue the conference and Bishop has been dismissed. It has been dismissed, from my understanding, on grounds that the UMC has it’s own mechanism for handling the issues at play and Continue reading
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Disaffiliation Rumors, Myths, and Opportunities – #9: Eurasia
A version of this post originally appeared on my Facebook Page on March 21, 2023. UM News reported that the Eurasia and Estonia United Methodists Churches have begun the process of leaving the denomination. However, if you recall, there was a Judicial Council ruling that stated that Annual Conferences could not leave as a whole, Continue reading
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Disaffiliation Rumors, Myths, and Opportunities – #8: The Lewis Center Report
There is a report going around from the Lewis Center ( a church and ministry research and leadership development center at Wesley Theological Seminary). It gives us a quantitative look at some of the aspects of the disaffiliating churches so far. Here is a concise summary from the report (full report linked here): The areas Continue reading
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Disaffiliation Rumors, Myths, and Opportunities – #7: Voting
This post originally appeared on my Facebook (Facebook.com/j.lemastersmith on February 14, 2023). Two questions that regularly come up are: 1) Do we have to vote? 2) Do we have to have speakers from both sides come? Short answer: no. Long answer: No one is required to vote. Voting is only required if you are strongly Continue reading
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Disaffiliation Rumors, Myths, and Opportunities # 6 – Appointments, Communications, and Rural/Small Churches
This post originally appeared on my Facebook page, facebook.com/j.lemastersmith, on January 30th, 2023 Another rumor circulating is that The UMC does not care about the small and rural church (you could also include immigrant, ethnic, and inner-city churches, but I also know less about those systems). Some responses: “We ask for a licensed local and Continue reading
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Disaffiliation Rumors, Myths, and Opportunities #6 – Grief
This post originally appeared on my Facebook page, fb.com/j.lemastersmith on February 5th, 2023 I have spoken with several pastors and lay folk over the past months whose churches have voted or are in the process of disaffiliating. The main thing I sense from these people is a sense of grief. Both those who want to Continue reading
Jonathan LeMaster-Smith 