Questions and Answers

Below are the answers to questions submitted to the Stay United FUMC steering committee on March 16th, 2023

A confirmed 12- or 13-year-old can vote, so I have heard. That is too much pressure on a young teen.

While confirmed minors, as members in good standing of FUMC, are eligible to vote, the Stay United FUMC Steering Committee feels that some may not be mature enough to take responsibility for such a vote and may later regret a choice made at such a young age. Stay United FUMC is unconditionally opposed to any parent attempting to coerce minors to think the way their parents do about controversial issues or to sway their minor children to vote one way or the other, should any such issues come to a vote.

What are the next steps for ECDC or First School if we do separate
[from the UMC]?

ECDC and First School are both missions of our church. Like other missions of the church, there is concern over the future of these programs if we disaffiliate from the UMC. The future of these school programs would be up to the new congregation to decide, and they would determine next steps for them.

Are any discernment committee members part of StayUMC?

There are no discernment committee members that are a part of the StayUnited FUMC steering committee or other committees.

Do we stay United Methodist when the Book of Discipline changes to allow gay clergy and same sex marriages?

IF the Book of Discipline changes in the future (and there are no assurances that it will, or what those changes might be), then individual members and/or whole congregations will have the option to remain in the UMC or to choose another path.

If the language changed so that a candidate could be a practicing homosexual, then the person would still need to go through a rigorous process before ordination. Appointments to churches are always made in consultation with the Staff Parish Relations Committee, so FUMC would have input about the minister appointed to serve FUMC.

As for same-sex marriages, ministers always have the right to decline to marry anyone (Book of Discipline paragraph 340.2) and the Trustees set the rules for use of the property. So even if the Discipline was changed to allow same-sex marriages, it is not a mandate that requires churches to conduct these ceremonies. It is not likely that the Book of Discipline will change in 2024. Conservative delegates leaving because of disaffiliation in the Southeastern and South Central jurisdictions will be replaced with alternate delegates from the same area. African delegates represent a large body and are the most conservative at General Conference.

What can I read that will give me verbatim the concept points (in the Book of Discipline?) that are the basis of disagreement?

The entire current Book of Discipline is available online and is searchable by topic. The points in our Book of Discipline that seem to be causing most disagreement are those that refer to Human Sexuality, the Trust Clause, Interpretation of Scripture, Complaints against Bishops, and Disaffiliation. Here are direct links to each topic:

Human Sexuality: https://www.umc.org/en/content/ask-the-umc-what-is-the-churchs-position-on-homosexuality

The Trust Clause: https://www.umc.org/en/content/book-of-discipline-2501-requirement-of-trust-clause

Interpretation of Scripture: https://www.umc.org/en/content/theological-guidelines-scripture

Complaints against Bishops: https://www.umc.org/en/content/book-of-discipline-413-complaints-against-bishops; https://www.umc.org/en/content/book-of-discipline-362-complaint-procedures

Disaffiliation: https://www.umc.org/en/content/book-of-discipline-2553-disaffiliation-over-human-sexuality

Is it true we will stop referring to God as our “father,” “He,” etc.?

No. The Doctrinal Standards of the UMC are found in four documents:

The Articles of Religion

https://www.umc.org/en/content/articles-of-religion

The Confession of Faith

https://www.umc.org/en/content/confession-of-faith

The General Rules

https://www.umc.org/en/content/the-general-rules-of-the-methodist-church

and Wesley’s Sermons and Notes on the New Testament

The Articles of Religion, Confession of Faith, and General Rules (which use masculine pronouns when referring to God, as did John Wesley’s sermons and notes) have been protected from any alteration by restrictive rules that require a 2/3 vote of the General Conference plus supermajorities of votes of all annual conferences worldwide. For the Articles and Confession, a 3/4 supermajority is required. For the General Rules, a 2/3 supermajority is required. It is effectively impossible that such supermajorities would ever be achieved to enable any alterations.

https://www.umc.org/en/content/book-of-discipline-section-iii-restrictive-rules

Why should anyone who has expressed a desire to disaffiliate FUMC be allowed to hold any office at FUMC?

At the 2022 Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference a resolution referred to as, “Leading with Integrity,” was offered that spoke to this issue. Among its provisions, the resolution asked that all lay and clergy leaders who intend to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church recuse themselves from leadership roles in the local church, district, conference, jurisdictional, and general church level committees, boards, agencies, delegations, and episcopal leadership. The last part of the resolution called on the Conference Board of Trustees to develop codes of conduct to manage conflicts of interest that may arise around discussions of disaffiliation agreements. The resolution was offered by Jim Allen, lay delegate, Tennessee Conference, and Rev. Robin Dease, clergy delegate, South Carolina (she later was elected bishop).

In response to a question by Bishop Holston, presiding bishop, it was clarified that the resolution was aspirational and not mandatory or directive. The resolution was passed on that basis. In revisiting the matter after the close of the conference, Bishop Holston ruled that the three resolutions were out of order. The matter is now before the Judicial Council (Docket #423-06).

Is there a part of the Book of Discipline that says the Articles of Religion cannot be changed?

Yes. The Articles of Religion, Confession of Faith, and General Rules (which use masculine pronouns when referring to God, as did John Wesley’s sermons and notes) have been protected from any alteration by restrictive rules that require a 2/3 vote of the General Conference plus supermajorities of votes of all annual conferences worldwide. For the Articles and Confession, a 3/4 supermajority is required. For the General Rules, a 2/3 supermajority is required. It is effectively impossible that such supermajorities would ever be achieved to enable any alterations.

Can anyone here explain ¶ 2553—how & why it came to be, and exactly what it says?

¶ 2553 was added to the Book of Discipline by the 2019 Special General Conference, to allow congregations with concerns over the UMC’s stance on Human Sexuality to leave the denomination without having to purchase church property at full value from the Annual Conference which owned it (in accordance with the BoD’s Trust Clause). with the intention of providing a means for those churches supporting inclusion to more easily leave the denomination. The Traditional Plan that was approved at the 2019 special conference placed even more restrictive wording concerning human sexuality and stricter punishments for those who break the rules of the BoD. Paragraph 2553 was drafted and supported by the Traditionalist and meant as a release for churches that disagreed with the BoD’s even tougher restrictions against same-sex marriage and gay ordination. Since a regular General Conference was expected in 2020 (which did not occur because of the Pandemic), the provisions of ¶ 2553 were set to expire at the end of 2023, long after the next General Conference was to have met.

Paragraph 2553 was created to allow liberal churches to leave the denomination because restrictions and punishments concerning human sexuality were made stronger in 2019. It is currently being used by conservative churches to leave the domination primarily out of fear that the BoD may change in 2024, although that is unlikely. It can be assumed that a primary cause of disaffiliation is to get ownership of church buildings. You can read ¶ 2553 verbatim here:

https://www.umc.org/en/content/book-of-discipline-2553-disaffiliation-over-human-sexuality

Was there an abeyance put in place regarding charges on same-sex issues until ¶ 2553 is done?

From “Ask the UMC” (permission granted):

The term "abeyance" means "delay." It does not mean a refusal to implement the Discipline. It means delaying further action on certain kinds of charges for a limited period of time and for particular reasons. Bishops who have announced they are placing such charges in abeyance are not refusing to implement the Discipline. They are indicating they will process such charges in light of actions that take place at a later time.

The part of the 2020 Protocol agreement calling for abeyance for some period of time, originally signed by eight bishops, has since also been committed to by several other bishops in the United States. Signers of this statement also included Keith Boyette, formerly leader of the Wesleyan Covenant Association and currently leader of the Global Methodist Church. Boyette has separately stated his agreement with a practice of abeyance on such charges until a General Conference can meet to decide next steps.

The Discipline's statements, restrictions, and requirements regarding self-avowed, practicing clergy and same-sex marriages are unevenly enforced in The United Methodist Church at this time. Initiatives by individual conferences or jurisdictions are one source of this unevenness. The practice of abeyance derives from a mutual agreement of United Methodists who identify as progressive, centrist, and traditionalist. Still, the provisions of the Discipline remain in force and are more widely more enforced across the whole denomination, worldwide, than not.

https://um-insight.net/in-the-church/umc-future/is-the-umc-really/

How many supporters are on the list? How many discernment supporters?

There are approximately 750 people who support the mission of Stay United FUMC. We can not speak to the number who want to disaffiliate. .

What can we do specifically to help the supporters?

There are multiple ways to help the Stay United FUMC effort. Pray for our church that God will guide us through these times and keep us a family. Speak with others about why it is important for FUMC to remain in the United Methodist denomination. If you are willing to host a small group (not more than 20) in your home to discuss issues regarding remaining in the United Methodist denomination, contact Linda McLemore (lindarmc@gmail.com) or Steve Mashburn (mail2smash@gmail.com). Place the Stay United FUMC logo on your social media home pages and be sure to join Stay United FUMC on our website.

Reference to “Disaffiliation Group” is not right—correct reference would be “Discernment Group.”

In the March 16 StayUnited FUMC meeting, references to the “Disaffiliation group” were meant to describe the FUMC Forward group of church members who have Indicated a desire to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church.

There are two types of discernment – the first is the process described below which is taking place at FUMC:

The “discernment group” (little “d”) is actually a subcommittee of the FUMC Administrative Board, appointed by the Executive Committee of said Board. This team was set up to gather questions, research answers, and give our congregation the ability to listen, learn and offer feedback. The discernment committee is tasked with making a recommendation to the FUMC Administrative Board for whether FUMC should initiate the process for considering disaffiliation from the United Methodist denomination or decide to remain in the UMC. That recommendation would be considered by the FUMC Administrative Board when it meets on May 17, 2023.

The second type of discernment is Discernment (with a big “D”) that was created by ¶2553 in the Book of Discipline. As outlined in ¶2553, a church must enter big “D” Discernment to begin a specific process to determine whether the church wants to consider a vote for disaffiliation from the UMC.

I have heard that the UMC may alter its doctrine to deny the virgin birth, divinity of Christ, resurrection of Jesus Christ, or salvation through Jesus alone. Is this true?

No, this is absolutely not the case. The Articles of Religion, Confession of Faith, and General Rules (which use masculine pronouns when referring to God, as did John Wesley’s sermons and notes) have been protected from any alteration by restrictive rules that require a 2/3 vote of the General Conference plus supermajorities of votes of all annual conferences worldwide. For the Articles and Confession, a 3/4 supermajority is required. For the General Rules, a 2/3 supermajority is required. It is effectively impossible that such supermajorities would ever be achieved to enable any alterations.

After 2023, will a disaffiliating church be required to pay full fair market value for church property, if it leaves the denomination?

No one can give a definitive answer to that question. In 2024, it is possible that the General Conference could pass new exit legislation that is comparable to the provisions in 2553. That provision only requires churches to pay their proportion of apportionments and unfunded pension and healthcare liabilities. 2553 was passed as a vehicle for progressive churches to leave the denomination but has been used more by traditional churches to disaffiliate.

Several annual conferences (including Alabama West Florida) have announced plans to use paragraph 2549 involving closed churches to allow churches to disaffiliate after 2023 under conditions similar to paragraph 2553. The resolution passed by the AWF Board of Trustees to establish this practice requires approval by the annual conference. There is also some question whether this resolution, if passed by the annual conference, will be challenged in the Judicial Council.

Do all FUMC delegates to Annual Conference support remaining United Methodist?

Unless they have made public declarations of how they feel about remaining United Methodists, we do not know where Annual Conference voters stand on this issue—you would need to ask each of them individually in order to get an accurate count.

Our elected delegates to Annual Conference from FUMC are Henry Chappell, Bill Richardson, and Bill Dunaway. (Alternate delegates are Karen Parker and Neal Westbrook.)

Other voters from FUMC or with connections to FUMC include the following:

Jennifer Abt (Lay Member of the Board of Ordained Ministry)

Andrea McCain (Lay Member of Conference Personnel Committee)

Sarah McWilliams (AWF Staff)

Brad Norris (District at large Lay Member to AC)

Mary Catherine Phillips (AWF Staff)

Melba Richardson (Lay Member of the Board of Ordained Ministry)

Clergy members who will vote at Annual Conference include these:

Jay Cooper, Lucas Tribble, Jason Borders, June Jernigan, Charlie Kendall, Stephen Sours, Jack Stanley, Karl Stegall, Cam West, Norman Williams, Fred Zeigler. We also have additional clergy who have placed their charge conference membership here and will be able to vote at annual conference: Tripp Gulledge, Meghan Kelley, Matthew Stephens.

Why would the current ministries stop if FUMC disaffiliates from the UMC?

There is every indication that a disaffiliating congregation will face challenges in almost every area of ministry, including reduced access to quality resources, lower funding, and fewer qualified personnel. The disaffiliating church would have to make some hard decisions about the scope of their local mission work. In the case of FUMC disaffiliating from the UMC, there would be another UMC church formed for those who want to stay in the denomination, but a smaller church would have the same challenges.

Please compare/contrast the options for a disaffiliation church: Global Methodist; Free Methodist, Independent Methodist.

Global Methodist Church (GMC):

The GMC, which was launched in 2022, is a connectional denomination like the UMC. It operates under the guidance of a Transitional Council and is guided by a Transitional Book of Doctrines and Discipline, which is subject to change at the first General Conference, which is yet to be held. The GMC wields a more authoritarian approach to membership as evidenced in its Membership Involvement and Accountability and Congregational Fidelity sections in its book of discipline.

Free Methodist Church:

Part of the holiness movement, this is a large connectional denomination with churches in 100 countries. Started in 1860, its early members were abolitionists opposed to slavery, hence the name “free”. The name is also associated with worship that is “free” from ritual and symbols. Free Methodism is a conservative interpretation of Wesleyan theology.

Independent Methodist:

This church is congregational in its organization. There is no unifying governing body that oversees the local church. There is no book of discipline, no central governing rules, no conference, no judicial council to settle disputes. The church is autonomous and completely run by the members. Even if a church joins the Association of Independent Methodists, it still works independently and makes its own policies and follows its own bylaws.

All of these denominations have good qualities: they want to lead others to a relationship with Jesus Christ, help others and they look to the teachings of John Wesley for inspiration. But, they are generally move conservative, narrowly focused and less likely to tolerate different perspectives among the congregation, unlike the “Methodist middle” that describes FUMC.

For more information on each denomination, see article posted on Stay United FUMC website under Information/Things You Need to Know/Info About Various Methodist Denominations.

United Methodist Church:https://www.umc.org/en/rethink-church/topics/questioning/what-is-a-united-methodist

Global Methodist Church:https://globalmethodist.org/what-we-believe/

Comparison of United & Global:https://fmcusa.org/webelieve

Free Methodist Church:https://fmcusa.org/webelieve

Assoc. of Independent Methodists:https://aim2020.com/about/#beliefs

Three related questions:

Why does this team of StayUMC not allow a vote? People should allow a free vote.

Is there any way to resolve the conflict over disaffiliation without a vote of the membership?

Why do we not want a vote? A vote will be required from the whole congregation to stay or leave.

Stay United FUMC has no control over whether or not a disaffiliation vote takes place. That decision is up to FUMC’s Administrative Board, on the advice of its 12-member discernment subcommittee. If that subcommittee recommends that FUMC enter formal Discernment, and our Administrative Board then approves that recommendation, we would begin the process toward a vote on disaffiliation.

There are a number of ways to deal with the current conflict within the UMC other than voting on disaffiliation. Based on the experiences of other congregations, Stay United FUMC feels that voting itself (whatever the outcome) is damaging to the church, and makes reconciliation afterwards much more difficult. For more information on the divisiveness of voting, see article posted on the Stay United FUMC website under Information/Things You Need to Know/How Have Other United Methodist Churches Avoided Divisive Disaffiliation Votes.

A congregational vote is NOT required to remain as we have been, within the UMC. Voting by a church conference is required ONLY to disaffiliate, and that vote requires a 2/3 majority (of those members present and voting) to pass. We feel that such a 2/3 majority is unlikely to be achieved, and that the campaign leading up to such a vote would be so divisive as to make subsequent reconciliation efforts much less likely to succeed.