Biblical Separation Among the Methodists?
The battles over the fundamentals of the faith that ravaged every major ecclesiastical body in the 1920s are repeated in the 2020s but over different issues. It’s not like those old issues don’t exist—they do. However, we are facing new problems that are as pertinent to Orthodox Christianity as the fundamentals were one hundred years ago. The issues center on human sexuality.
A new worldwide Methodist denomination had its very first meeting in Costa Rica recently. It calls itself the Global Methodist Church. The United Methodist Church has been embroiled in controversy for years over the issue of same-sex unions and the ordination of gay clergy. Worldwide, more than 7900 congregations have exited the UMC over these issues. Of those, about 3700 have joined the new denomination.
The GMC’s creation in 2022 resulted from the schism of what was once America’s third-largest religious body, the United Methodist Church. More than 7,900 congregations, with their property, have exited the denomination so far under a temporary process that officially ended in 2023, although several local regions allowed more exits this year (7,658 left by 2023, and 274 exited this year).
Of these exited U.S. United Methodist churches, roughly 3,700 so far have joined the new GMC. Why not more? Many churches, exhausted after the exit process, postponed any decisions about joining a new denomination. Another 1,000-2,000 U.S. churches ultimately will join the GMC. But hundreds of former United Methodist churches will stay independent or form informal networks. (https://thedispatch.com/article/a-new-methodist-denomination-emerges/)
The doctrine of the Global Methodist Church is the same as historic Methodism but differs in several key ways from the denominational structure they are leaving.
They are openly pro-life.
This is taken from their online documents.
The sacredness of all life compels us to resist the practice of abortion except in the cases of tragic conflicts of life against life when the wellbeing of the mother and the child are at stake. We do not accept abortion as a means of birth control or gender selection, and we call upon all Christians as disciples of the Lord of Life to prayerfully consider how we can support those women facing unintended pregnancies without adequate care, counsel, or resources (Exodus 22:23-23, Psalm 139:13-16, James 1:27).
Coming from a group that was more and more woke, this is a breath of fresh air. The statement is simple, does not attempt to address legislation, but does clearly oppose abortion as a violation of scripture.
They are openly opposed to same-sex marriage.
This quote is from the same source.
We believe that human sexuality is a gift of God that is to be affirmed as it is exercised within the legal and spiritual covenant of a loving and monogamous marriage between one man and one woman (Exodus 20:14, Matthew 19:3-9, Ephesians 5:22-33).
Again, this statement is worthy of praise. It identifies marriage as between one man and one woman, and says that human sexuality must be expressed within a covenantal and legal marriage bond. It condemns all sexuality outside of legal and biblical marriage while also limiting it to one man with one woman.
In conjunction with the statement on marriage and sexuality, they also condemn pornography and sexual exploitation while expressing their willingness to be a place of refuge for those who wish to heal from the ravages of sexual sin.
We are saddened by all expressions of sexual behavior, including pornography, polygamy, and promiscuity, that do not recognize the sacred worth of each individual or that seek to exploit, abuse, objectify, or degrade others, or that represent less than God’s intentional design for His children. While affirming a scriptural view of sexuality and gender, we welcome all to experience the redemptive grace of Jesus and are committed to being a safe place of refuge, hospitality, and healing for any who may have experienced brokenness in their sexual lives (Genesis 1:27, Genesis 2:24, 1 Corinthians 6:9-20).
Their statement also affirms such social concerns as safe working conditions, collective bargaining, environmental stewardship, religious freedom, and personal holiness (however they might define this).
Our takeaway regarding those who have left the United Methodist Church is that we applaud them. There are certainly other issues that would divide us theologically and practically, but commendation is in order when it is due. God commands true believers to remove false teachers from fellowship. If that fails, they must remove themselves from a corrupt fellowship of so-called believers.
I am making no claim that this new denomination is biblically fundamentalist by any means. But they are practicing a biblical mandate that we, as biblical Baptist fundamentalists have been bound by scripture to embrace for more than 100 years—the practice of biblical separation.
The issue of sexual sin and the definition of human sexuality is one of the clear ecclesiastical dividing lines of our times. While the lines have clarified within Methodism, they are being increasingly muddled in broader evangelicalism. We maintain that a biblical position on human sexuality and marriage is truly a test of orthodoxy.
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