By Rev. Jay Therrell
February 21, 2023
Last month I wrote an article about how “misinformation” is the new buzzword. In the article I said the following, “[The definition of misinformation], according to Merriam-Webster, is quite simple: ‘incorrect or misleading information.’ What I’ve begun to realize, however, is that by and large when people use that word, what they really mean is: information that I don’t agree with.” True misinformation is factually inaccurate. Buzzword misinformation means you’ve stated an opinion with which I don’t agree.
I pointed out that as she was leaving the North Georgia Annual Conference, Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson announced the disaffiliation process there was being “paused” because there was too much misinformation. In her announcement, Bishop Haupert-John stated, “However, the cabinet has discovered and observed that many local churches have been misled about the disaffiliation process and have been presented with information about the process, and about The United Methodist Church and its leadership, that is factually incorrect and defamatory. We have significant concerns about this misinformation and are well aware that it has the potential to do irreparable harm.”
I stand by my assertion in the article I wrote last month that most of what is being shared has more to do with a person’s worldview than being factually incorrect. Traditionalists view our present denominational troubles one way. Progressives view them very differently. The worldviews do not align. That’s not misinformation. It’s theological and doctrinal perspective.
With Bishop Haupert-Johnson’s very public campaign against misinformation, imagine my surprise as I was watching an interview she did for the Virginia Annual Conference where she now serves, where she shared actual misinformation. (The comments come around the 13-minute mark.) Haupert-Johnson said, “And quite frankly I’ve heard WCA and Global Methodist Church folks say the first thing they’re going to add is a trust clause because if you don’t have a trust clause whatever the ruling faction in your church is controls the church.” Since watching the video, I’ve heard from other laity in Virginia who have shared that Bishop Haupert-Johnson has repeated the same misinformation in public gatherings she’s recently conducted.
I don’t know if Bishop Haupert-Johnson has read the Transitional Book of Doctrines and Discipline of The Global Methodist Church, but paragraph 902 could not be any clearer. It plainly states, “There is no trust clause for property held by local churches, annual conferences, regional conferences, connectional commissions, the Transitional Leadership Council, or any of their entities. Each local church, annual conference, regional conference, or connectional commission shall designate in its corporate records how its property shall be disposed of in the event of the entity’s dissolution.” (Emphasis added.)
There is no trust clause in the Global Methodist Church. None.
Saying otherwise is genuine misinformation. Perhaps the bishop should practice what she preaches.
As one of the global leaders of this movement and as one of the original drafters of the Transitional Book of Doctrines and Discipline, I can speak from first-hand knowledge that no one at any level of leadership of the WCA or GMC has contemplated having a trust clause. The trust clause of The United Methodist Church is the mechanism preventing churches from being able to get to the theological home that best allows them to carry out their mission. If not for it, we would not be in our present mess. Absolutely no one in the traditionalist movement wants another one.
Moreover, a denomination can’t just declare a trust clause is in place at some point in the future and have it magically incorporate the property of churches that own their assets outright. Property law is nowhere near that black and white. Just ask the judges in the many ongoing lawsuits across the country related to church property. The Virginia Bishop is an attorney and should know better. One wonders if her comments are simply intended as scare tactics.
I’ve always tried to lead by example. When I was the pastor of a local church, if I wanted people to be faithful and generous in their giving, I felt that I needed to live that way first. Accordingly, my family faithfully tithed from our income and gave offerings to God’s work in the world. Wouldn’t it make sense for the spiritual shepherd for hundreds, if not thousands of churches in an annual conference to do the same thing?
If bishops want genuine misinformation to stop (not opinion, not someone’s worldview) then they need to stop sharing it themselves.
Lead by example and practice what you preach.
The Rev. Jay Therrell is the president of the Wesleyan Covenant Association and an ordained elder in the Global Methodist Church.