October 8, 2024
by Rev. Dr. Scott Field
How many United Methodists have simply walked away from their congregation? That was the question raised in a recent conversation. A current United Methodist laypersonand business executive who has been observing not only the Great Separation of the denomination over the last couple of years but also the number of leaders in his own local church who have recently left, asked me, “Does anybody know how many United Methodists have just walked out the door?”
The answer is, “No.” It is likely not a number we can quantify with any level of certainty. But we do know, anecdotally, that it is significant.
We know the number of congregations that have disaffiliated through the UM Book of Discipline paragraph 2553 which concluded on December 31, 2023: that number is 7,631 congregations or about 26% of UMC congregations in the USA. Additionally,several hundred more congregations in a handful of annual conferences in the USA are ready right now to depart under the church closure provisions of paragraph 2549, pending a Judicial Council decision later this month on whether or not “church closure” can be used as a process for congregations to leave with their property if they choose to do so. If it is “not allowed”, I suspect many of those congregations will have the majorityof their members and leaders walk away anyhow. They have already decided that they would rather leave than stay in the UM denomination. A Judicial Council decision will not reverse their convictions or commitments.
And the situation in Africa particularly continues to develop. Our WCA efforts to support Awareness Meetings are ongoing with African leaders in 15 countries and 23 Annual Conference.
A Methodist Diaspora?
But what about those who have simply left?
We don’t even know what to call this wave of people, though all of us know it is significant. One person referred to it as the Great Methodist Diaspora; not a great marketing descriptor, but a word of significant and pertinent heritage. Traditionally, “diaspora” refers to the scattering of the Jewish population of Israel after the fall of Jerusalem under siege by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.
Many former United Methodists have scattered over the past 2-3 years. Nobody knowshow many and what has become of them all. Anecdotally it seems that a fair number of those sisters and brothers have started new congregations, most associated with the Global Methodist Church.
Leaving to start a new congregation was not an initial decision, but it became the most faithful conclusion for them.
These sisters and brothers may have attempted the disaffiliation pathway only to have the congregational vote fail to meet the 2/3 majority required. Having concluded that they could no longer remain United Methodist even before the congregational vote, they did not remain in a United Methodist congregation afterwards.
Other Methodists decided, after receiving the “bill” for disaffiliation, that they either could not or, in good conscience, would not pay that amount of money to the Annual Conference in order to retain property they had purchased, built, insured and maintained for decades. They decided to walk away rather than help fund a denomination they could no longer support.
An interesting group of “walkaways” has, in my perspective, “taken the measure of the future of United Methodism” and decided it will be a continuing future of conflict, disagreement, and inability to fulfill its mission. They want to be a positive part of the mission of Christ rather than the maintenance of an institution.
Has walking away crossed your mind, too?
In the wake of the recent UMC General Conference decisions which unquestionably set the trajectory of the denomination in a progressive direction and, has consequently leftlittle space for the voice and witness of traditional/orthodox/evangelical Wesleyan believers, there has been an uptick in calls and emails from congregational leaders thinking that the time has come for a serious re-consideration of their relationship with United Methodism.
You may be among those feeling “stuck”. You missed the disaffiliation opportunity, perhaps because you were told by your District Superintendent, Pastor, or Bishop that there “would always be an option for separation if needed”, or “the General Conference will surely provide an exit path for those who want to depart”, or “just wait and see…there is no need to rush a decision.” All those promises seem now at least uninformed, certainly disingenuous, and maybe intentionally misleading. The outcome has been that you and others in your local United Methodist congregation no longer trust denominational leaders and have some to believe that perhaps the folks providing arationale for disaffiliation might have been telling the truth.
So you’ve had more than a passing thought about leaving, too, right? But you’re not sure what that would be like. Maybe you don’t want to just wander off. And perhaps you aren’t sure you’ll fit in too well with the Baptist or Evangelical Free or Covenant Church nearby.
Maybe you need some encouragement to consider whether the Holy Spirit is stirring within you something you might never have considered before…helping start a new congregation.
There are others who have already taken this path ahead of you. And they have stories to tell!
Introducing The Gallery of the Methodist Vanguard:
Your pictures, stories, and videos welcome!
Do you have a picture, a story, or a brief video of the new congregation you have pioneered in the past couple of years? We’d like to receive and share them.
The UMC media, understandably, generally uses pejorative terms to refer to the GMC: breakaway church, dissenters, splinter group. Others, who have left the UMC behind,refer to themselves as “escapees” or “refugees”.
I prefer “Methodist Vanguard”.
“Vanguard” might not be the best word (so your suggestions for improvement are welcome!), but it is derived from avante garde which refers to the “new” and the “experimental.” More specifically, in current usage, a vanguard is “a group of people who are at the leading edge of a movement” (www.britannica.com).
Like the newly formed and newly forming congregations who are part of the Methodist Vanguard, this digital gallery will not be centrally planned or coordinated. It isn’t uniform in style or pattern. It is a crowd-sourced gallery with the purpose of both highlighting the surprising and wonderful work of the Lord and giving encouragement to those who are considering or newly embarking on the adventure of missional innovation.
If you have a story to share for the glory of God and the encouragement of others, you are welcome to email a photo of your newly forming congregation or its ministry and abrief (750-100 word) summary of your journey so far. If you have a brief (3 min-ish) video, you can send that link, too. Be sure you identify at the very least your ministry setting and area, whether in the USA or elsewhere, and include a contact email so others can be in touch if they want more information, counsel, or advice. Your story will inform and encourage the Methodist Vanguard!
You can email me (sfield@wesleyancovenant.org) or our Administrative Assistance, Elizabeth Fink (efink@wesleyancovenant.org) with your photos and stories. They will be posted in the WCA Outlook each week.
In the midst of everything else going on in the world, these are amazing days of opportunity for the Methodist Vanguard to launch new communities of Christ wherever we are scattered.
The historical diaspora from the tragic siege of Jerusalem in 586 BC become like dandelion seeds scattered in the wind which resulted in the global establishment of Jewish synagogues. Instead of destroying the Jewish faith, it unexpectedly made for global multiplication. Who would have guessed at the time?
This season of United Methodism’s Great Separation has been heart-breaking and challenging in so many ways, but it is, I believe, also the launching of a great wave of renewal and revival in the Jesus Mission. We are being sent, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, for the healing of the world in Jesus’ Name. Let’s not not settle for anything less.
Yours in the Matchless Name of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer!