Is your church’s home in the UMC or GMC? Three question to help decide.

Over the last year I’ve visited many churches trying to make a decision on whether or not to leave the United Methodist denomination. While they were putting me and the Global Methodist denomination to the test, I was also making observations. I was listening to questions and comments and especially listening when there was a presenter speaking on behalf of the UMC. Through this, I was able to see which churches tended to lean which way. In the video, I ask three questions, but here are my general observations of those drawn to the Global Methodist denomination:

#1 – Global Methodists tend to look to the past for spiritual truth

When there is a spiritual question, they open their bible. They dig into their 1984 NIV Study Bible. They look up what John Wesley thought. There is an assumption that, if the truth can’t be clearly seen in a plain reading of the bible, someone in the past already answered the question. They are skeptical of ideas that are new to them that seem to contradict historical Christianity. They long to rediscover spiritual truths that had been forgotten.

#2 – Global Methodists see original sin as the problem

They tend to recognize that people are prone to hurting each other. Often this isn’t on purpose (although sometimes it is), but, because of original sin, people are prone to making decisions out of greed, pride, envy, anger, etc. Because of this tendency, they are wary of those with a lot of power whether that is an institution or a person. They value accountability, not just for others but also for themselves.

#3 – Global Methodists treat their pastors like a regular person

They don’t insist on or even like their pastor to wear clergy robes. They more often than not call their pastor by his or her first name. If there is a meeting or gathering, it’s not a given that the pastor will pray. While the pastor is a leader and does have special duties, the line between pastor duties and duties of congregants is not as well defined. A lay person is just as likely to feel qualified to visit the sick, pray with those in a bad place, or lead someone to faith in Jesus.

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Useful Links

• Overview of UMC Split (Ready to Harvest): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjydUH-lfDo
• Debate between Jeff and Dayne: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-st3nu57PY
• Good Home for Every Church post: https://jctaccounting.com/2022/05/13/the-umc-split-a-good-home-for-every-church-every-pastor/