United Methodist Bishop Eben K. Nhiwatiwa was safely home in Zimbabwe Aug. 27 after being detained in Nigeria on a visa complaint while visiting to set up the election of a new bishop. The incident marks the latest encounter in…
United Methodists will decide realigning church’s structure, authority in 2024
For the first time in half a century, acceptance of sexual minorities isn’t likely to be the major issue coming before The United Methodist Church’s worldwide legislative assembly next spring. Instead, the looming political fight appears to be how to…
United Methodist bishops called to craft ‘narrative of hope’ amid harsh break-up realities
The president of the United Methodist Council of Bishops called his sibling episcopal leaders to “craft a narrative of hope” in the coming months before the 12-million-member worldwide denomination gathers next spring for its first legislative assembly since the UMC…
Clearer picture emerging of UMC’s future
Even before its official year of splintering is completed, United Methodists are carving out a clearer identity for the denomination’s future and a clearer picture is emerging of who has stayed and who has left, about clergy health and the…
Grieving and glimmers of hope mark United Methodist breakup status
When tiny but energetic Bartlett United Methodist Church in central Texas began to talk about the denomination’s split, member Tami Baker said she felt “a sense of dread and then grief as talk of the pending split increased.” Further into…
A Baptist’s guide to disaffiliation in other Christian traditions
While the Southern Baptist Convention — the nation’s largest non-Catholic denomination — has been in the news lately for removing churches from its fellowship, The United Methodist Church — the nation’s second-largest non-Catholic denomination — keeps making headlines as churches…
187 United Methodist churches sue North Georgia Conference to re-start exit process
A group of 186 churches and one individual church have filed separate lawsuits to get the North Georgia regional conference to re-start the process for leaving The United Methodist Church. The lawsuits stem from a December 2022 decision by North…
Judge’s dismissal of 36 churches’ lawsuit holds implications for other UMC departures
A North Carolina judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by 36 United Methodist churches seeking to leave the denomination without following its required exit process. The dismissal holds broader implications for the slow-moving splintering of the worldwide denomination, which currently…
Why it’s so hard to leave The United Methodist Church
Observers both inside and outside The United Methodist Church these days puzzle over a question: Why is it so hard for local churches to take their property with them if they leave the 12-million-member worldwide denomination? A March 4 special…