Two Baptist-affiliated schools are among six “recommended educational institutions” approved by the new Global Methodist Church. The GMC is a breakaway group from The United Methodist Church created largely over disagreements about LGBTQ inclusion and acceptance. The UMC is perceived as…
Truett Seminary names a controversial Methodist bishop to its faculty
Baylor University’s Truett Seminary has added a second faculty member aligned with the new Global Methodist Church, the conservative breakaway from the United Methodist Church. The appointment of Scott Jones as affiliate professor and pastor-theologian in residence at Truett’s Wesley…
Texas megachurch relents; follows United Methodist rules to exit denomination
One of the largest United Methodist congregations in Texas, which said it would circumvent the denomination’s process on leaving, has relented and allowed its members to vote on the exit. It also has agreed to pay the required departure fees…
Eight months later, there’s renewed interest in Adam Hamilton’s video on why he’ll remain a United Methodist
United Methodists do not face a “binary choice,” the pastor of the denomination’s largest church in America told his congregation last spring, foreshadowing the schism that has since become full-blown. A video of Adam Hamilton, pastor of Church of the…
‘Everybody’s doing it’: United Methodists ignoring their own rules as break-up continues
I am utterly spent and crushed; I groan because of the tumult of my heart. — Psalm 38:8 Church politics, like all politics, creates noble achievements and underhanded dealings. As the year draws to a close, United Methodists find themselves…
Truett Seminary names theologian for breakaway Methodist group to chair Wesleyan Studies program
A theologian for a breakaway group of conservative Methodists has been named professor of Christian theology and the first person to hold a new chair in Wesleyan studies at Baylor University’s Truett Seminary. The new academic chair is named in memory…
Events turn against disaffected forces wanting to leave the UMC
Like the lyrics from Paul Simon’s hit song “Call Me Al,” there have been “incidents and accidents, hints and allegations” swirling about The United Methodist Church in the past two weeks, and they add up to some disappointing developments for…
As frustration and misinformation mount, United Methodist Church’s reputation takes a beating
The ongoing break-up of The United Methodist Church escalated in mid-July to a public legal feud that appears further to damage the troubled denomination’s reputation. The latest episode erupted July 14 when 106 local congregations, most located in rural areas…
United Methodist Church split draws celebration, lament and soul-searching
A funny thing happened after the theologically conservative Global Methodist Church officially launched on May 1: Dozens of United Methodists took to social media to voice their reasons for staying with the denomination that the GMC’s parent body has denounced…