PlainSpoken

As you folks know, I have wanted the Global Methodist Church to be able to make good on the hopes of so many to become a truly multiethnic, global sign of Christ's presence and power. Racial separation hurts me. I believe it disappoints my Lord and cheapens his gospel.So I and others need to have conversations with people of underrepresented constituencies so that we know how to work towards what we believe Christ requires. Blango, clergy from the UMC's Baltimore Washington Annual Conference, was willing to help me think through these things, drawing heavily on his decades of experience in ministry and life.Many of you will enjoy this conversation very much. Blango and I are friends, and I believe we are paving the way for the future to look pretty different from the past and present.Links:Willimon Article (I didn't like it, of course, but it has the 4% stat in it) - https://www.christiancentury.org/features/missed-opportunities-umc-general-conference Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe

Chance Robinson published an article in Firebrand a few weeks ago, outlining his personal history in the Freemasons and his theological clarity that secret societies are at odds with the Christian faith.In this conversation, Chance tells more of his story, and we try to flesh out why exactly secret fraternal organizations are such a threat to the Christian faith. We end in a conversation about idolatry more broadly. I hope you benefit from our discussion!Links:Chance's Article in Firebrand - "Allegiance as Christian Witness" - https://firebrandmag.com/articles/allegiance-as-christian-witness-a-testimony-of-leaving-freemasonry Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe

In this segment, TJ and I report on the petitions we filed and some of the feedback we got. We also get some more details about how the legislative committees are going to work in the months leading up to General Conference. We finally read a good deal of that guiding document for the Convening Conference session, which gives a lot more information about the nuts and bolts of how things will work before and during (and after) the conference session.We were surprised at how transparent and responsive everything is designed to be. This is going to be a large culture shift from the UMC. We are pleased and excited. We hope everyone else will be, too!Link to our petition questionnaire - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfh9VhGo7nB9zav4WGBUQ-lI_31Zn5Jey27OXaccLKem4Qkag/viewform?usp=sharing Link to this General Conference document that we review - https://globalmethodist.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/The-Convening-General-Conference-Community.pdf Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe

UMNews picked up an article published by the Holston Annual Conference, which was essentially an interview with conservative clergy, the Rev. Dr. Randy Frye, who is a self-proclaimed conservative (though he hates labels) who will be staying in The United Methodist Church. In the article, he talks about how the legislation at the most recent General Conference only brings the issue of gay marriage "back to neutral," and how the denomination is still making room for conservatives like us.I had a hard time understanding how a conservative could say these things. It turns out his thoughts are a little more nuanced than the article was able to represent. I still find myself in a pretty different place than him, but I appreciate his efforts to remain faithful where he is. My hope is publishing this is that it helps conservatives within the UMC to think through how it is that they want to participate in that covenant body, if at all. Rev. Frye presents an example of how one might navigate these issues faithfully from within, if one so chooses.Links:'Conservative Pastor Says He Will Live Into New Reality' by Annette Spence - https://www.holston.org/article/randy-frye-post-gc-18362101Website for First Broad Street UMC - https://www.fbsumc.org/ Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe

Mark Holland published a piece that was over the line for a lot of folks, and he was pressed to make an apology for "harm" that it did. Lonnie Brooks has already aired a concern for progressive 'triumphalism' that was seen before, during, and is now being seen after the UMC's General Conference. Odell similarly has the concern that this progressive takeover bodes badly for black and brown people, as these issues have now been racially coded. My role was a bit different with this one. I felt like arguing with both of them. I was a bit more adversarial with my guests than usual. I figured it was time to make a strong case for a more fundamentalist sexual ethic. I also argued that these things are not racially coded, but are actually fundamentally a class issue. We had a good robust exchange. I think a lot of you will enjoy it. Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe

The Convening Conference for the Global Methodist Church approaches quickly. TJ, Ruth, and I crafted nine documents that we plan to submit for the consideration of the assembled body in September. This segment explains our agenda and how it is that you can join us in advancing the conversation about who we want to be together. If you would like to consider our petitions, then please go to the link below to review and support what initiatives of ours that you like:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfh9VhGo7nB9zav4WGBUQ-lI_31Zn5Jey27OXaccLKem4Qkag/viewform?usp=share_link Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe

A lot has happened in the weeks following the General Conference of the United Methodist Church held in Charlotte, NC. So much took place that still has to be reckoned with. Our United Methodist laity and clergy attached to this group have a lot of information to share. Each has his own area of insight. This session was a barrage of analysis and insight. Links: 2019 Central Conference Membership - https://www.umnews.org/en/news/us-dips-below-majority-of-membership 2024 Central Conference Membership - https://www.umc.org/en/content/united-methodists-at-a-glance Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe

Rev. Dr. Scott Field has long worked toward Methodist reform and renewal. He served as a pastor in the Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church for 41 years. Scott served on the Board of Directors of Good News for 15 years and, along with an outstanding team, led the Reform and Renewal Coalition efforts at four UMC General Conferences. He, along with his wife Lynda, were the local arrangement organizers for the inaugural gathering of the Wesleyan Covenant Association in Chicago in 2016 with 1800 in attendance.Scott also took the lead to form the Northern Illinois Regional Chapter of the Wesleyan Covenant Association and worked voluntarily there for the last seven (7) years. His days were spent working within northern Illinois to inform, connect, advise, and resource Methodists in the disaffiliation process for separation from the United Methodist denomination. Scott retired from the UMC in 2019.Scott has been a part of the Leadership Council of the Great Lakes Provisional Annual Conference, and also serves on the Great Lakes Board of Ministry both of the Global Methodist Church.Links:The Wesleyan Covenant Association - https://wesleyancovenant.org/ Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe

Rev. Tom Lambrecht has been a foremost source of knowledge for many who have tried to discern what is actually going on in the UMC for many years. While many institutionalist and liberal voices have gaslit conservative concerns for decades, Tom has been a consistent voice of reason and concern. His tenor is not at all smug as his concerns were realized in the last couple weeks.In this conversation, Rev. Lambrecht helps me to sift through the different things being said about changes in sexual morality, options for disaffiliation, and degrees of progressive takeover. He gave me a lot of clarity. I hope you receive the same benefit!The audio is a little rough at first, but it levels out, so bear with it!Links:Good News Magazine - https://goodnewsmag.org/Tom's Blog - https://tomlambrecht.goodnewsmag.org/ Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe

The Convening Conference for the Global Methodist Church is approaching. It will do many things similarly to how the UMC does their conferences. However, there will be many differences. The only way to navigate this September is to understand the design that they have made explicit in their "THE CONVENING GENERAL CONFERENCE COMMUNITY: PLAN OF ORGANIZATION AND COVENANT FOR OUR LIFE TOGETHER" document. So TJ and walk through this document in this segment and try to get clear on the timeline for what is to transpire. Those of you who are interested in tracking these developments in September would be wise to spend time getting oriented with us. LGMC Website: www.globalmethodist.org General Conference Website: https://www.sotheworldwillknow.org/ The Convening General Conference Community Document: https://assets-global.website-files.com/65ecb1a33dc79361d6f90b07/6619cdf0ca169e0b60fa4a89_Plan%20of%20Organization%20%2B%20Covenant%20202403.pdf Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe