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Andrew Jensen's avatar

If we think of denominations as institutions, it sometimes becomes difficult to “retake” them. If we think of denominations in terms of groups of people bound together by relationships and covenant (and to a certain extent, doctrinal agreement) then it’s possible to retake the soul of the denomination while leaving the institution behind. Institutions are a wineskin, not the wine. If a wineskin is breaking down, it’s okay to pour the wine into new wineskins. I’m an outsider looking in, but that’s how I view the Global Methodist Church: it’s not a breaking up of Methodism, but rather a pouring of what remains of traditional Methodism into a new wineskin.

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Robert Moulton's avatar

Our little, rural church went through the discernment process with our DS as prescribed by the NE Conference. The outcome was, I think, inevitable at this point. Having been folded into a 3-point charge a couple years back, most of our parishioners are young in the faith and do not understand the issues. Besides that, we only discussed our stance on LGBTQ+ issues and not the larger malfeasance of our bishops and clergy. There was no path to separation where we would have a pastor, and that scared people. So we stayed. And my wife and I, and the other Lay Speaker stayed. Not so much for the redemption of the denomination (which I hold eminently possible as long as the Word is read and the Spirit moves), but to keep our little church alive and growing. I expect there are many such congregations in the US.

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