Over the last few years, thousands of United Methodist congregations have voted to separate themselves from the United Methodist Church — with more than 5,000 doing so this year alone.
The origins of this modern schism date back to January 2020, when leaders of the UMC announced the approval of a plan to permit the split of the church in a disagreement over same-sex marriage.
Progressive UMC leaders have begun to defy United Methodist teachings, with some endorsing the celebration of same-sex weddings and the ordination of noncelibate homosexuals, the U.K.’s Guardian reported last month.
Conservative members of the United Methodist Church, on the other hand, reject these views as unbiblical.
The number of congregations looking for the door has skyrocketed. According to UM News, in 2023 alone, 5,638 churches disaffiliated from the United Methodist Church.
The disaffiliation numbers have been trending upward since the 2020 vote. Only 57 churches were approved to leave in 2020. The number more than doubled to 123 in 2021 and then jumped to 1,827 in 2022.
Some states — including Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania — have seen more than 300 churches break away in 2023 alone, according to UM News.
Many of the largest United Methodist congregations in the nation are overwhelmingly voting to split from the United Methodist Church.
In March, The Christian Post reported that the largest United Methodist congregation in Michigan chose to leave the mainline Protestant denomination, with 98.2 percent voting in favor of the move.
Will the divide in the UMC continue to grow?
Just a few weeks ago, the Christ United Methodist Church of Jackson, one of the largest United Methodist Church bodies in Mississippi, voted overwhelmingly to leave the United Methodist Church, according to the Post.
And while the schism continues to tear apart the United Methodist Church, it should instill both optimism and concern in the hearts of Americans.
The Bible unequivocally states that marriage is between one man and one woman. Jesus defines it as such in Matthew 19:4-6 and Mark 10:6-9.
So where does the debate come in? The answer is complicated, but the United Methodist Church’s desire to portray an aurora of tolerance is a contributing factor.
In changing its position on same-sex marriage, the UMC seeks to widen its reach and broaden its congregation. In reality, the opposite has happened.
Notwithstanding, Americans should be optimistic that many United Methodist congregations have fought back against the denomination’s shift away from Christ and vowed to remain faithful to his teachings. It shows that biblical truth still means something to many Americans.
The ramifications of such a significant split remain to be seen, and it raises the question: Will other Protestant churches split as well?
“Big church splits can prefigure big national splits,” Bonnie Kristian of The Week warned in June 2021.
Notably, Baptists, Methodists and Presbyterians all split over the issue of slavery in the years leading up to the Civil War.
Protestantism itself was precipitated by a split from the Catholic Church in the 16th century. Since then, thousands of Protestant denominations have split and split again, all for reasons less polarizing than same-sex marriage.
It’s a cause for concern that religious leaders are deliberately leading their flock away from the doctrines of their faith. After all, the leaders of the United Methodist Church are supposed to guide their members toward God, not away from him. The idea of becoming more “tolerant” of sin will only serve to tear Christianity down.
Of course, the church is supposed to welcome everyone with open arms. We are all sinners and all need God’s grace.
However, this does not mean that the rules should be rewritten so that more people can feel accepted. Christians are supposed to conform to the teachings of Christ, not the other way around.
And if some people do not want to ascribe to Christ and his teachings, that is their decision.
The beautiful thing about Christianity is that it is an objective truth — and an objective truth will not change because some people believe it should.
While it is comforting to know that no matter how hard they may try, they can never change the tenants of Christianity, a lot of damage can be done in the pursuit of change.
