kc response

Rev Kevin Clancey, Oakdale UMC, Oakdale, California

As many of you already know, on April 1^st, 18 pastors and 25 laypeople signed a document asking for a fair process to leave the Annual conference of the United Methodist Church. As the president of the Evangelical Renewal Fellowship, a group of United Methodist committed to historic Christianity, I called the meeting and signed the document. There are several reasons I feel it is time to separate from the United Methodist Church. Let me list them for you.

1.United Methodist have lost their doctrinal integrity. Leaders in the UMC are no longer held accountable to believe and teach the basic tenants of the Christian faith as revealed in the Bible and articulated in our doctrine. First UMC Marietta Georgia has compiled a documented list of some of the abuses that have taken place in-the last five years. Time and time again leaders of our denomination support and teach things contrary to Christian belief and ethics, contrary to the scriptures and contrary to the Discipline of our church. They are not held accountable or disciplined for this, in fact some are promoted.

2.We are not supported and cannot be supportive of our leaders. We are told to send approximately $35,000 to the denomination each year. Some of that money is spent well. Some of it goes for my pension. However we receive very little back from that money and others receive very little from that money. Instead most of it goes to keep a huge and largely unnecessary bureaucracy afloat This bureaucracy has hundreds of millions of dollars invested in the stock market and we have leaky roofs. A few years ago we were asked to help raise ten million dollars to plant more churches. I think planting more churches is a great idea. However, we were told that these churches would help stem the tide of growing evangelicalism and bring people back to mainline religions. I have no desire to plant more theologically liberal Methodist churches. We are part of the growing tide of evangelicalism. I cannot support most of the agenda items presented by the leadership of our Annual conference. As a pastor, I do not feel support, prayed for and uplifted by the leaders in our Annual conference. This does not mean they are bad people, it simply means we are going two different directions.

3.We are painted with the same brush. When our leaders do something publicly the perception is that is what Methodist believe. When our bishop supports the president who is approving partial-birth abortions the public believes that is what Methodists stand for. When our pastors perform same sex covenanting services the public thinks Methodists are all doing it and approve of it. Several men in our Promise Keepers group have told me when they tell their friends they are United Methodists they have to immediately add some kind of disclaimer, saying 'no not that kind of Methodist' We have to continually apologize for the public statements and practices of other United Methodists, especially our leadership.

4.We waste energy and resources fighting each other. It is obvious there are two different worldviews competing within the United Methodist Church. The view our church espouses holds that the Bible is the inspired word of God and the final authority on all matters of faith and practice. We believe that Jesus is the unique Son of God, fully God and fully man and the exclusive Savior of the world. There are no other ways to God but through Jesus. We believe the mission of the church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ. We want to convert people and lead them into a mature relationship with Jesus Christ Another view says the Bible is one book among many, instructive for the church but not the final word. Revelation is going on now that can supersede the Bible and it is up to the church to decide what the Spirit is saying now. Jesus is one way among many and we should support all faiths without believing Jesus Christ is the ultimate truth. The mission of the church is to simply do good and reform society, but not to try and evangelize the world. These two views are incompatible. And both sides waste energy trying to win the organization over to their worldview. Why not separate and let each view operate without internal squabble.

5.We are complicit with evil. This may seem like a strong statement but I believe it is true. We help support a system that has told us to give money to feed children and reform the world, and by and large, we have been giving money to be invested in the stock market. We help support a system that professes to believe in the classical Christian faith yet allows and rewards serious deviation and compromise of that faith. We help support a system that promotes and practices ethics that undermine the family and go against four thousand years of Judeo-Christian sexual ethics. We are told if we don't do this we are disloyal and schismatic, I think schism has been brought upon us and the loyal thing to do is to not be a part of that system any more.

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