Update on the United Methodist Church Split

by Rev. Eric Folkerth

It’s been some time since I’ve updated you on the ongoing “split” in the United Methodist Church. I’ve been trying very hard not to “overshare” the play-by-play of almost daily developments because it seems to me this could get exhausting.

Further, as a part of my own spiritual discipline, I’ve been trying very hard to not speak ill of those who are leaving or of what they are saying about the United Methodist Church, United Methodist pastors, and even (in one case) things they’ve said privately about me.

In these past months, I’ve been trying to follow the wise admonition: “When they go low, we’ll go high…”

So I’ll continue that effort in what I say here.

That said, almost every week, one of our members —or somebody I know in the greater United Methodist world— calls or emails me a question about these matters.

So today, a brief update.

The calls I am getting are from frustrated and confused people who are “hearing things” that trouble them.

They are hearing accusations being made about the future United Methodist Church, about what United Methodist pastors believe now and will believe in the future. In some cases…and I know this is a strong word…there are lies being intentionally propagated by those who are leaving the UMC.

I don’t use the word “lie” lightly, but I honestly don’t know what else to call some of this.

Let’s back up a moment…

You might recall that many months ago I shared with you my theory that the United Methodist Church was going through a “divorce” of sorts. And, like divorces in our real-life families, the adult partners always have a choice as to how they will respond to the reality of the situation.

I also know divorce is a hard and painful subject for many, and even using the metaphor at all could stir up some people’s trauma. That is not my intention.

That said, I’m sure we have all seen how, sometimes, the parties in a divorce speak poorly about one another. Or, in some situations, it’s just one party who speaks poorly about the other.

Unfortunately, over the past few months, we’ve seen just that.

It’s become very clear to me that *some* (not all) of the pastors leaving for the more conservative “Global Methodist Church (GMC)” are choosing to speak poorly about those of us who will remain United Methodist.

You might immediately ask, “What are they saying?!”

But I’m not going to repeat the falsehoods and insinuations they are making, because I don’t want to give them oxygen. It is clear to me there is a “talking points” document being circulated in all sorts of cities and towns across the nation. A lot of what’s being said has an eerie consistency that indicates some “talking point” coordination.

Further, I will say that I do not believe that lay folks are leading this effort. Tragically, my observation is that almost all of these falsehoods and secret insinuations are coming from clergy (again, not all…), and most tragically, even from some bishops.

Many months ago now, I urged all parties to not do this. I urged that, as this process unfolded, we not speak ill about one another.

I urged those who were leaving to just…leave…with our blessing and our prayers…and allow those of us who seek to stay to move on with our mission for Jesus.

Sadly, my sense is that what I feared might happen instead has come to fruition.

Because a congregation must meet a “supermajority” threshold to leave (66.7%), some (again, not all) GMC-leaning pastors have felt the need to say ridiculous things about the UMC…in an attempt to sway votes toward leaving. Others have just “declared independence” from the UMC without following the separation protocol.

Again, this was a somewhat predictable result of the supermajority requirement. It forces the rhetoric to become intentionally extreme in an attempt to sway lay folks.

But, based on the calls I am getting from various lay folks (almost every week), it’s not working. Folks are *not* being swayed. If anything, they’re just sad and confused that pastors and bishops would behave this way.

They’re disappointed in the GMC-leaning pastors and bishops who are resorting to such tactics. It feels unseemly and, frankly, gross.
And, it is. Even though it’s incredibly predictable, that doesn’t make it any less tragic.

So friends, let me end by “going high.” Instead of becoming defensive about the UMC or bitter about these tactics, let me again re-state what I’ve told you for several years now…

Kessler Park UMC has a bright future.

We will continue to be a beacon of light, love, and inclusion for all the people of North Oak Cliff. We will continue to believe Jesus is our Messiah and continue to take the Bible seriously. We will continue to preach and teach Christ’s resurrection and uphold our Methodist doctrines and standards.

Every United Methodist pastor I personally know —conservative, moderate, or liberal— takes our polity and our Book of Discipline seriously. I know I do. We all have and we all will.

(We may interpret the Discipline differently. We may disagree with how “complaints” are dealt with, but we all take the process seriously…)

Through the call of Jesus on our lives, we will *also* welcome with open arms people of all sexual orientations, races, nationalities, and economic circumstances.

This is consistent with our Mission Statement:

“We are a community of hope,
founded in faith,
fostering spiritual growth,
and meeting human needs
by reflecting God's love
in Christ's name.”

We will pray for those who are leaving for the Global Methodist Church. We will ask that they go quietly and in peace.

We cannot control what others say about us. We cannot control what they do. But we *can* continue to focus on the blessings God gives us and the mission field God places in front of us.

We will continue to offer worship that renews us for our journey. We will continue to welcome new members (several in the past few weeks!).

We will continue ministries for people of all ages and acts of justice and compassion in North Oak Cliff. And we will trust that God will be with us in every step we take.

Grace and Peace,

Eric Folkerth

Baptism

by Rev. Eric Folkerth

Sometimes when I’m in the greater community standing up for some cause of justice, I find more “secular” justice-seekers are a bit confused. Their own life values don’t always include belief in God or trust in God’s grace. And perhaps they have left organized religion on the way towards becoming more justice-seeking humans.

But I like to remind them some of us feel compelled to seek justice in the world *because* of our faith in God, not in spite of it.

For me all of this goes back to a very bold commitment that we all make in our baptismal vows. And, as we approach “Baptism of the Lord Sunday,” it’s a vow that bears remembering.

This Sunday in worship, we’ll read the familiar story of Jesus’ baptism by John in the River Jordan. Gods’ voice speaks and says: “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

My favorite line about baptism is the idea that it’s “an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.” Baptism symbolizes what’s already there in terms of God’s love and acceptance of us. God’s “inward grace” is already at work in us and has been throughout our lives.

But during our baptismal vows, all of us United Methodists commit to a powerful goal:

“To resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves.”

Perhaps the connection with baptism isn’t immediately clear, but I think it’s a powerful one if we meditate on it for a moment.

God’s grace, love, and acceptance comes to us through baptism. We remember, and know, that we too are God’s good children.

And, *because* we know this very truth so deeply, it’s impossible for us to simply look the other way in the face of “evil, injustice, and oppression.”

Standing up against such things is not just some political act. It’s not simply being in favor of “social justice.” It’s quite tangibly living out our baptismal vows. It’s living out our faith.

I know that that not all justice-seeking people are led to their values through Christian faith. But I also know that some of us are. Some of us seek justice *because* of our faith, not in spite of it.

Join us Sunday, as we unpack this more.

Joy Sunday

by Rev. Eric Folkerth

Every week of Advent brings the chance to contrast the values of Christ with the values of our world.

This week’s Advent theme is JOY.
And the juxtaposed-values of our world are grief and sorrow.

For some of us, this holiday season is the most “normal” in three or four years. For others of us, we can only now look back at the losses of our loved ones and find ourselves still in grief and sorrow.

This week, as if to illustrate where I am on this spectrum, something drew me to one of the schmaltziest Christmas songs ever: Jerry Herman’s “We Need a Little Christmas.”

The version I well remember was on the old “Firestone” Christmas records. Those records were so much a part of my young childhood, and I’m sure some of you recall them as well.

There was a version of “We Need A Little Christmas” on one of those records performed by the New Christy Minstrels. As a small child, I had no idea who they were. I just knew that this song was about the peppiest, most overly-optimistic Christmas song ever. And even today, when I think of that song, I think of those energetic, mid-century modern harmonies.

Last week, I opened up the turntable on my stereo and I found that very record….still cued up from when I’d played it last…

It was Christmas Eve 2021 and already our Christmas plans were going off the rails. Covid was, yet again, keeping our family separated. But one thing had become clear to us between Thanksgiving Day and that one: our mom had serious memory issues.

We didn’t yet know she also had advanced cancer. (That news came later…) But we did know she was forgetting things. Lots of things.

I’d always heard how music can help people with memory issues. And so, that Christmas Eve day, I pulled out Mom’s old Firestone records (I had saved them since I love old vinyl)  and my Mom sat in my overstuffed chair in our living room and just listened to them for hours.

I’d like to think it helped her.

So now it’s almost a full year later —last week— when I opened up the turntable and there was that same record…still there. And I had an instant realization that things had gotten so busy, so hectic, that I hadn’t played a single other record the entire calendar year.

A silent testament to the roller-coaster year that had passed.

I then thought of the words of the schmaltzy song I mentioned earlier. I picked up my guitar, slowed it down, and as it turns, if you can listen past the peppy music, the words perfectly describe the grief of many during the holidays. (I’ll post a video at the end for you to hear…)

Listen to these words:

"For I've grown a little leaner,
I've grown a little colder,
I've grown a little sadder,
Grown a little older,
And I need a little angel
Sitting on my shoulder,
I need a little Christmas now."

Yes. Yes I do need it. And maybe you do too?

Perhaps for some of you this year, the idea of JOY this Advent seems preposterous. If so, this would be a good time to remind you about our “Longest Night” service coming up on December 21st. It’s specially designed for folks who are having a hard time with the holiday season.

And even if you are in the midst of grief, I invite you to hear the joy of Mary’s “Magnificat,” which will be our Gospel Lesson this Sunday. This is her remarkable poem from the Gospel of Luke…her testimony about her OWN Joy and her testimony about the joy of the world at the coming of the Messiah. Our faith calls us to hear these words of joy even when we personally don’t feel them fully.

John Wesley was once speaking to a young Methodist preacher who apparently had lost his faith. Wesley told the young man, “preach faith until you have faith.”

We can say that same about joy: “Sing of joy until you again have joy.”

As we light the Candle of Joy this coming Sunday, the Rodgers family will read the following words from Isaiah. These words speak not only of *human* joy, but of a joy to all the created earth…this is where we get our concept of “joy to the world…let heaven and nature sing..”

Hear this promise of Joy from Isaiah. Trust that the notes of Joy are singing in our world, even if it’s hard for you to personally hear them.

Joy is POSSIBLE in your life…even this Christmas…even in the midst of your sorrow.

“Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.

For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp, the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”

See you Sunday,

Eric Folkerth