PlainSpoken

The denominational woes of The United Methodist Church has been remarked upon by worldly sources a few times over the years. Now that disaffiliation season under Paragraph 2553 has concluded, a couple larger outlets have decided to tell our story to the rest of their reading audiences.In this segment, I walk through the reporting of both outlets to some degree, while also consulting a couple of other resources for ascertaining where things currently stand. While my commentary (and the buzzy audio) might be lacking in this one, the resources presented here, especially the interactive map and the GCFA list of largest churches, are worthy resources, so here are all the links to the resources consulted in this segment:Liam Adams Tweet Thread: https://twitter.com/liamsadams/status/1735718114367504847Tennessean Interactive Map “Total churches that have disaffiliated from United Methodist Church since 2019” - https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/11865260/UMNews Disaffiliation Numbers Spreadsheet - https://www.umnews.org/en/news/disaffiliations-approved-by-annual-conferencesJimmy Boone’s UM Disaffiliations Tally - https://www.facebook.com/groups/197734687313310/permalink/1841598499593579Talbot Davis Tweet on NYTimes Article - https://twitter.com/TalbotDavisNew York Times Article “With a Deadline Looming, The United Methodist Church Breaks Up - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/18/us/the-united-methodist-church-schism.html?unlocked_article_code=1.G00.GTs9.wlHnAcOOD46l&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShareGCFA’s “2020 Top 100 Churches by Attendance” - https://www.gcfa.org/_files/ugd/5524b1_20f39c75fee649c69ec49751578b2b08.pdf Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe

This segment covers the requirements for consideration for ordained ministry in the Global Methodist Church. What background is needed in order to be recommended by one's church? Once recommended, what does the educational and candidacy process look like? We have an extended reflection on the relevance of modern psychotherapy in the culling the candidates for ministry. The final content deals with the historic questions asked of clergy and how they might should be interpreted and applied today. Enjoy!Links - Allie Beth Stuckey on Social Justice - To view this video on YouTube - Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe

¶401-403 Deals with "The Ministry of the Called." It establishes a basic theological framework for ordained church leadership, beginning with Certified Lay Ministers but then getting into Deacons and Elders. In this segment, we talk through a theology of calling and how it stands against other traditions that have other litmus tests for who should lead. We also try (and largely fail) to suss out where the boundary lines are between the different roles for leadership in the church. We hope you enjoy! Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe

On Saturday, December 2, 2023, the Florida Conference of The United Methodist Church held its final Special Called Conference to fulfill the provisions of ¶2553 of The United Methodist Church’s Book of Discipline. The still relatively new bishop, Tom Berlin, officiated the time online, during which they said goodbye to a final 74 local churches that had faithfully completed the disaffiliation process. After taking the final vote, the good bishop had a final address, during which he addressed a number of bad actors.In this segment, I cover his address in light of his previous words on the public stage. It is hard to know the meaning of his words, or to have a charitable understanding of their intent. While conference publications might put a positive spin on it, it seems deliberately manipulative and disingenuous. For their part, the Florida Chapter of the Wesleyan Covenant Association was magnanimous in receiving the final decision of the conference. It remains to be seen what fallout there will be in the coming months and years after such discord.Links:Florida WCA post - https://www.facebook.com/WesleyanCovenantAssocFl/posts/pfbid0pZUXzzGa1LLZX5WADxNJyyAENKYmc8VGRmdRV1Yz6UXeFATSyaCbmhmBmbXujiTslFlorida Conference Article - https://www.flumc.org/newsdetail/with-disaffiliation-complete-the-florida-conference-looks-to-a-united-future-18162480 Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe

In May of this year, the Rio Texas Conference of the UMC filed suit against 40 of its own churches because negotiations around disaffiliation had broken down. Both sides have spent a good deal of money on litigation, and it remains to be seen which will prevail. Meanwhile, 17 churches are appearing before their assembled conference body this Saturday, seeking ratification of their disaffiliations from the conference. This segment deals with the history of the conference, the events leading up to the lawsuit and where things currently stand, and the implications of potential legal eventualities. Links:List of the 17 disaffiliating churches on December 2 - https://riotexas.org/events/2023/10/3/special-called-session“Rio Texas Conference Asserts Fiduciary Responsibilityin Legal Suit” - https://peopleneedjesus.files.wordpress.com/2023/05/rio-texas-conference-asserts-fiduciary-responsibility-in-legal-suit.pdfPlaintiff Petition - https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54b8639ee4b076c29fb6eae7/t/6463ee52292c436b126e2778/1684270676012/Plaintiff+Original+Petition.pdfMy interview w/ Lloyd Lunceford, church disaffiliation lawyer - https://youtu.be/hxaB8FFGsk0“Five conferences merge to become two” - https://www.umnews.org/en/news/five-conferences-merge-to-become-two“Me & Bishop Dorff” account of Bishop Dorff being somewhat of a pushover for the left - https://loveprevailsumc.com/2015/08/12/me-bishop-dorff/“Rio Texas bishop resigns after admitting wrongdoing” - https://www.umnews.org/en/news/rio-texas-bishop-resigns#:~:text=United%20Methodist%20Bishop%20James%20E,1%2C%202016.Bio on Bishop Robert Schnase - https://www.unitedmethodistbishops.org/person-detail/2464082Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jeffreyrickman.substack.com Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe

Sections X-XIV - The Method of Organizing a New Church, Transfer of a Local Church, Shared Ministry, Congregational Fidelity, & Transitional ProvisionsIn this episode, we finish talking through Part Three of the Transitional Book of Doctrines and Discipline, covering church planting, protecting doctrine, exiting noncompliant churches, and allowing for all kinds of interesting relationships between a local church and other denominations and/or other annual conferences. We have a decent conversation around the theology of church planting being at odds with part of disfellowshipping rebellious local churches. There are definitely worse ways to spend your time. We hope you enjoy!Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jeffreyrickman.substack.com Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe

The United Methodist Church continues closing churches against their will in what Chris Ritter has termed “connectional cannibalism.” Some churches closed lean right or center-right. Yet a couple of weeks ago, the Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference closed a Reconciling Ministries church AGAINST THEIR WILL. They saw it coming a mile away, named it, fought it, and the DS came to worship and announced they would be closed and can no longer worship there. In this segment, I read the news articles, show the footage, and read the account of the local church, which has put their story online. I do some analysis about the ideologies at play here and urge folks to pray for those who continue to be crushed by the UMC, and that the UMC leadership would repent. I would like to think it is all worthy. Supporters are hereby encouraged to go to plainspoken.locals.com to support my work and help me to build up the infrastructure needed to spread good and helpful information.Links:“Trinity United Methodist Church in Eugene suddenly and permanently closes” by KLCC - https://www.klcc.org/social-justice/2023-11-21/trinity-united-methodist-church-in-eugene-suddenly-and-permanently-closes“United Methodist Church officials speak on Trinity closure” by KVAL - https://kval.com/news/local/united-methodist-church-officials-speak-on-trinity-closureTrinity’s Website - https://savetrinityeugene.orgAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jeffreyrickman.substack.com Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe

The current situation in Israel and its military operations among Palestinian civilians among the Hamas terrorist militants has heightened international tensions around Islamic extremism and Zionism. The specter of a world war is in view for worldly people. For those of the Christian faith, there are also many tensions with apocalyptic import. Many voices in the charismatic and evangelical traditions seem to think that developments in the Middle East directly correspond to biblical prophecy. Other voices in the mainline seem to think those interpretations of scripture are particularly dangerous or unhelpful. I myself have felt intimidated at the prospect of navigating these challenges of biblical interpretation. I needed help.Dr. Vic Reasoner is known by many to be an expert in Wesleyan theology, having published dozens of books on the topic. Among those publications are several dealing with how to properly read prophecy and apocalypse in the Wesleyan tradition. In our time spent together, Vic explains how it is that Methodists have traditionally read scriptures around the final judgment, the millennial reign of Christ, the binding of Satan, and the covenant people of God in the last days. I would like to think I did a decent job at breaking it down for novices in this area. Please forgive me if I failed!Links:Dr. Reasoner’s Methodist Essentials document - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YdVVab_ZLM7q1-PNGXs9LMuDgOKi34hY/view?usp=sharingAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jeffreyrickman.substack.com Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe

Sections VIII & IX - Connectional FundingIn this episode, we finish talking through the mandatory committees and the work, and we get into how local churches are expected to fund shared ministries.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jeffreyrickman.substack.com Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe

Section VIII - Local Church Administrative CommitteesVery few people enjoy committees and committee work. Even so, the Transitional Book of Doctrines and Discipline of the Global Methodist Church has adopted a lot of the structure and stipulations spelled out for committees from The United Methodist Church. To our surprise, a lot of this stuff is actually pretty great. In this episode, we talk through the Church Council, the Nominations & Leadership Development Committee, and the Staff-Parish Relations Committee. I explain why it is that pastors are actually sorta idiots for not following these guidelines, as they essentially guarantee healthy functioning of a local church. I also tell a story or two from a dysfunctional church I served. Bigger news: TJ seems to be warming up to the idea that spelling a lot of these things out is actually beneficial. Maybe some of you likewise are considering how much of the old needs to be jettisoned? As always, we enjoy reading thoughts and comments in response to this stuff. If you haven’t already, consider recommending this segment to your GMC church leadership. We know it is a sort of dull topic, but it has huge implications for local churches, so we recommend you make it a priority. Blessings to you and your churches.Help support what we do! Consider joining our Locals community and getting behind the scenes content & connecting with us!https://plainspoken.locals.com/upost/4410860/welcome-to-our-locals-communityGMC Transitional Book Of Doctrines & Discipline: https://globalmethodist.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Transitional-Discipline.2022041257.pdfAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jeffreyrickman.substack.com Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe