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As you may know, the church I serve as Lead Pastor, St. Matthew’s United Methodist Church in Madison, MS, has been in the process of discerning its connection to the United Methodist Church. Within this, I have shared with our team and the church that the church would discern what it will do, and we, as clergy, discern what we will do.  Our Discernment Team released their report today, July 26, 2023, concerning their recommendation that we enter the Disaffiliation process. As we transition from a season of “discernment” or listening to a potential season of “disaffiliation” or action, I believe it is now time to publicly share the information I shared with the team and the SPRC a few months back, after I took a step back from the organizing of our Discernment Team. This is something I am sharing without judgment and only regarding me.  I am not writing this to convince anyone of my rightness or prove anyone wrong.  Some of my greatest early mentors were my professors at Mississippi College; I call them “old-school Baptists.” They imparted to me the importance of the autonomy of the individual soul.  Every believer has access to the Holy Spirit and should go to the Holy Spirit for wisdom and guidance.  So, who am I to question what the Holy Spirit has said to an individual believer?  We are all simply trying to be faithful to what God has called us to. 

In the midst of our great sorting of Wesleyan believers in America today, I feel called by God to remain United Methodist.  I’ve been thinking about this, praying about this for many years.  And while I’ve always had a leaning, after many years of praying, listening, and yes, discerning, I’ve finally had a true sense of clarity and peace these last few months.

To dispel misconceptions, the reasons I am remaining United Methodist have nothing to do with pension, or insurance, or even appointments.  All of those things are going to change in the years that are to come.  It has nothing to do with the current structure or system of government of the church; I am sure there will be changes to that in the coming years.  The reasons I am remaining United Methodist are twofold: the local church and, after much discernment, the realization that I am simply a United Methodist. 

First, the local church.  I genuinely believe that the United Methodist ethos produces the sort of Christian that I want to be.  Christians who are faithful to scripture but curious.  Christians who stand upon the truth handed to us by the Apostles but welcoming to all.  Christians who have love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, mercy, and self-control Christians who seek to love God with their heart and with their mind. 

Let me say that in no way am I saying that other religious traditions cannot produce these types of believers.  But what I am saying is that I have seen this type of goodness in Summit. And Raymond. Cleveland.  Preston.  Ripley.  Petal.  Madison.  While I do believe that these local communities have much to do with the formation of these believers, I also strongly believe that it is the United Methodist ethos that so deeply ties our holiness to love and God and Neighbor that produces these saints. I believe that the theological formation and process of United Methodism, both from pastoral leadership but also from incredible lay leadership, formed these types of disciples.  One of the comments that I hear is that not many things will change when a church leaves United Methodism. I do not think that is true. Some things may get “better,” yes, but I do believe that the removal of that United Methodist ethos and leadership will change the type of Christians that our churches produce.  

I have said for years that I believe that the United Methodist Church is the best avenue for evangelism in the Christian church.  I believe that still today. Our emphasis upon scripture, as interpreted by tradition, reason, and experiences, along with our understanding of the open table, produces the type of generous of spirit Christians that our world so desperately needs today. As much as it has been a source of derision by some, this method of Biblical interpretation, where Scripture is primary but is rightly interpreted through the tradition handed down to us, as well as our human reason and experience, is at the foundation of how I understand and interpret God’s Word. And my understanding of the Holy Scripture is at the very core of how I understand God, the world, and well, everything. As much as my marriage, my being a father, and my call to ministry, this defines me. How we understand the Bible, and how we share the Good News of Jesus this is what has and continues to draw me to United Methodism. 

Second, it’s s just who I am.  Like many of us, I have feared this sorting was coming soon.  I have struggled for many years to figure out my place within all of this.  Some of you may not know I first felt the call to ministry before I even knew what denomination I would belong to.  I originally thought I might be part of a group called the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) that some of those early mentors I mentioned earlier were part of.  But after thinking, praying, and seeking advice, I realized I was a United Methodist the entire time.  This was the church I was raised in, but then it became the church I chose to be a part of. 

In this season, I’ve done much the same thing.  I’ve prayed.  I talked to people I trust.  I have sought wisdom.  I considered that there might be other options.  Could I join another Wesleyan group?  The Global Methodists, or Free Methodists, or even Wesleyans?  While I greatly admire the Free Methodists and have many I dearly love who will be Global, that wasn’t for me.  What about an independent church?  Or maybe Cumberland Presbyterian?  Those are wonderful traditions, but I am too Connectional and Wesleyan.  Then, what about Episcopal?  I’ll be honest; I truly considered joining the Episcopal Church.  It’s the church I worship in when I am off.  My personal spiritual life is deeply rooted in the Book of Common Prayer.  There is much I do not know or understand about the Episcopal Church, but I believe that I could find a home there.  And honesty, if I did not believe that God still had a plan for me in ministry, I may have just surrendered my orders and become a layperson in the Episcopal church.  But in the end, I do not believe that God is done with me, and I am too Evangelical in the traditional sense.  I still feel a deep connection, in fact, a deep calling, to that traditional, evangelical, Wesleyan revival camp meeting style preaching that is deep in my bones.  

Do you know who I am?  I’m a United Methodist.  That’s just who I am.  I am deeply rooted in this church; my soul feels most at home in the church, and I believe, I truly believe, that it is the church that is best positioned to extend an extravagant grace to a world in desperate need of Jesus. 

It is the church of my parents.  Of the pastors who shaped me: Bill McAlilly, Steve Casteel, Barry Bryant, Fred Brown, Hope Morgan Ward, James Swanson, Sharma Lewis, Mike Hicks, Embra Jackson, Connie Shelton, Giles Linley, Rayford Woodrick, and too many others to name.  It is the church that has shaped my family and my children.  It is an imperfect body, yes. But I believe it is the body that God can best use to redeem His world.  

I agree with the theology of the United Methodist Church.  I agree with this theological method of the United Methodist church.  I agree with the church government of the United Methodist Church.  It is the church where my soul is deeply anchored.  I cast no aspersions on those who will not be a part of the United Methodist Church.  But it is my church.  And I will remain.