Brief Message for Stay UMC by Tom Berlin

I had the opportunity to interview Rev. Tom Berlin of Virginia for a few moments on what he had to say for the people in North Alabama who are involved in the "Stay UMC" movement.

You can view the video here.

I'm Traditional, Orthodox, and Wesleyan

I’m with Steve Harper. See his most recent article called New UMC: We Believe!

I am thoroughly traditional, orthodox, and Wesleyan, and I firmly plan to stay in the UMC. The church is our spiritual mother, and it has made the world a better place through a uniquely Wesleyan balance of head, heart, and hands. I love my mother very much, even when she’s not perfect. I believe in working together to making things better. I believe we have a strong future though these are difficult and divisive times in a world prone to division and institutional brokenness. I believe we must stand boldly at the table of grace and refuse to submit to a spirit of fear.

I do not accept the exaggerated, negative narratives of those who are leaving the UMC, though I have nothing against them if they feel led to do something else. I believe in our vision of open hearts, open minds, and open doors and finding our way forward in divisive times through embracing diversity of thought on non-essential or secondary matters and an openness to contextualized ministry. I believe in our commitment to the historic creeds, the unchanging doctrines and articles of religion, our passion for the marginalized and hurting, and the vision of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

I believe in holiness of heart and life, which leads us to a personal journey on the road toward perfection in love, and I believe we can’t institute that for everyone else based on culture war wedge issues. I believe in majoring in the major things and minoring in the minor things. I believe in interpreting scripture through the person of Christ not the voices of culture. I believe it is the outpouring of God’s grace that truly changes the world, not a quest for singularity of perspective.

I believe God created us and Jesus calls us to build bridges, to heal hurts, and to spread scriptural holiness throughout the land. I believe all of us are sinners in need of grace, and it’s only conformity to Christ that restores us. I believe my spirituality has more to do with removing the log in my own eye than pointing out the speck in someone else’s. I believe in inviting people into a deep, passionate relationship with Jesus and trusting God to help them work out their Christian ethics through the work of the Holy Spirit.

#BeUMC

#stayumc

Highlights from "Celebrate the UMC" in Montgomery, Alabama

It was a joy to attend "Celebrate the UMC," a gathering featuring Rev. Tom Berlin of the Virginia Annual Conference as the keynote speaker. It was held in Montgomery, Alabama on June 13, 2022.

I love the United Methodist Church and am committed to #BeUMC! I look forward to our future together. Here are some highlights from the evening.

Cameron West, president, said "Huntingdon College is a college of the United Methodist Church ... we are unwavering in our support of the United Methodist Church." He quoted a Wesley hymn, "Blest be the dear uniting love that will not let us part; our bodies may far off remove, we still are one in heart."

Frederick Outlaw, retired clergy, said "Scripture, tradition, experience, and reason - that's the full gospel for us ... it's out of that theology of grace that we continue to be present ... we have seen this movie before and we know how it's going to end."

Michael Precht, pastor of Dauphin Way UMC, said "The future of United Methodism is fully committed to disciple making ... everything else we do comes from this simple impulse."

Amy Persons, pastor of Point Washington UMC, said "The United Methodist Church that I grew up in, the United Methodist Church that will move forward into the future making disciples, is a 'big tent' church ... it is the table of Jesus Christ spread wide for all of us that makes us who we are, a 'big tent' church."

Julie Hare, Congregational Care Minister at Auburn First UMC, said "We are deeply, deeply connectional and we care not just about our own but for the whole world."

Bria Rochelle-Stephens, professor of religion at Huntington College, said "Experiencing God in the United Methodist Church tastes like salty tears ... smells like the breaking of warm bread at the first communion table where I felt warmly invited."

Finally, here are some highlights from the keynote address by Tom Berlin:

"We need a righteousness that does not depend on our actions, on our merit, or on any opinion we hold on a hundred different topics which may vary from the United Methodist next to us" ... "Our righteousness comes in Christ."

"Joy is what makes your church grow. Anybody who thinks anger is the way to get your church to grow, showing up every week and being ticked off at everybody - It doesn't work, ever."

"I am grateful for the United Methodist Church. It's been my spiritual home since my birth and I believe it will remain so until my death. It is my spiritual mother ... There are some in more recent years who think poorly of it, and I believe their words create confusion about the United Methodist Church, what it will be, what it is. And, quite frankly, I wonder how they can predict the future of the church when they only talk to people who are leaving it, but they are not talking to people who are staying in it."

"I've attended a lot of meetings of those who are committed to the future of the United Methodist Church, and their clarity around our unchanging doctrinal standards in Section 3 of the Book of Discipline is resolute ... What is the theology that is unchanging? The Triune God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer - the lordship of Christ, salvation through Christ, the virgin birth, the bodily resurrection, that scripture contains all things necessary for salvation and more ... This is not changing ... You can't change those things. The constitution of our church doesn't allow you to change those things ... There is no procedural way the General Conference can change it ... That core theology doesn't change ... This is rock solid."

"I am sure that somewhere in our global ten million person denomination, somebody is saying something idiotic at any given moment ... Every family has a crazy Uncle Frank or crazy Aunt Fran, and we can't control that ... I would not want my entire family judged based by the soliloquy of Frank and Fran on any given Saturday ... I don't see why the United Methodist Church has to be judged by one person somewhere out there in a ten million person denomination. It doesn't feel fair."

"For those who desire, there is currently a way to depart thanks to a motion brought to the 2019 General Conference made by Rev. Beth Ann Cook, who is a member of the Wesleyan Covenant Association. Rev. Cook offered paragraph 2553 to General Conference as a pathway for disaffiliation. The General Conference affirmed it, which meant that people that now are talking about leaving the church had to agree with it because nothing passed the 2019 General Conference that that cohort of people didn't agree with it." ... "Rev. Cook stood up and said ... 'the intended process is literally how I would want to be treated if I was the one hurting because of the United Methodist Church'." ... "There are some who are saying they shouldn't have to pay anything but should be able to take their property without any complaint. And friends, the problem is in the United Methodist Church we have a significant unfunded pension liability. You've got retired pastors .. It's not fair, it's not right, and it's not Christian."

"If other people want to degrade the United Methodist Church, it's fine. But I've seen signs and wonders, and I've seen the good of it, and I've seen the health of it, and I've seen the vitality of it. And when you degrade its health and its goodness and the things that I'm pointing to that are real, be careful that you are not blaspheming against the Holy Spirit. Because it's not me, and it's not you, it's not even us. It is God among us. And I believe that the United Methodist Church has a future with hope." "And if it's not for you, God bless you as you go. I don't mean that negatively, I mean it honestly. It's an adult thing to self-differentiate and find your way. God bless you. You don't need to blow up the house as you leave."

"Jeff Greenway of the WCA was one of the first to say that the 'Protocol' is dead at several GMC meetings" ... "Mediated agreements need to be enacted in the moment in which they were created."