It is official. The United Methodist Church canceled the 2022 General Conference. The now third cancelation of a General Conference addressing the separation protocol affirms the desire of the UMC institutionalist to keep the denomination intact and deny local churches the ability to leave to a new traditional denomination.
This has been common knowledge since August 2021. UMC institutionalist simply do not want a vote on the separation protocol. The institutionalist have no interest in allowing the formation of a new conservative denomination that will take assets away from it. In other words, the institutionalist have no benefit to letting churches leave. It is as simple as this.
We understand your disappointment and frustration. However, you have options allowing your local church to leave and become independent or join a denomination. This is a path that many large healthy churches have chosen to pursue since 2015 and the result has been overwhelmingly positive.
Please note that there is a time frame to consider. The window to leave ends on December 31, 2023 in many Conferences. This means that the local church needs to have a vote, negotiate a disaffiliation agreement and have their annual conference approve the disaffiliation by the 2023 annual conference – which is typically June. Therefore, the time is now to start the process.
In the video below, Dan Dalton discuss what local churches should do now that the General Conference is canceled.
The bottom line is that strong independent leaders are needed in the local church right now. These leaders need to have an abundant supply of courage and fortitude. As Howard Thurman noted in his classic book, Jesus and the Disinherited,
“The movement of the Spirit of God in the hearts of men and women often calls them to act against the spirit of their times or causes them to anticipate a spirit which is yet in the making. In a moment of dedication, they are given wisdom and courage to dare a deed that challenges and to kindle a hope that inspires.”
We are here to help and we have helped many churches end their relationship with the Methodist denomination in the past seven years. In 2021 alone, we helped fifty four (54) churches leave the denomination. All of the churches have succeeded and grown greater than they imagined.
If your church wants to protect your ministry and preserve your property by leaving your Annual Conference of the United Methodist denomination and are interested in hiring our firm, please call our office at (313) 859-6000 or email Dan at [email protected] to set up a consultation.
