Posted on 11/20/2013 6:41:52 AM PST by xzins
Bishop Mel Talbert Retired Bishop Melvin Talbert conducted a ceremony celebrating the marriage of a same-gender couple in Center Point, Ala. A retired bishop in the United Methodist Church (UMC) conducted a same-sex marriage celebration in Cedar Point, Ala., on Oct. 26. On Friday, bishops of the UMC publicly rebuked the retired bishop, Melvin Talbert.
The UMC Council of Bishops statement calls for charges to be filed against Talbert for both "conducting a ceremony to celebrate the marriage of a same gender couple" and "undermining the ministry of a colleague." Conducting such ceremonies is expressly prohibited in the church's governing Book of Discipline, which all ordained UMC clergy have vowed to uphold. Click here to read the full statement.
"I commend our Council of Bishops for their willingness to issue such an unprecedented public rebuke of one of their renegade members and declare that it is finally time for him to face some consequences," says John Lomperis, the Institute on Religion and Democracy's United Methodist action director. "Now the relevant bishops need to provide continued leadership in processing the charges against Talbert so that he is truly held accountable.
"Talbert represents the fading liberal old guard of United Methodism. This action demonstrates that the future of our denomination is not with the church-killing radicals but rather with a new generation of more faithful, global leadership committed to biblically grounded ministry for ALL people."
"No one forced Talbert to become a bishop," Lomperis notes. "But when individuals choose to accept election as bishop, they choose to make a covenant with God and the rest of the church to uphold our code of conduct. If our bishops cannot be trusted to keep their word to God and the church, we have no basis left for unity as a denomination. Thankfully, our Council of Bishops has made clear that they want to have integrity in our life together, despite strong pressure to do otherwise.
"The Old and New Testaments plus 2,000 years of consistent Christian teaching could hardly be clearer on how sex is a gift to only be expressed within certain boundaries. United Methodist General Conferences have affirmed this by a growing margin, so that observers on both sides agree that future change is unlikely.
"Recent protests of this standard do not reflect liberal momentum but rather liberal desperation over the ongoing reorientation of the United Methodist Church towards biblical faithfulness."
Ping to rebuke and charges
Good to see the church turning toward the right and the light.
Makes sense - they have a long history of NOT following the Episcopalians :-D
He was suspended for 30 days. But....if he violates any rules during that 30 days then he will be defrocked. And he has taken a defiant attitude, suggesting that he plans to break several rules.
Your link is about a pastor named Frank Shaeffer. This is about a bishop, Melvin Talbert. They both involve marrying gays, and Shaeffer was convicted, so they’re easy to mix up seeing that they’ve happened at the same time.
Oooops.....another one??
Yep, another one. Only this is a retired bishop who was part of the problem when he was active. Thought he could get away with it once he retired, but apparently there are many now who realize that saying “the rules don’t count” for one area mean the rules don’t count for others who don’t feel like following other rules.
It’s going to be slow, because we have only one 2 week long rule making meeting every 4 years, but the African churches are holding the line and giving strength to the conservatives still in the Methodist Church in the USA.
I think the Methodists have a broader base and do not have the 50-year history of lunacy that the Piskies have.
Bingo...
I agree. The Methodists began with a larger group of biblical Christians than did the piscopals.
>>I agree. The Methodists began with a larger group of biblical Christians than did the piscopals.
We have the advantage of having a history of being a holiness church too. Although many of the bishops and clergy shy away from that these days, the congregations are really starting to find their way back to holiness.
I’m hoping that a hardline stand in these trials will result in many of the hard-core leftists leaving to find gayer pastures to spread their...umm...ministry.
A premeditated public and expressly forbidden unholy act SHOULD have resulted in permanent suspension of his church authority.
Sure would be nice if the Catholic Church would grow some balls and do this.
And, as one raised Catholic I am dismayed that more willfully disobedient priests are not severely disciplined.
If the shepherds break the laws with impunity how can the flock be guided?
2 different cases, but I agree with you on both of them.
As a Methodist, I didn’t think they’d come down hard because this was the guy’s first conviction. We run our judicial system similar to the USA justice system.
I thought that the penalty would be a minimum 1 year suspension, but it was 30 days.
They have essentially said that our rules are optional with a 30 day waiting period.
What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.
The good thing about the Catholic Church is that you actually have an authority who can put a wayward bishop out to pasture. They might not exercise that too often (if ever?), but they do have the authority.
My Methodists are learning that tolerating this is causing their churches to empty.
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