Rural UMC churches tend to be more conservative and urban/suburban tend to be more liberal. Those aren’t hard and fast rules, but they’re close, and especially if an elder is NOT in the pulpit. Send someone to one of the denominational seminaries and they’ll either come out liberal or be pestered into leaving.
IIRC, to work in social work, counseling, voc. rehab. and several other fields, one must take an oath to progressive causes or some such.