Posted on 09/26/2018 12:14:24 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
he United Methodist Church's African bishops have recently reaffirmed their support for the traditional definition of marriage, as well as opposition over possible schism within the denomination.
The UMC Africa College of Bishops released a statement Monday stemming from their official meeting held Sept. 3-7 in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
According to their statement, the bishops held extensive discussions regarding the denomination's debate over homosexuality, which many believe may lead to the UMC splitting.
"... we reaffirm our position as traditionalists and view marriage as union between Man and Woman as clearly defined in scripture and affirmed in our COB 2016 statement in Lake Junaluska, and at the Africa extended cabinet (Ghana, February 2018), and at the May 2018 COB in Chicago, Illinois," stated the bishops.
"... we remain faithfully committed to our consecration vows as Bishops of the church to 'maintain the unity of the church.'"
Next February, the UMC will hold a special session of General Conference to resolve the debate over whether to change the church body's official stance against homosexual acts and same-sex marriage.
The African bishops also stated that they reject any proposed plan at the special session that would lead to the mainline denomination splitting over theological differences.
"We do not support any legislation that calls for the dissolution of The United Methodist Church. We uphold our values as a connectional and worldwide church committed to 'Making disciples of Jesus Christ, for the transformation of the world,'" continued the statement.
"We further resolve that even if there is a split in the denomination, the Church in Africa will continue to exist as The United Methodist Church in Africa."
During the UMC's years-long debate over homosexuality, African delegates at General Conference have been a key factor in maintaining the denomination's stance that homosexual acts are sinful.
For next year's special session, three major plans are being considered for the future of the UMC: the One Church Plan, the Traditional Plan, and the Connectional Conference Plan.
Backed by most of the UMC Council of Bishops, the One Church Plan would remove language labeling homosexuality "incompatible with Christian teaching," and allow churches in the United States to permit same-sex weddings and gay ordination while letting clergy and some overseas conferences retain official opposition.
The Traditionalist Plan would maintain the UMC's current stance on LGBT issues while the Connectional-Conference Plan would allow regional conferences to determine what stance they will take.
The Black church holding strong. Good on them.
They’re the only good leaders left in the United Methodist church.
Read and share widely.
Not the only, but they are showing the very educated that God’s Word is to be abided and not torn where man thinks it does not apply in this day.
Our brothers in Africa are amazing believers! As they say, the new mission field is America and Europe!!
We are Methodists for about 7 years. If they do not adhere to God’s Word in February, we are going elsewhere even though we love those we worship with.
Check out the Weslayan Covenant Association....
Africa is actually a bright spot for global Christianity at this time. Faith is thriving under the dual adversity of poverty and rampaging Muslims.
The AFRICAN church holding strong. The "Black church" is a disgrace.
I left the UM church years ago when I learned that part of the offering money was used to lobby for abortion. I took a while to research it to be sure (you can’t believe everything on the internet) and learned they have a lobbying division called the GBCS (General Board of Church and Society). And that that division started the RCRC (Religious Coalition of Church and Society) — a hodgepodge of lefty “churches” that have lobbied for just about every pro-abortion angle you can think of at the federal level or the state level (i.e. for partial birth abortion, against parent notification laws, for forcing Hobby Lobby to pay for their employees’ abortions, etc.). It turns out they’ve been pushing this since 1971 (2 years before Roe). The north Alabama conference in the UM was one of the main ones trying to get the UM out of the abortion industry, and had some success a few years ago by getting the general conference to decide to drop membership in the RCRC. But both the GBCS and the UMW (women’s) brand still advocate for baby butchering.
When I learned about it I was one of the parents who led children’s church and I volunteered a lot in youth services. How bizarre! The kids I had been teaching for years were survivors of the abortion industry our leaders were pushing. It’d be like being a German in the 1930’s teaching & loving Jews and learning that your leaders were shipping them to other cities and gassing them.
I mean, really? Anybody who says they’re against sex trafficking but opposes parental notification laws is lying to you. When a 50 year old man brings his 13-year-old “girlfriend” into an abortion clinic and tells them to fix his problem, the first thing that needs to happen is the poor girl’s parents and police be notified. But in some states the abortion clinic doesn’t have to do that. Why? Because the UM church won the parent notification battle in those states.
I took my donations and volunteer hours to another church. I miss a few things about the UM church I was in, but I sure as Heaven don’t miss financially supporting Moloch.
Here in Alabama I’m seeing a change. Yeah, there are still more deviant black churches than deviant white churches. But the trends are going in the opposite direction. More and more black churches are done slavishly supporting the Democrat Party. More and more of them are setting up Sav-a-life clinics on their properties. More and more of them are changing their sermons from blame-the-whitey to loving God and loving their fellow man.
Why? Because tons of blacks left those churches and joined mostly-white churches to get away from the every Sunday racist messages. It’s a grassroots movement of Christianity going on among blacks here. More and more black men in my area are married, attending church with their families, holding jobs, and volunteering with their kids at the ball parks. So the black churches had to shape up or be shut down. Still more problems among blacks than whites around here with things like violence, not supporting the babies they create, living a wild party lifestyle, and not holding down jobs. But the trends are reversing. More and more young white men are doing the seed slinging, drugging, and work avoiding while more and more black men are being the kind of exemplary young men you want your daughters to marry. I wouldn’t be surprised if in 10 or 20 years we’d have reason to say us whites are the main ones who need to shape up.
The white UM church leaders are too stubborn to learn this lesson while they’re membership is hemorrhaging.
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