Posted on 10/02/2019 6:24:19 PM PDT by lightman
Contested United Methodist Church (UMC) Bishop Karen Oliveto recently spoke on transformational leadership at Yale Divinity School. The primary thrust of this talk was the need for a community focus in the UMC. She also took questions about the current state of the denomination.
Oliveto attempted to avoid controversy in her comments, though her personal views were visible. When asked about the decline of the UMC in recent years, she obliquely blamed, “All the infighting we’ve been doing” as well as, “an erosion of the grace that’s foundational to who we are.” This idea of an “erosion” of what Methodism originally stood for as a theological movement begun within historic Anglicanism was a recurring theme in Oliveto’s remarks.
In response to a question regarding the internal workings of the UMC in this tumultuous time, Oliveto told the story of her call to the position of bishop and her initial misgivings about letting her name be submitted for consideration. However, when talking about the reaction to her elevation to bishop, Oliveto was hopeful for the future of the church.
“I have received thousands of letters and cards and emails and testimonies from people saying, ‘Thank you…’ and I’ve received very little actual hate mail directly to me. So this says to me that the people in the pews are in a different place than our polity,” Oliveto asserted.
When asked what she thought the UMC would look like in 20 years, Oliveto was cautiously hopeful. She was particularly enthusiastic about new and younger leadership within the church.
“I am so excited about the new leadership that’s coming up in the church… I think church is going to look new. I think that people are really hungry for community. In the way that we’ve grown community can get pretty stale,” Oliveto shared.
Oliveto also lamented how “institutional” UMC polity has become.
“I think John Wesley would be very concerned right now at his movement. It has become too much of an institution. And it has forgotten again that deep personal piety and social holiness. I think he would also be concerned about how we are lessening our understanding of the role of experience in faith,” the Mountain Sky bishop claimed. “We look at Scripture, Tradition, Experience, and Reason, and now people are saying that experience doesn’t mean that much.”
Oliveto did not directly address a schism in the UMC. She skirted around serious divisions in the church by obliquely referring to them as “the infighting we’ve been doing.” This seemingly conciliatory attitude was also expressed in a recent Twitter post she made, writing, “I’ve never called for a split. But it appears that we are headed that way and best be prepared. I grieve that we can’t find a way to live together with our differences.”
This conciliatory attitude juxtaposes oddly with the actions of the Mountain Sky Annual Conference that Oliveto leads. The Mountain Sky Conference has passed aggressively pro-schism resolutions, even proposals to depart the UMC alone if necessary. In combination, this means that Oliveto is either not in step with her Annual Conference or is much more supportive of a split than she will publicly admit.
Therefore:
Lutheran (EL C S*A) Ping!
* as of August 19, AD 2009, a liberal protestant SECT, not part of the holy, catholic and apostolic CHURCH.
Be rooted in Christ!
The August 19 date referes solely to the adoption of the gaysbian agenda, NOT to the “Full Communion” agreement.
Fake Bishop. Fake church.
Obviously these people only read redacted versions of the Bible.
I seem to recall that the “People in the pews” supported the golden calf....
Just sayin’
Love,
O2
Keep up your faithful work....you have my utmost thanks.
I ping my Missouri Synod Lutheran family members and friends to your articles....and they, also, are very appreciative.
Leni/MinuteGal
Here in Northern Virginia, my senior pastor told us last Sunday that the UMC is almost certainly heading for a schism over the LGBTQUERTY issue at next year's General Conference. [And while this is going on, the Virginia Conference seems to have nothing to say about our governor basically endorsing infanticide.]
The other thing that fascinated me about the upcoming General Conference is how the overseas jurisdictions will have 20 or so more delegates than they did at the recent called General Conference--while the North American conferences have lost a similar number. The UMC is growing overseas--where traditional biblical values are preached.
If there is support of her in the pews, they can vote to leave. They could join another denomination or start their own.
The Fort Worth, Texas episcopal diocese voted by a two thirds margin to join the conservative African Episcopal church union a few years ago. A number of individual churches voted to change association, too, but Fort Worth was the only entire diocese.
If her members voted, they could choose to become liberal Lutheran, Episcopalian or something else.
Women are not Biblically eligible.
(Sodom and Laodicea live here and now).
1 Timothy, Chapter 3
1 This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.
2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;
3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; 4 One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;
5 (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)
They are unlikely to do this; they undoubtedly want to split the church, forcing the “old guard” to leave, keeping the church property and the name.
Wow. This person isn’t even in the ballpark. They’re not even close to the ballpark.
The formal name for this logical fallacy is selection bias.
Satan’s beaming proudly at one of his favorite children.
Interesting how she defines “disagreement” with her views as “hate”.
How very “liberal” and “Tolerant” of her!
For which synod is she the bishop? I hope I haven’t been in one of those churches.
QUERTY? QWERTY I understand.
Bingo!
Bingo!
Your church cannot be a democracy.
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