WHY I LEFT THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

by Mr. Rob King

North Carolina Christian Advocate, March 25, 2003

     Last fall, after several theological controversies that rocked The United Methodist Church (especially Bishop Sprague’s open declaration of his heterodox beliefs), as an elder in the Western North Carolina Conference, I felt compelled to turn in my ministerial orders.  Out of deep respect and profound gratitude for the many wonderful United Methodist Christians in North Carolina, I offer these brief reflections on why I withdrew from the conference and left the denomination.

     The recent disclosure of the problematic beliefs of Chicago’s Bp. Sprague, such as his questioning of the actual Resurrection of Jesus Christ, greatly disheartened countless United Methodists.  However, it is oversimplifying to attribute my departure to the views of a single errant bishop.  Throughout the history of the Church, many ecclesial leaders have held similarly troubling theological positions, even to the point of heresy and apostasy.  As our Lord teaches in the parable of the wheat and the tares, heresies and unfaithfulness will always be with the Church, and they will be fully sorted out only at the Last Judgment (Matthew 13:24-30 and 36-43).

     Though one errant ecclesial leaders was not the cause of my departure, the Bp. Sprague debacle signals a much deeper problem afflicting not only United Methodism but also many other denominations and churches -- namely, a breakdown in basic Christian teaching.  To be sure, there are many faithful United Methodist Christians, renewal movements, and ecclesial leaders (seemingly more prevalent in the southern United States and in Texas).  But traveling and interacting with United Methodists throughout the connection, I have not discovered a bold and vibrant evangelical-catholic Christian faith dedicated to winning the lost for Christ and to “spreading Scriptural holiness” to all parts of the world.  Too often I have found dying congregations shaped largely by secular ideological agendas.  Many of these ideological positions contain some truth -- e.g., concern for the environment and for racial inclusiveness.  However, such ideological positions have become so determinative and entrenched within The United Methodist Church that the basic message of Christian salvation, centering on Jesus Christ’s death and Resurrection to atone for the sins of the world, has been nearly abandoned in many United Methodist quarters.  Consequently, when measured by the broad, historic evangelical-catholic-orthodox-pentecostal consensus of Christian teaching, parts of United Methodism are apparently no longer even functionally Christian, much less Wesleyan.  Sadly, outside places like Union County, NC, where I pastorally served as a full-time deacon and elder, I have generally found that basic Christian teachings -- such as the Great Commission (Matthew 28) and the exclusive role of Jesus Christ as mediator and Savior (Acts 4) -- have been marginalized, if not jettisoned, by many in the denomination.

     This leads to a final reason why it was necessary for me to leave United Methodism: the breakdown of basic Christian teaching concerning salvation leaves the world without hope.  If the message of salvation through the actual death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the “Word become flesh,” is either sublimated or replaced by ideological concerns, regardless how noble such concerns are, then the created world (including history and nature) is left imprisoned to death and decay.  Granted, God’s saving purposes for the created order will not be thwarted by human unfaithfulness, but the key question facing United Methodism is this: what parts of the connection are salvageable for God to employ in accomplishing His saving purposes for the world?

     Sadly, outside the “Bible Belt” of the southern United States (and the more rural parts of the Midwest), basic Christian teaching regarding salvation has been sufficiently abandoned in many United Methodist churches, seminaries, and agencies that the “official” United Methodist structure has become more of a hindrance than an aid in promoting Christianity’s evangelistic mission to the world.  Sadder still, although various renewal groups within United Methodism continue to do faithful ministry -- e.g., the Walk to Emmaus, Good News, etc. -- given the entrenchment of more ideologically driven ecclesial leaders, the United Methodist connection as a whole may be beyond reform.  As Jesus warned his first disciples in the Sermon on the Mount, “If salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?  It is no longer good for anything...” (Matthew 5:13, RSV)  In many parts of American Methodism, this seems to apply.

     This is the discernment that I have reached.  This is why I left The United Methodist Church.  This is why I have returned to full communion with Rome.    

Rob King is a doctoral student in moral theology and the early church at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.

To respond to this article and continue the dialogue, please send your article to: St. Peter’s United Methodist Church/111 Hodges Street/ Morehead City, NC 28557.