Since 1972, United Methodists have disagreed on whether the practice of homosexuality is contrary to Christian teaching and, more specifically, on whether homosexual persons should be ordained as ministers and married in the church.

The issue was the focus of a Special Session of the General Conference (the global governing body) of the UMC in 2019. At that time, the traditional teaching embodied in our Book of Discipline since 1972 was affirmed. However, the division between United Methodists with traditional or conservative beliefs and United Methodists with progressive or liberal beliefs became clearer and the conflict and disobedience of some leaders intensified.

Several pieces of legislation were proposed after the 2019 General Conference to help the UMC divide gracefully. However, because of the pandemic, the General Conference expected to consider that legislation was postponed in 2020, 2021, and again this year, when it was announced that General Conference would not meet until 2024.

This decision not to hold a General Conference in 2022 has resulted in a number of responses that call for clarity. Several churches in our Annual Conference have already begun the process of discernment to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church, according to the Principles of Disaffiliation adopted at our 2020 Session of the Texas Annual Conference.The announcement of the May 1, 2022, launch of the Global Methodist Church has generated increased interest in disaffiliating to this new denomination.

Article – Ask the UMC: What is the church’s position on homosexuality?


Staying in the UMC means continuing to pay apportionments which last year totaled around $108,000 and this year are just over $104,000 per year. It is not known if the loss of churches disaffiliating with UMC will create a major change in the apportionment formulas.

The cost of departure to exit the UMC is to pay last year and this year’s apportionments (which we have and are on track to do again this year) in addition to the unfunded clergy retirement liability (currently $0 as of 8/1/2022).

7 SIMPLE STEPS

While other approvals may be necessary as well, the following are the minimum requirements for the Texas Annual Conference to approve a local church disaffiliation under the current Book of Discipline:

• First, members of the local church must complete an appropriate process of discernment. The determination of whether a process is appropriate is made by the church’s District Superintendent.
• After the local church nears completion of the process of discernment, the annual conference will calculate apportionment and unfunded pension liability estimates for that local church.
• The local church may vote to move forward with the disaffiliation process. To move forward, disaffiliation must be affirmed by a simple majority (¶2548.2) or a two-thirds majority (¶2553) of a duly called church conference. The Harvest Leadership Board has chosen to use ¶2553 as the goal for planning our discernment process.
• The local church must pay in full the previous year’s apportionments and the current year’s apportionments.
• The local church must pay in full the unfunded pension liability, as calculated by the TAC Board of Pensions in accordance with Wespath’s guidance.
  • The valuation is based on a market valuation of unfunded liability.
  • 
The valuation takes in to account the local church’s share of the liability.
  • 
The valuation gives the local church credit for its contributions to the Conference’s pension reserves with credit for earning over time.
• The local church must complete all forms in accordance with GCFA’s disaffiliation guidance.
• After all the foregoing steps have been completed, the TAC may vote to release the local church from any obligations under the trust clause in ¶2503 in accordance with the then applicable Book of Discipline.

• There is a special called Annual Conference on December 3, 2022, to handle disaffiliation requests. To be considered for disaffiliation, any church must pass a resolution via a Church Conference prior to November 10, 2022.
• The planned period of discernment is scheduled to finish prior to this date.

• The discernment period is not addressing the current budget. The Harvest members have been increasing their giving since July 2021 but giving remains lower than pre-COVID shutdowns.
• Pastor Ben has explored the impact of various impacts the discernment process could have at The Harvest. However, The Leadership Board has the authority and responsibility to set the budget according to the priorities of the church and the giving of its members.

The discernment process will focus more on Theological Beliefs and Practices. The Leadership board is tasked with setting the Church’s priorities and budget.

• Currently, status quo will continue as we are a United Methodist Church and follow the written doctrines and polity of the UMC. Therefore, there may not be any change whatsoever. In the event a different affiliation is proposed and passed, The Harvest Church could affiliate with another denomination or move to an independent status as soon as December 3, 2022.
• The day-to-day operations and mission of The Harvest would remain unchanged. The larger difference would be in changes to the budget, and a name change from The Harvest UMC to The Harvest “XXX”?

• In Bishop Scott Jones letter of retirement, he wrote, “Increasing disobedience and escalating conflict in the denomination have made my service as a bishop of the whole church seem much more problematic. My further reflection has led me to believe that my best service to Christ for the next two years is in retirement.”
• There are many pastors and church leaders sharing similar concerns as our Bishop Jones in continuing with the United Methodist Church. It is a distraction to the mission of the church to continue to fight over these different interpretations and practices.

The Harvest UMC has never taken a vote on a matter quite like this, nor has The Harvest focused much teaching or attention on the matters facing the UMC. What is predictable for every church is there will be a loss of members as a vote either way will cement a direction for that church. There are members who have already made known to Pastor Ben about their intentions to stay or go based on the position of The Harvest and/or the United Methodist Church.

First the church must decide whether to disaffiliate from the UMC or not. If that decision is made, there are many options available to The Harvest Church, of which the Global Methodist Church is one.

The Church and Scriptures show us a standard of living that the disciples of Jesus Christ are called to live into as holy people. However, I agree there is discrimination occurring within the LGBTQ+ community and it is not right. Violence, name calling, exclusion from society and other forms of discrimination are wrong and should be challenged by the church in society. We believe in Jesus’ message that God loves everyone, and we affirm that all persons are of sacred worth. We believe that every human being is created and gifted by God; therefore, every human being is invited to be a part of our church.

Yes, he is comfortable discussing his view on this topic and many others. You can set up a meeting with him by scheduling through his assistant, Jen, by emailing jen@harvestumc.org for an appointment.

• By the numbers, my personal goals for The Harvest connect to the four strategic areas of our strategic plan, Reach, Connect, Grow, Send. While total numbers are important to track and target, the movement of growing disciples of Jesus Christ is where I believe the church should focus.
• Reach – 1,000 new people reached yearly with 8% moving to connect with the church
• Connect – Average Worship Attendance of 500 with 70% involved in Grow Groups
• Grow – 350 in small groups being discipled and raising up leaders sending 70% into Send Ministries
• Send – 245 Volunteers in service to The Harvest, our missions and service
• No plans for new buildings or facilities in the next three years

• There could be potentially many reasons to leave the denomination at this time. With the exit of many traditional churches that have voted to retain the status quo regarding the denominations Book of Discipline, there is a perceived opportunity for changes to these theological positions in the next General Conference in 2024.
• Other motivations could be financial, since almost any change from the UMC would reduce our connectional spending by 50% or more per year.

1. Genesis 19:1-13 (in particular verse 4-7)
   4 Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house. 5 They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.” 6 Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him 7 and said, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing.
2. Leviticus 18:22 The NIV translation of this verse reads: “Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.”
3. Romans 1:26-27 – “26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.”
4. 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy 1:9-11 The NIV translations of these verses read, respectively: “Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men . . .“ and “We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, . . .”
   1. Some Scholars say the words translated as “homosexuals” and “men who have sex with men” more accurately translate to “men who sleep with enslaved male prostitutes”. The word “homosexual” is not found in the Bible in translations written prior to 1948, implying that it was likely added as a result of the translators’ own prejudices.
5. Matthew 19:4 – 4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
In the same section, in verse 12, Jesus says, “For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.” Referring to living in singleness.
6. Deuteronomy 22:5 “A woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor a man wear women’s clothing, for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this.”
   1. Some Scholars interpret the word translated as “clothing” here, keli, is translated elsewhere as “armor”, and the word translated as “man”, geber, actually means “warrior”. This implies a prohibition against intent to deceive by pretending to be a warrior, or for a warrior to deceive by disguising himself as a woman.

The arguments for change have been ongoing for the last 50 years in the UMC.

There is potential for a vote to occur, but only a vote to leave which will pass or fail. We will stay UMC unless we vote to leave.

Pastor Ben has put together a team to research and share the current state of the UMC, what the UMC currently does for The Harvest, and the theological leanings of The Harvest. A webpage is being created to disseminate information from this group to educate, inform, and prepare The Harvest members should there be a vote called in the future.

Currently, there is no expectation of a vote. However, there are deadlines for disaffiliation requests of November 10, 2022, and an expiration date of December 31, 2023, on the exit paragraph 2553 in the Book of Discipline.

Only members of The Harvest get to vote at a church conference. If you have a question about whether you are a current member of The Harvest, please inquire by sending an email to jen@harvestumc.org to verify your membership status.

• Depending on the paragraph we might use in the Book of Discipline, for paragraph 2548.2 it is 50% of the Leadership Board (Church Council) and for paragraph 2553 it is 2/3s at a church conference (members only vote).
• The Judicial Council is reviewing paragraph 2548.2 as a means for disaffiliation due to theological differences.
• At this time, we are proceeding with the discernment process but will plan on using paragraph 2553 requiring a 2/3s vote at a church conference as it is not under judicial review.

The ad hoc committee will be presenting more information on the pros and cons of staying with the UMC.

The ad hoc committee will be presenting more information on the pros and cons of leaving the UMC.

• Association of Independent Methodists*
• Bible Methodist Connection of Churches*
• Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
• Church of the Nazarene
• Congregational Methodist Church*
• Evangelical Methodist Church*
• Evangelical Methodist Church Conference*
• Evangelical Wesleyan Church*
• Free Methodist Church
• Fundamental Methodist Conference*
• Global Methodist Church*
• Methodist Protestant Church*
• Missionary Methodist Church*
• National Association of Wesleyan Evangelicals*
• Southern Methodist Church*
• United Methodist Church, United States
• Wesleyan Church

The Harvest Clergy will have to discern for themselves if they are staying UMC or transferring their credentials to a different denomination. It is still unknown the full impact of departure on a departing clergy person. Areas of concern would be benefits like health and retirement, credentials, security, and support.

In many ways, this is the issue before the church and clergy. “There are processes for addressing clergy and congregations and bishops when they violate the rules of our Book of Discipline. However, much of our Book of Discipline is a statement of covenant with the expectation that it will be followed. Addressing the unwillingness of persons to follow the disciplinary processes of the Book of Discipline has revealed some holes in accountability.”

There seems to be consensus around a more progressive position on many issues as there could be a shift in the majority of delegates at the 2024 General Conference.

It is difficult to predict what will be changed at the 2024 General Conference. Some believe the change will be a local church option where local pastors and local churches make the decision as to what they are willing to perform. A requirement to perform same sex marriages would be difficult to pass at a general conference for many reasons, but not impossible.

It really depends on what, if any, changes occur at the 2024 General Conference