Mainstream UMC: Preparing for GC 2024
Critical Mission
Mainstream UMC is a United Methodist advocacy group working for unity in the Body of Christ.
Background
The United Methodist Church is undergoing a generational transformation. The divisions in the church are not about “liberal” and “conservative.” They are about who is a “compatiblist” and who is an incompatiblist.” The fundamental question is: Are you willing to live in a church with others with whom you disagree?
More than 80% of US churches say, “Yes!” As United Methodists, we celebrate living with difference, not only in our denomination, but in our local churches. The Gospel calls us to be One in Christ (John 17:20-23), which demands enough spiritual courage not to write off whole groups of people. Our faith in Jesus Christ is stronger than our political polarization.
And, let’s be clear. This is political polarization. No one is working to change the foundational United Methodist theology. We are Trinitarian. We are Theists. We share a common view of baptism and Holy Communion. We believe in John Wesley’s Prevenient Grace, Justifying Grace, and Sanctifying Grace through Jesus Christ. We share the Wesleyan Quadrilateral of the primacy of Scripture through the lenses of Tradition, Reason, and Experience. We are connectional in polity. We believe in making the world a better place by working together for poverty and disaster relief. And we believe in working together for justice in the world. We aspire to be a big tent denomination with room for a wide range of beliefs and expressions. We must remember John Wesley’s admonition “…As to all opinions which do not strike at the root of Christianity, we think and let think.”
Who is Mainstream UMC?
Mainstream UMC is the voice of the “compatibilist.” Living with difference is a bold statement of faith in the midst of a secular culture that is burning with division. Mainstream UMC represents faithful Christians who are both left of center and right of center. We believe that if you cannot see the center from where you are standing, you might be standing in the wrong place.
Mainstream UMC formed in 2018 to support the One Church Plan and later we supported the Protocol, ideas whose time has passed. We now stand firmly in supporting regionalization in the church which is represented by the Christmas Covenant and the work of the Connectional Table. We also support the removal of the harmful language and restrictions from the United Methodist Book of Discipline that single out and harm our LGBTQ siblings.
Role of Mainstream UMC for General Conference 2024
- Promote Christian unity as a bold statement of faith.
- Promote a positive, hopeful view of the future of the United Methodist Church.
- Promote a clear message to churches on the fence that they have a place in the UMC.
- Promote Regionalization as the best path forward for our denomination.
- Promote removing restrictions from the Book of Discipline to stop the harm for LGBTQ persons.
- Call out lies and disinformation that are driving the divisions.
- Quantify the nature of the disaffiliations so we can better understand the scale and scope of what is happening.
- Work with the “coalition of the willing” to strategize and organize for 2024 General Conference, annual conferences, and jurisdictional conferences.