OR Anywhere in the United States
or in the world for that matter!
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"They say, 'If a man divorces his wife, and she goes from him and becomes another man's, may he return to her again?' Would not that land be greatly polluted? But you have played the harlot with many lovers; yet return to Me," says the LORD. "Lift up your eyes to the desolate heights and see: where have you not lain with men? By the road you have sat for them like an Arabian in the wilderness; and you have polluted the land with your harlotries and your wickedness. Therefore the showers have been withheld, and there has been no latter rain. You have had a harlot's forehead; you refuse to be ashamed."
"Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? No! They were not at all ashamed; nor did they know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; at the time I punish them, they shall be cast down," says the LORD. Thus says the LORD: "Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk in it.' Also, I set watchmen over you, saying, 'listen to the sound of the trumpet!' But they said, 'We will not listen.' Therefore hear, you nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them. Hear, O earth! Behold, I will certainly bring calamity on this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not heeded My words, nor My law, but rejected it."
I listened and heard, but they do not speak aright. No man repented of his wickedness, saying, 'What have I done?' Everyone turned to his own course, as the horse rushes into the battle. "Even the stork in the heavens knows her appointed times; and the turtledove, the swift, and the swallow observe the time of their coming. But My people do not know the judgment of the LORD. How can you say, 'We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us'? Look, the false pen of the scribe certainly works falsehood."
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NOTE: As you read through the following you will encounter certain initials from time to time -- UMC stands for United Methodist Church and UM stands for United Methodist. GC stands for General Conference.
All that is needed now is for an "official" resolution to be passed when the General Conference of the United Methodist Church meets in 2020. The latest proposal is that the denomination come to the "parting of the ways" due to failure to agree on the issue of human sexuality!
UPDATE:
The Global Methodist Church was formed as of May 1, 2022. This group conists of those churches and pastors who have chosen to leave the United Methodist Church. On June 14, 2023 a special session of the W PA Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church was held in Erie PA with a vote taken regarding nearly 400 churches in the W PA Annual Conference which had chosen to disaffiliate from the UMC. The vote was unanimous granting the approval for disaffiliation. Those churches are now part of the Global Methodist Church. The laity and pastors still believe that repentance from all sin, including all sexual sin, is absolutely necessary to become a Christian and a follower of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord!
No Longer Applicable Can
Place the "R" word here!
Now for the challenge!
Again, remember Ed Johnson and his convictions of right and wrong concerning church membership and how he was treated by his bishop and the executive session initially -- thanks to a discerning Judicial Council, Ed was vindicated -- but it doesn't always work out that way!
- you can contact bishops and hold them accountable to the truth of the Scriptures and the doctrines upon which the UMC was originally founded -- you can get their names, addresses (postal & email), and phone & fax numbers at the following link:
United Methodist Bishops
Go ahead -- bombard them with protests -- they are not the Pope and they can't excommunicate you or lay on you a "mortal sin" for doing so!- you can prepare petitions for the General Conference which will meet later in 2024 -- was scheduled to meet in May 2020 but delayed due to Covid19 -- anyone can do this -- a single individual, a group such as a Sunday School Class, men's group, women's group, etc. or an administrative council can submit petitions on various concerns. So flood the GC with your petitions!
- you can avail yourself of a very powerful weapon and effectively use it when it comes to dealing with the present crisis in the UMC -- the main problem is that we, pastors and lay persons alike, are hesitant to use that weapon -- it is called prayer -- call on God to work in His infinite power to bring about the changes necessary in order that the UMC will be the holy witness it ought to be in sharing the fact that Jesus Christ transforms and delivers us from all sin, sexual and otherwise, and that He alone is the way of salvation and hope for the future in terms of time and eternity! We do have those within the ranks of the UMC who cast doubt on Who Jesus really is, whether He was really born of the virgin Mary, whether He really did the miracles attributed to Him, whether His blood atonement on the cross is for real, whether He was really resurrected from the dead, whether He is really coming back to this world as promised, etc! It is proper to pray that God might remove all the apostates for the health of the UMC just as a surgeon removes a deadly cancerous tumor from a patient's body in order to restore health and extend life to that individual!
How about this advice from Psalm 141:3-5 -- "Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips. Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked works with men who work iniquity; and do not let me eat of their delicacies. Let the righteous strike me; it shall be a kindness. And let him reprove me; it shall be as excellent oil; let my head not refuse it. For still my prayer is against the deeds of the wicked."
By the way, did you catch the last statement -- against what is one praying? Are there some things happening within the UMC against which one might pray?
O LORD, how long shall I cry, and You will not hear? even cry out to You, "Violence!" And You will not save. Why do You show me iniquity, and cause me to see trouble? For plundering and violence are before me; there is strife, and contention arises. Therefore the law is powerless, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; therefore perverse judgment proceeds.
Habakkuk 1:2-2 (NKJV)
