Taking Back The United Methodist Church

April 2, 2003

Since last week’s column on the Nashville Peace and Justice Center, I have received an avalanche of response, primarily from United Methodists outraged that their church was involved in such an organization.   If you missed the column you can catch up by going to PhilValentine.com.   I won’t go into all the details here but the abridged version is, we discovered a firm link between the NPJC and the Communist Party USA.   NPJC has tried to shrug it off as a relationship five years old but the evidence proves otherwise.

Now to the aftermath.

I corresponded several times back and forth with the Reverend Jay Voorhees of the United Methodist Board of Church & Society.   Rev. Voorhees issued a statement announcing their intent to review their relationship with the NPJC.   I hope this doesn’t get swept under the rug and the review results in their departure from the organization.   As one Methodist minister pointed out, their bylaws prohibit them from getting involved with any political party.   Although the NPJC may be shying away from their ties with CPUSA, the Democratic Socialists of America, another far-left political party, is still listed as a member organization.

As I told Rev. Voorhees, his problem is going to be a bit more difficult than merely disassociating his church from the NPJC.   They also own the building that houses that organization.   But the problem is even deeper than that.   I know a great many Methodists.   Although we attend a Southern Baptist church, of which I’m a member, my wife has never transferred her membership from the UMC she grew up in.   Like the right-wing factions in the Southern Baptist Church, there are factions inside the UMC that seek to take it decidedly to the left.

The Tennessee United Methodist Board of Church & Society, for instance, routinely issues advocacy statements to elected officials urging support for the Kyoto Protocol and gun control, proclaiming opposition to President Bush's National Missile Defense program, advocating the release of drug offenders from prison and asking the Washington Redskins to change their name.   What these things have to do with the teachings of Christ is beyond me.

It’s also beyond many UMC members who are incensed that their tithes are going to support such an agenda.

The Tennessee UMC has maintained that our war with Iraq is inconsistent with the teachings of Christ and their own Book of Resolutions.   They cite a passage that reads: “The United Methodist Church believes war is incompatible with the teachings of Christ and urges the peaceful settlement of disputes among nations.”   What they’re not telling you is there’s a great, big ‘however’ that comes right after that.   Here’s the rest of the story.   “However, the church acknowledges that when peaceful alternatives have failed, armed force may be necessary.”

President Bush is a United Methodist and has sought every peaceful alternative possible with Iraq short of outright appeasement.   He is living up to the Church’s teachings.   Some inside the UMC, however, are playing word games in order to further their own agenda.

The UMC, like any organization, is like a piece of pottery.   The potter shapes the pot.   If he leaves it unattended, it can start to list to the right or the left.   Over time, it hardens in that position.   How does the potter fix the pot?   He applies heat until the pottery once again becomes pliable.   Then he can reshape the pot to its original symmetrical shape.