A lay leader for the Global Methodist Church, a splinter group that broke off from United Methodists, referred to last week’s United Methodist General Conference as a “debacle” during a meeting of the new Alabama Emerald Coast Conference on Monday.
The United Methodist General Conference repealed its previous bans on same-sex marriage and ordination of openly LGBTQ clergy at the General Conference that concluded May 3 in Charlotte.
United Methodists also updated their Social Principles, deleting the phrase, “homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching,” which the denomination adopted in 1972.
The United Methodist Church joined other mainline denominations including Episcopalians and the Presbyterian Church (USA) that have adopted more progressive positions on embracing LGBTQ rights.
Gene Floore, lay leader for the Alabama Emerald Coast Conference of the Global Methodist Church, predicted that the General Conference’s official change in policy would lead to a new wave of United Methodists leaving to join the Global Methodist Church, which has staked out a more conservative position on social issues.
“After that debacle we just witnessed in Charlotte last week, we’re going to continue to experience waves of people and churches that want to join our movement,” said Floore, of Port St. Joe, Fla.
“That is great news,” Floore said. “We’re going to continue to offer a home to those that are seeking a home.”
Global Methodist leaders said that the new Alabama Emerald Coast conference, made up of former United Methodist churches who disaffiliated from the Alabama-West Florida Conference because of anticipated changes on LGBTQ issues, now has 161 Global Methodist member churches and 198 clergy.
The Global Methodist Church overall now claims 4,280 churches, with more than 700 in the application process.
If other United Methodist churches do leave, they won’t be able to use the disaffiliation process that was approved at the 2019 United Methodist General Conference, which allowed disaffiliating churches to negotiate to take their property with them. That clause expired Dec. 31, 2023, and was not renewed by the General Conference in Charlotte.
The Alabama Emerald Coast Conference that started Sunday and ends Tuesday at Crosspoint Church in Niceville, Fla., was in the process of electing delegates to the first Global Methodist General Conference to be held in San Jose, Costa Rica, Sept. 20-26.
On Monday night, Bishop Scott Jones planned to ordain 14 clergy, nine as deacons and five as both deacons and elders.
Statewide, including the United Methodist North Alabama Conference, more than half of all United Methodist churches in Alabama disaffiliated. While most of those who left joined the Global Methodists, some remained independent, or joined other denominations, such as the Free Methodist Church of the Foundry.
One United Methodist General Conference delegate said on social media that Global Methodists were “stalking their ex.”
The Rev. Jeremy Smith – not to be confused with the Jeremy Smith who is pastor of Crosspoint, the host church for the Global Methodist meeting – chided Global Methodists on social media for being too focused on their former denomination.
