In the past few weeks, churches in several states that were once part of the United Methodist Church (UMC) have split from the denomination over its failure to punish more progressive congregations for ignoring the UMC’s official position on LGBT issues.
Another Christian denomination, the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC), lost two churches, one voluntarily and the other voted out, because of their views over “policies and practices that are inconsistent with the denomination’s human sexuality guidelines,” according to Christianity Today.
The Southern Baptist Convention lost one of its largest churches in California because it elevated women into leadership positions, something against the denomination’s traditional practices and beliefs.
These policies have been a source of intense debate within the church and beyond, particularly in the Bible Belt south, as churches grapple with what some say are “woke” members of their congregations.
Roody Chatelain, a worshipper at the Church of the Village, waits to administer a glitter ash cross on a forehead during a service at the church that serves members of the LGBT community, in New York City on March 6, 2019. Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Denominations Facing Similar Questions
This year, more than 5,000 UMC churches nationwide have voted to split from the UMC.
The UMC’s official stance, according to its website, is that it has long affirmed that sexuality is “God’s good gift to all persons.”
Since 2016, the governing body of the UMC has undergone a comprehensive review of its sections on human sexuality.
In 2019, it voted to maintain its traditional stance on homosexuality, same-sex marriage, and the ordination of LGBT persons, leading to outrage by the more progressive churches of the UMC.
The UMC differentiates between sexual orientation and practice, affirming relationships only within heterosexual marriage.
The church website explains it supports laws defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. This stance has led to restrictions on clergy, prohibiting “self-avowed, practicing homosexuals” from ordination, and banning same-sex weddings on church property.
Members of Lahaina United Methodist Church pray during Sunday services at their temporary location at near Lahaina, Hawaii, on Oct. 8, 2023 Mario Tama/Getty Images
In 2019, a vote to uphold traditional views was carried by international UMC members, but many U.S. churches refused to comply.
One grassroots organization of UMC members openly defies the UMC’s policy and pushes for change.
“Methodists in New Directions (MIND) is a grassroots organization of United Methodists working to end our denomination’s doctrinal prejudice and institutional discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and committed to living more fully into God’s radical Welcome right now and right here,” according to the group’s website.
In the years of ongoing debate, the UMC has offered churches an off-ramp to disaffiliate as it has held off on deciding on the matter until its 2024 General Conference—an off-ramp that many have taken, particularly this year.
The story is similar with the ECC, which kicked out a church that allowed same-sex marriage and the full participation of LGBT members in church life, according to Christianity Today. Another church in Seattle left before it was voted out, according to the outlet.
Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter at the Southern Baptist Convention in Atlanta. National Archives and Records Administration
At the time, the lead pastor said ECC had “become a space that prioritizes doctrinal uniformity on a singular issue over relational unity in areas that are non-essentials of faith.”
This summer, the largest Protestant denomination in the United States, the Southern Baptists, voted to uphold the ouster of its second largest congregation and another smaller congregation after women were elevated to senior pastoral roles.
The SBC Baptist Faith and Message from 2000, a text separate from the SBC constitution that pronounces the group’s “statement of faith,” already states that “while both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.”
This summer, Southern Baptists took the first vote to solidify their position against women as pastors, with more than two-thirds of members voting to add the language to the SBC’s constitution. A second vote will need to be held at next year’s meeting for the wording to officially be added.
A Bible phrase adorns the outside of church in New York City on March 12, 2020. Jeenah Moon/Getty Images
Wokeness Debated in Church
Church leaders, faith leaders, and theologians have debated the intersection of wokeness and Christianity, raising concerns about the alignment of modern social justice movements with traditional Christian values.The issue was covered in an essay titled “Wokeness and the Church” on Christ Over All, a ministry dedicated to edifying the church through long-form essays, articles, and podcasts.
Jonathan Tapp, associate pastor at Noblesville Baptist Church and author of the essay, said wokeness should be rejected by the faithful, in particular the push to focus heavily on race.
Mr. Tapp defines being woke as becoming “aware of” or “awakened to” social injustices against a particular group of people. Defining the word is nuanced, as the “concept of wokeness today bleeds across various social topics such as sexuality, gender, economics, race, nationality etc,” he said.
A pew sits empty before an Easter Sunday morning services at The Friendship Baptist Church in Baltimore, Md., on April 12, 2020. Alex Edelman/AFP via Getty Images
“At a foundational level, there is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to see ethnic diversity among God’s people today,” Mr. Tapp wrote.
“As a multi-ethnic man myself, I love seeing the power of the gospel of Christ breaking down barriers between people who are so culturally (and even sometimes physically) different. I think this is the initial appeal and attraction believers have with the concept of wokeness. However, I have come to realize the importance of how this diverse community comes into being.”
He said the idea of focusing on diversity should be rejected in the church today.
“Though we should rejoice in ethnic diversity in the church as a beautiful overflow of the gospel which will be present throughout eternity, the means by which that diversity comes about in our local congregations must be thoroughly Biblical, gospel-centered, and Holy Spirit-appointed to stand the test of time.”
Parishioners pray at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City on Sept. 12, 2001, a day after a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images
Paul Chappell, the senior pastor at Lancaster Baptist Church in California, wrote that many Christians committed to “displaying God’s heart” have “eagerly” embraced wokeness.
“The “woke movement,” however, has grown much larger than the early definition of the term,” he wrote. “There is an agenda driving it that is anti-Christian and steeped in anti-God philosophies.”
Mr. Chappell gives examples including LGBT issues, environmentalism, gender in the church, and critical race theory.
He further posits that Christians who follow scripture see social issues in light of the scripture and use it to drive discourse.
“Christians with a weak view of Scripture are more likely to allow the culture to both describe the problem and prescribe the solution,” he wrote.
“These Christians are more likely to suggest that basic Bible truths don’t apply in particular settings or that the biblical writers did not fully understand such modern issues.”
Mr. Chappell said there’s a need for Christians to be “alert” to “worldly philosophies that masquerade as truth.”
“I am concerned for the future orthodoxy of Christians who seek influence and ideas from those who are swayed by woke ideas,” he says.
The authors propose that while awareness of social injustices is important, they should not supersede or conflict with biblical doctrines.
Their texts highlight a need for churches to discern and respond to these issues while maintaining their foundational scriptural principles.
