The Coming Schism of the United Methodist Church

So all over the news they are talking about the United Methodist Church vote.  The vote allows Bishops to create a committee to review the possibility of allowing LGBT ministers.  The vote was extremely narrow... and its being talked about as if it is a huge victory for the liberals.  In reality its just kicking the can down the road.  The vote was 425 to 408...  so it was a 50/50 vote to even discuss the issue.  So again... half the Church delegates weren't even open to letting people research the possibility.  Also neither the bishops nor the committee they create will actually have any power at all.  All they can do is issue a report.  In order to actually change the church discipline there would have to be another vote at the conference just like this one.  Had that vote been taken yesterday it would look more like 500-300 against the change.

So on the one hand nothing has changed.  The church has voted to kick the can down the road yet again...  and the 45 year old fight will be at least 49 years old before it is settled.   Demographically this actually benefits the conservatives in the church, because the church in America (which is the base of the liberalism) is shrinking... but world wide its growing.  The growth is largely happening in Asia and Africa... and their attitudes on homosexuality are solid and concrete and immobile.  They are 100% against the rule change.

So why then, and I talking about schism?  If the conservatives have the votes to stop the change, as they have for 45 years, and demographic momentum is on their side why would schism even be a discussion?

Because it looks like the conservatives themselves are starting to embrace the idea.

There is an attitude change creeping in... that Schism wouldn't be the end of the world.  In fact... they are starting to suggest that its a good thing and may in fact be exactly what the Church needs. 

The UMC has been fighting this fight for 45 years... and a lot of folks are sick of talking about it.  Every 4 years this one topic dominates the Conference.  Many leaders are started to concede that the issue has basically put the Church on the sidelines....  rather than being in the fight to create disciples the Church has been in a tied up with monomaniacal single-issue malcontents.

Its become abundantly clear that the left cannot win... but it will never shut up.  So the only way to get the Church back in the game... is to be rid of them.  And to be rid of them... you need Schism.  Schism has started to look like bad-tasting medicine.  It isn't what you want, but it is what you need.

That is why I believe we will be seeing Schism in the coming years.  In fact... I suspect that will be one of the primary research matters the committee the Bishops create will discuss...  is how to legally untangle the Church so schism can take place.

I should point out that this is not the solution I would prefer.   If it were up to me... I would have the Conference take the vote on changing the issue right now.   And then I would take the list of all those delegates who voted in favor of the change, and kick them out of the Church.  But I suppose... the coming Schism is really just a more polite way of doing exactly that.

***UPDATE***

As usual we see the Mainstream Media has flubbed the story completely.  In reality what has happened is the has created a special conference to talk about all human sexuality issues in 2018/2019.  Abortion... Birth Control... all these issues will be on topic and discussed.  What this move did was clear the deck so the Conference could move on to actual business.  Also... no one is writing about the horrible scene the progressives have made... abusing procedure to disrupt the conference.   They certainly aren't winning any friends.  But they are desperate because the writing is on the wall.  They are a minority and it is becoming more and more clear that they always will be.