General conference 2019 Outcomes and Update

These plans were reviewed by the Judicial Council in October last year Brief Review Three plans to deal with same sex issues were developed by a team within the UMC These plans were reviewed by the Judicial Council in October last year The General Conference met Feb. 24-26 to discuss the plans and choose a course of action Numerous other petitions were brought forward at the General Conference (GC)

Plans being considered Changes to pension plan Changes to same sex language in the discipline Traditional Plan One Church Plan Connectional Plan Simple Plan Disaffiliation petitions (exit plans)

Short answer, the Traditional Plan passed So what happened? Short answer, the Traditional Plan passed One Church plan was not moved forward for consideration from committee on Monday They tried to bring it up again on Tuesday and substitute it for the Traditional Plan as the “choice”, voted down again Simple plan failed to advance from committee Connectional Plan failed to even be considered Pension plan was modified Two exit plans were approved

Traditional plan passed by 56% to 44% The actual vote Traditional plan passed by 56% to 44% 461 to 359 votes Voting was by secret ballot, but by self-reported information the following can be determined

By the numbers Over 40 African Delegates could not attend due to visa issues and could not enter the country

So that’s all good, right?.....

Here’s What really happened Delegates exhibited some of the most un-Christ like behavior imaginable Delegates were name-called, shamed and insulted False accusations were made Deceptive tactics were used by one group to get their way, regardless Losers proclaimed their intent to continue openly defying the Discipline Losers are now threatening to withhold money to foreign churches (Africa)

Details of the Vote A number of the Traditional Plan elements were deemed in conflict with the UMC constitution Delegates supporting Traditional Plan were prepared to amend the plan to fix these issues Opponents used parliamentary procedures and delay tactics to prevent this from happening Result, the plan still contains elements previously deemed unconstitutional

This takes place April 23-25 of this year What does that mean? Motion was made and approved to refer the Traditional Plan to another Judicial Review This takes place April 23-25 of this year Any element ruled unconstitutional will be stripped from the plan New plan takes effect January 1, 2020 with any unconstitutional elements removed

What was ruled Unconstitutional Specific investigation of ministry candidate’s behavior related to homosexuality Bishops must certify Board of Ministry members comply with Discipline regarding same sex issues Global accountability group to enforce compliance among Bishops Both exit plans submitted separately from the Traditional Plan

The Good News, what will stay New definition of practicing homosexual that will be easier to enforce Exclusion of openly homosexual candidates for ministry Penalty for ministers conducting homosexual weddings 1 year suspension for the first offense Revocation of credentials for second offense

What will stay, continued More accountability of Bishops for complaint resolution Can’t dismiss complaints unless it has no basis in fact Complainant must be informed of decisions Rights of churches to appeal decisions Members of Board of Ministry must affirm they will uphold the Discipline New Bishops must affirm that they will uphold the Discipline

That was the good and bad - now the ugly First hand accounts of delegates who supported the Traditional Plan were disturbing These are taken from statements made by Cara Nicklas, David Watson and Chris Ritter They spent time with African delegates, Traditional Plan supporters and the other delegates

From the New York times, Feb. 26 2019 Soon after the vote, protests erupted in the center of the arena where the conference had been held — a former football stadium known as The Dome. Some delegates began singing church songs and chanting, “We’re queer,” and “This is our church!”

Statements from the Conference Tactics were used to intentionally confuse African delegates because of the language and translation issues Accusations of monetary influencing (bribes) of African delegates were made from the floor Accusations of WCA influencing Africans with free breakfast Moderators selectively picked who spoke and did not stop them from violating stated rules of decorum

Ugly gets uglier Presiding Bishops aided stall tactics by starting late, taking long breaks and allowing pointless speeches under pretense of “points of order” One delegate tried to shame Traditional supporters by asking all of the One Church supporters to stand Traditional Plan and its supporters were compared to Ebola, viruses, haters, murders

Nothing changes in 2019, current Discipline is the law of the land What happens next Nothing changes in 2019, current Discipline is the law of the land Liberals have declared their intent to openly defy the current Discipline and the Traditional Plan modifications April 23-25 Judicial Review Wesley Covenant Association will meet and likely start forming a new denomination

What about the exit plans? Likely the 2 separate exit plans approved at General Conference will be ruled Unconstitutional Traditional Plan exit plan will likely remain Some of the liberal churches are making noise that they will leave, that remains to be seen

Congregations larger than 50 could withdraw from the denomination Exit Clause Details Annual conferences could withdraw from the denomination by majority vote Congregations larger than 50 could withdraw from the denomination Upon a 2/3 majority vote of their church and: By a 2/3 majority vote of their annual conference The only payment would be to cover the congregation’s share of their annual conference’s unfunded pension liabilities

Where does that leave us? Nothing has changed for 2019 There is another normally scheduled General Conference in 2020, and the One Church people will be back again Judicial Review will establish the final rules in April By January 2020, an exit plan may be available American UMC leadership still resisting traditional Biblical teaching