God, Country, And The Great UMC Fracture

Last updated on: March 26, 2024 at 8:25 am by C. Don Jones

God, Country, And The Great UMC Fracture 2024-03-26T08:25:11-06:00 C. Don Jones

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I was glad the theater seat was comfortable. The documentary I watched was not. God & Country can spoil popcorn. It is one of many developments that are spoiling church life. No matter how much complaining we offer the question of what is to be done remains. I sat with some others in a discussion about it yesterday. Up until that time, removing myself from the company of White Christian Nationalists was my favorite option. My second favorite was to criticize it from a distance. I will not take a passive move again.

Country and God

Civil religion in American Christianity opened the question of how one’s devotion to God involves the state. The innocuous statements of “one nation under God” or “so help me God” or “in God we trust” were simply a part of life. It seemed good to have a higher power than ourselves acknowledged. The problem began though after America’s first “born again” President – Jimmy Carter – attacked segregationist religious private schools. Fundamentalist religion surged into the political arena. It helped limit the “born again” President to one term. Unfortunately many still do not see the hypocritical grasp for power this is.

Charlottesville and the Country

January 6th 2021 is seen as the culmination (so far) of the violence of Christian Nationalists. For me the riot in Charlottesville, VA in 2017 is where white nationalism lost its Christian façade. We heard Donald Trump claim there were good people on both sides. But it was the statement of a clergy colleague that I found most revolting. “Jesus would not take either side.” I am glad to know that person is now in the Global Methodist Church. The belief that the Jesus would not oppose Nazis told me the person did not recognize the humanity of Jesus particularly his Jewishness. White Jesus is, to people like that, the real Jesus.

The United Methodist Church and Christian Nationalism

The UMC has been blind-sided by Christian Nationalism. Attempts to have a big tent caused many of us to turn a blind eye to developments we did not want to acknowledge. Bishop Willimon may blame Donald Trump for the split in the denomination. I lay blame closer to home. Growing intolerance at Good News, the formation of the Wesley Covenant Association, and the procedural inability of the Bishops and District Superintendents allowed Christian nationalists to take or destroy churches. How many times did white churches in the South oppose having a woman or person or color serve as Pastor? I cannot say. But being a liberal pastor assigned to conservative churches myself, I know being white and male was the only requirements some congregations required. They were also among my worst appointments.

Time to Refuse

It is time to refuse to give in to the demands made from the “conservatives.” There is no placating someone who has a foot already out the door. One cannot reason with a closed minded person. It is time for churches who say no to Christian nationalism to say it out loud! Progressive Christianity needs to, as Bishop Spong would have said, rescue the Bible from Christian Nationalists. There is no point in trying to claim some people do not really mean what they say. We continue to see it. If you care about the future of the church, it is time to fight for it.

There are many who accuse me of being divisive and intolerant. Let me assure you I do not tolerate arsonists wanting to burn down what I have spent my life building.

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