Answer
Formally launched in May of 2022, the Global Methodist Church is a Protestant denomination that separated from the United Methodist Church. The primary reason for the separation was that many churches in the United Methodist Church were embracing homosexual clergy and same-sex marriage. This was despite prohibitions in the Book of Discipline, the official governing document of the United Methodist Church. Conservative leaders in the United Methodist Church saw a seemingly inevitable trend toward a wholesale celebration of homosexual clergy and same-sex marriage within the denomination. They also witnessed the leadership’s inaction in regard to violations of the church’s governing documents. So they decided, for the sake of peace, that it was best for more conservative Methodist churches to depart from the United Methodist Church.
Individual churches within the United Methodist Church denomination have until December of 2023 to decide whether to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church. If a church decides to separate from the United Methodist Church, that church will then have the choice of three paths: become independent, join the Global Methodist Church, or associate with a different denomination. A major benefit provided to disaffiliating churches is the temporary suspension of the “trust clause” that would have required departing churches to leave their property to the United Methodist Church.
Some in the United Methodist Church contend that it should be the more liberal churches who are leaving, considering every denominational vote on homosexual clergy and same-sex marriage has been to uphold the traditional church policy. Whatever the case, it is the more conservative churches that are disaffiliating from the United Methodist Church. The hope is that the separation will be reasonably peaceful and not degenerate into a bitter public divorce.
While the Global Methodist Church will be more conservative in some respects than the United Methodist Church, it remains to be seen just how conservative it will be. For example, the official website of the Global Methodist Church states that “women, like men, are called to serve in the Global Methodist Church and are entitled to serve at all levels of the Global Methodist Church” (https://globalmethodist.org/faqs/#1626101177913-f6f2bb02-c095, accessed 10/24/22). The doctrines and policies of the Global Methodist Church will undoubtedly be determined and/or altered after the denomination is fully formed and official denominational conferences convene. So, while the Global Methodist Church will be more conservative than the United Methodist Church on more issues than just homosexual clergy and same-sex marriage, it is unclear how truly conservative the Global Methodist Church will be in comparison to other conservative Protestant and evangelical Christian denominations and churches.
