By Jesse M. Jackson
We live in a day when there is a desperate need for the proclamation of God’s Word and where biblical truth is rapidly eroding and being compromised. As Christians, if we affirm that God’s truth is the sole authority for what we believe and practice, then we must remain fully committed to that authority.
As undershepherds to the Chief Shepherd, we have the God-given responsibility and duty before the Lord to oversee the sheep that God has entrusted to us by feeding and protecting them against false doctrine and sin (1 Thes. 5:12; 1 Pet. 5:2; Acts 20:28-30).
To disregard this important function and responsibility is to ignore God’s ordained instructions to pastors. When a shepherd notices that the sheep are falling into extreme danger, the shepherd has no choice but to rescue them.
The following article, which will be divided into parts, is the result of many recent attempts in this last year and a half to rescue the sheep from being led astray by the unspiritual leadership of a UMC in Lynchburg, Virginia.
For over a year and a half, I have advised and strongly encouraged those in leadership positions toward the truth of Scripture, sound doctrine, and what is honoring to the Lord, all while hoping they would make godly and right decisions concerning the direction of the church and the moral issues at hand. I have sounded the alarm on numerous occasions only to find that it landed on deaf ears and even caused a few to become personally vindictive and vicious towards my family and me, ultimately leading to an abrupt termination of all my duties and responsibilities as pastor.
That is not to say that the Lord did not accomplish a great and mighty work among many of the members of this church, new attendees, and the city of Lynchburg because the fact is, He did. According to the feelings of many of the members, more was accomplished during this time (the last year and a half) than in times past. I am confident that what did take place was all for the furtherance of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the glory of God. (Philippians 1:12-18).
When a shepherd notices that the sheep are falling into extreme danger, the shepherd has no choice but to rescue them.
Nevertheless, what this does convey as a clear example is that the current trend of Methodist churches who are voting to stay and remain united to the UMC denomination and its doctrine are many of the same churches who also agree with the cultural “methods” and beliefs propagated today, (i.e., the same godless beliefs deemed as acceptable within our own society), despite that they are unscriptural, sinful, and contrary to God and His Word.
This much I have witnessed firsthand, many of the leaders in UMC are either ignorant (some intentionally ignorant) concerning what the Bible says and teaches, or, if they know what the Bible teaches, still choose to reject it, all while embracing and remaining silent toward the immorality and sin of today.
I believe it is for this reason that we are witnessing a vast momentum of churches that are disaffiliating from the UMC denomination and are either joining the Global Methodist Church (supposedly the more traditional, conservative methodist) or becoming independent. Obviously, all of this is heading toward a major split for the largest mainline Protestant denomination.
Therefore, the obvious questions arise, “Why and for what reasons are many churches now choosing to disaffiliate from the UMC?” and “Are these decisions based upon moral issues (i.e., sexual morality) that have recently surfaced, or is there a clear history of unfolding events that have led up to this disastrous moment?”
These questions and more demand honest answers, especially to those who are considered members or have served in the united (in both discipline and doctrine) Methodist denomination.
This much I have witnessed firsthand, many of the leaders in UMC are either ignorant (some intentionally ignorant) concerning what the Bible says and teaches, or, if they know what the Bible teaches, still choose to reject it, all while embracing and remaining silent toward the immorality and sin of today.
There is no better time to answer these questions since they have much to bear upon the future or the demise of churches. Yet, to arrive at such adequate and honest answers, it requires us to briefly look back into Methodist history and Scripture to understand first what led up to this crisis and secondly what God says in His Word regarding these biblical and moral issues.
If you are at all interested in defending the faith, fighting for the truth of God’s Word, and seeing truth prevail, then I would encourage you to read the following articles regarding the current trend of today’s Methodist churches and the long history of the doctrinal decline within the leadership of the United Methodist Church.