Fundraising off of Destruction

If you read my blog much, you've likely heard about the 2004 internal Good News strategy document "Options for the Future." The link is to a permanent mirror as the original was taken down after others and I published it.

Since then, I've received pushback from Good News leaders like Rob Renfroe denying that the document was ever discussed and downplaying the truth that the document names the continuing existence of the UMC as a disadvantage to traditionalists leaving the denomination. Good News and their allies are very smart and strategic. Documents like this don't exist by mistake. But if you still doubt their motives, I'm going to go point by point through a recent fundraising email from close Good News, WCA, and GMC ally, The IRD. It's not paranoia if they are really out to get you. Read along:

Dear Methodist friends:

We’re thrilled that the number of exiting churches from United Methodism will top 7650 this month before the deadline, far exceeding expectations.  

   Tooley is not thrilled with the number of people being baptized, the number preaching the Good News, or the number of churches joining the new denomination. He is thrilled with the number that are leaving. He is explicitly thrilled with tearing down a denomination.

Liberal pastor Adam Hamilton predicted there would only be 3000-4500 church exits. We had expected maybe 5000-6000. But 25% of all United Methodist churches have now left the denomination despite all the high hurdles!

It's true that Adam was wrong. I was, too. I expected about 20% would disaffiliate. But there are multiple issues with Tooley's statmeent:

1. While those of us remaining United Mehtodist have been accused of colonialism, Tooley forgets there is such a thing as churches outside of the U.S. The 25% number is NOT all UM's, it is 25% of U.S. churches. The international church exists! 

2. The "high hurdles" that Tooley mentions were allowed for in the legislation that traditionalists passed in 2019, saying it was "the way [we] would want to be treated if [we were] leaving."

3. The full truth is traditionalist leaders have pulled out all the stops to get churches to disaffiliate. They have held membership drives to artificially distort votes, they have allowed misinformation to spread without refutation, and they have advocated for disaffiliation for reasons other than the one reason the 2019 legislation provided for. They have done everything possible to maximize disaffiliations, far beyond what I believed their sense of Christian ethics would allow for, and still 75% of U.S. churches are staying United Methodist.

Praise the Lord for performing this great work!

Some people believe we should negotiate. Some people think we should extend the disaffiliation paragraph like Tooley, Renfroe and others want. Some people still believe progressives and centrists were the ones acting in bad faith when the Protocol failed. Please tell me how we can negotiate when traditionalist leadership praises God for people leaving us. 

This is also a tribute to your work over many years.

This is an important sentence. The work of tearing us down did not begin with the current round of disaffiliations. It did not begin with the 2019 General Conference or the creation of the Traditionalist Plan. It began "many years" ago. They finally said it out loud.

The remainder of Tooley's email is promoting IRD events. Except for one key question he poses. Tooley asks, "How many of us can answer the question:  Why are we Methodists and not Baptists?

I have an answer. Of those staying United Methodist, nearly all of us know we aren't Baptists. But, Mark, when you promote Baptist theology (like churches openly re-baptizing and only doing "believes baptism) and Baptist polity (downplaying the Connection and advocating more of a call system than itinerate system of appointment), this is what you get.