The Traditional Plan Passed

The United Methodist Church has adopted The Traditional Plan for church structure, and the Book of Discipline. So what does this mean?

First, it means the United Methodist Church worldwide sees LGBTQ+ people as problematic at best, and sinful at worst. Some have mentioned that even in the voting it shows that there are now more people than ever in support of LGBTQ+ people. However, in approving The Traditional Plan, the majority of the church has forever silenced these people from a future conversation. In seeing LGBTQ people as problematic and passing this plan, the church structure will not in the foreseeable future welcome, or allow, discussions on human sexuality and gender diversity. The denomination has chosen to refute modern research and science in favor of ending a debate that had become a hot button issue, and a hard conversation, the denomination chose silence and exile to queer people rather than affirming their human divinity and allowing them an honest debate.

Second, in going forward with this plan the United Methodist Church refused to listen to the thousands of queer Christians and made a statement that our time, service, and prayers don’t matter, and are not from God. The first church I ever had a paying post with was a beautiful little UMC church in rural Virginia. I still look back on my time there with nothing but fund memories of a group of people committed to becoming better, and learning how to love better. The church averaged around 40 people on a Sunday morning, and had about 10 youth. Instead of being focused…