When Living Faithfully Means Leaving Graciously

I’ve been alive for exactly fifteen thousand, eight hundred days, and I’ve never not been a United Methodist. I’m so Methodist; I bleed the carpet color found in every Methodist sanctuary across the world.

Ok, come to think of it, I guess just about everybody bleeds that color.

Let’s try this: I’m so Methodist that, anytime I get stuck on a problem, I can’t help but wonder if it’s time to form a new committee to explore it further.

I’m so Methodist that, whenever I hear a character from Star Wars say, “May the force be with you,” I can’t stop myself from responding “And also with you.”

I’m so Methodist that I actually like tuna casserole, soggy green beans in a Pyrex dish full of cream of mushroom soup and fatty bacon, and fruit salad with canned grapes and way too many coconut flakes.

Only the real Methodists out there have any idea what I’m talking about right now. The point is this: my whole life has revolved around the United Methodist Church. The same is basically true for my wife, Geovanna, who joined a United Methodist congregation after moving to Houston at age seventeen, and she’s been a leader in the UMC ever since.

We started two thriving campus ministries while in college before attending a United Methodist seminary together in Kansas City, where one of us graduated with honors (not me) and the other one also graduated (me). We each hold a degree called the Master of Divinity (which sounds far more powerful than it is).

Side by side, we have served these amazing churches:

Mooringsport UMC (2000-2001) – a rural, north Louisiana church of about fifty mostly-older people who showed me what a force for the greater good that small, country churches can be. I’ll never forget Ms. Tina’s huge heart, Miss Bootsie’s deep-fried squirrel brains, and how that conservative church loved Tommy and Preston, an elderly gay couple who’d been a part of MUMC for over thirty years. In my college religion classes, I’d heard that conservative Christians were backward and homophobic; those Christians in Mooringsport proved that theory wrong.

White Avenue UMC (2001-2004) – a small, white congregation in the middle of a neighborhood in northeast Kansas City that had become mostly brown and black. While we were there, this church supported our ideas for new ministries that reached dozens of neighborhood kids, and eventually, they allowed Geo and I to plant a new Hispanic congregation. I’ll be forever grateful for Ms. Betty, who insisted that no child should ever be turned away from entering the church, and I’ll always remember Steven, the middle-aged man with Down’s Syndrome who cried tears of joy in almost every worship service.

Iglesia Metodista Unida Camino Verdad y Vida (2002-2004) – a thriving Hispanic congregation that eventually became the largest Spanish-speaking UMC in Missouri. We left this church in the capable hands of our dear friend, the late Rev. Gustavo Navarrete Morales. I can’t wait to see “Pastor Gus” in heaven, where we’ll reminisce about the day we sold 1,400 homemade tamales to buy the church’s first drum set!

Westport/Revolution UMC (2004-2014) – a historic church (est. 1836) in Kansas City’s Westport District with a dwindling congregation but a thriving homeless ministry, Westport UMC empowered Geo and I to plant “Revolution”, a new church “for people who don’t like church.” WUMC and Revolution eventually merged and continued to serve the community for years until they decided to close in 2019. The homeless ministry continues to serve hundreds of people every week. Geo and I smile every time we remember how we came of age in that place, with those folks, and we’ll always treasure our time there.

Broadway/Keystone UMC (2009-2014) – another historic church with a storied past in the Waldo neighborhood of KC, Broadway UMC invited Geo and I to plant a new worshiping congregation that would reach new people for Christ. Eventually, that new community merged with the traditional congregation, and we renamed the church “Keystone UMC” after the Sunday School class that founded BUMC 150 years prior. We loved the people there, especially Dr. Gene Lowry, a retired, legendary preacher who managed to encourage me after every sermon I delivered (even the terrible ones!).

St. Luke’s UMC (2014-2021) – St. Luke’s gave Geo and I the opportunity of a lifetime to plant a new congregation as part of SLUMC’s “family of ministries.” From donning a robe-and-stole and preaching in “big church” to squeezing into skinny jeans and preaching in the gym, I savored every chance I was given to serve this great congregation. Geo and I will always cherish the memories we’ve made here, and the people we’ve met along the way. A few names that come to mind are Pat Deckert, Phil Murray, Neil Stovall, Judge Bonnie Hellums, Carel Stith, the Agee sisters, the great Rev. Bill Denham (who is resting with Jesus now), Rob Dulaney, and so many laypeople and staff who have been so encouraging over the years. Even as we prepare to leave St. Luke’s, I can’t believe I ever had the privilege of serving such a great church in the first place! It has been an honor.

Throughout these twenty-two years serving as pastors in the UMC, we’ve always worked hard to give our churches everything we had. We’ve also remained in “good standing” with the denomination while receiving various kinds of awards and recognition (here, here, & here, for example).

None of this is meant to seem boastful; this is my attempt to communicate how deeply entrenched, and for how long, Geo and I have been in the United Methodist Church, so that no one will wonder if we’ve been impatient or imprudent in reaching the major decision that we need to share with you now.

St. Luke’s UMC is the last United Methodist congregation we will ever serve, because Geo and I, with heavy hearts, have decided to surrender our clergy credentials to Bishop Jones of the Texas Conference and to end our relationship with the United Methodist Church, effective January 1.

Some of you probably love the UMC and have questions about why we are leaving, while others of you probably can’t tell a Methodist from a Mennonite and you can’t wait for this season to be over so we can all just move on. If you’re the latter, I’m sorry. Perhaps we should form a new committee to address your concerns? 

But if you’re the former, you’re probably wondering what led us to this seemingly drastic decision. Aside from what I shared here about the current state of affairs in the UMC, Geo and I do not feel inclined to publicly air our grievances with the only denomination we’ve ever called home.

Are there real, theological issues that concern us about the UMC? Yes.

Have the events of the last seven months revealed some things about this denomination that we didn’t see before? Probably.

Have we felt heartbroken, gutted, and betrayed at times through this whole ordeal? You have no idea.

But who benefits when Christians go public with our interpersonal hurts and institutional harm? No one but the Devil.

Instead, we should always remain “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3). This is the way of Jesus Christ.

That’s why, as it has been our pleasure to bless the United Methodist Church from within for so many years, it will soon be our pleasure, by the grace of God, to bless the UMC from without for many years to come.

Geo and I are still discerning our next steps as clergy. We will always be theologically Methodist (Wesleyan/Arminian), and we feel certain that God has called us to continue leading The Story Church, but we will need some time to chart our course regarding denominational affiliation. Some have asked about the Global Methodist Church, a new denomination being formed by folks leaving the UMC. The GMC still doesn’t technically exist, and its timeline for launch is unclear. Regardless of its timeline, however, we are not planning to join the GMC once it is established. We have many friends who will be a part of that new denomination, and we will hold them and their new venture in our prayers.