While some now argue it’s unfair, Bickerton said, he doesn’t think it’s unreasonable for congregations to meet their obligations to pastors, allowing them “to retire with dignity and some means to live through their retirement.”
Some churches took that step at their annual conference meetings this summer. The bishop is waiting for a count now that annual conference season has ended in the United States, but he said it seems that number is relatively small.
For instance, while Therrell has said more than 100 Florida churches plan to leave the United Methodist Church for the Global Methodist Church, Bishop Kenneth Carter, who leads the Florida and Western North Carolina conferences, confirmed to Religion News Service that only 14 disaffiliated at this summer’s Florida Annual Conference meeting.
Bickerton doesn’t want any churches to leave, he said, but knowing some will, he hopes to mitigate the upheaval.
Christians are called to make disciples of Christ, he said. Different denominations will do that in different ways. If United Methodists are focused instead on “our internal chaos,” he said, it won’t happen. There are needs that won’t be met, injustices that won’t be addressed.
While emotions are riding high, Bickerton said, “I think the United Methodist Church is finding a way with its rhetoric and its narrative to begin a pretty robust conversation about what’s next.”
“I’ve been saying that I believe God has opened the door for us for the next expression of Methodism. The question is: Do we have the courage to walk through the door?”
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This article originally appeared on ReligionNews.com.
