Global Methodist Bishop Mark Webb Discusses Church’s Growth and Future in Interview

Global Methodist Bishop Mark Webb, who was elected as a bishop of the United Methodist Church by the 2012 session of the Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference, transferred into the Global Methodist Church (GMC) as a bishop. It was announced on January 4. The GMC is described as a denomination formed by and for theologically orthodox United Methodists. His transfer followed that of Bishop Mike Lowry, longtime leader of the UMC’s Central Texas Conference. Shortly afterward, a third UMC bishop, Scott Jones, former leader of the Great Plains and (eastern) Texas Annual Conferences, also transferred into Global Methodism.

Webb previously led the UMC’s Upper New York Annual Conference until he retired at the end of 2022. He also served as president of the denomination’s General Board of Discipleship, also known as Discipleship Ministries. Earlier, he was a district superintendent and pastor of three congregations in Pennsylvania, and he received the Harry Denman Evangelism Award. He holds an M.Div. from Asbury Theological Seminary and a graduate certificate in nonprofit management from the University of Connecticut. He serves on the Board of Trustees of United Theological Seminary and lives in Lititz, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Jodi.

In an interview published on the Juicy Ecumenism website, Webb discussed what he described as the recent rapid growth of the GMC, his hopes for the new denomination, and the need for a humbler role for bishops. He also described what the current work of Global Methodist bishops involves. He said he expects the UMC’s gradual separation to continue for several more years.

Webb said he is available to speak to any congregation that invites him, provided the congregation has already voted to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church and is discerning its next steps. The source notes that the interview refers to a founding vision document for the GMC from early 2020. It also points readers to the GMC website and a list of the denomination’s provisional annual conferences.

Among the reader comments published with the interview, one commenter asked why readers should believe the UMC’s difficulties would not eventually affect the GMC. Webb answered that he shares the concern but blames weak and ineffective leadership in the UMC over past decades. He said the Book of Discipline had been ignored and that those who violated it had been given passes. He argued that leaders who cannot abide by written rules have failed, a point that reflects a call to accountability for those entrusted with leadership (Luke 12:48). He said he would remain in or leave his church based on prayer and his relationships with the people he serves.

Another commenter argued that church hierarchies tend toward elitism and that a network of independent congregations is preferable to a pyramid structure. The commenter said that the GMC would, over time, fail if its hierarchy took the shape of a pyramid. The post presents this as a reader’s view and does not report a response from Webb to that point.

A further reader comment called Webb a racist and said he had mistreated people of color in his congregations. The post does not include any supporting details or evidence for that accusation, and it presents the charge only as a comment from a reader.

Source: Read the original report