Williamsport-area Bishop Discusses Global Methodist Church’s Doctrinal Stance and Split from United Methodist Church

About 70 people, many of them pastors or elders at churches which had chosen to disaffiliate with the United Methodist denomination, gathered recently to learn more about the Global Methodist Church (GMC) as a possible alternative for their congregations.

One of two bishops in the GMC, Mark Webb, who grew up in Williamsport, spoke to the group, answering their questions, trying to give some clarity to the issues which have split the United Methodist Church (UMC). At a special meeting of the Susquehanna Conference of the UMC last month, the disaffiliations of 141 churches were confirmed. Although the reason cited for the split was the disagreement over the ordination of gay clergy and the performance of same gender marriages, for Webb, the issue was much broader, involving a move over the years away from some of the basic doctrines of the church.

“The Methodist Church has given me opportunities that are beyond my imagination. Ways I’ve been blessed to serve to work with literally hundreds, if not thousands of congregations and laities across the United States and even in other parts of the world,” Webb told the group.

“As I stand here tonight, there’s grief because I’m no longer a United Methodist. I have dear friends who continue to be United Methodist. I want you to know that I continue every day to pray for the United Methodist Church and that God will use that church to help at least one more person come to know the love, the grace, the hope and the life that’s found in Jesus Christ,” he said.

Webb was emphatic that he was not at the meeting to speak negatively of the UMC, but in detailing his journey which led to him leaving the denomination, Webb pointed to the drift away from basic doctrine which prompted his departure.

“In 2016, in my experience, I began to see there were some leaders in the church who were wanting to move the church in a different direction, in a way that I would describe as a more progressive direction not just in the area of human sexuality. That’s the thing we always want to talk about, but I’m talking about a theological and doctrinal shift,” he said.

The 2019 General Conference was a turning point for Webb, when he realized that he “didn’t want to be a part of the conversation that continues to fight and to detract from what the church is called to do, which is to introduce people to Jesus Christ,” he said.

It was also at that time that Webb began to see that the UMC, in his experience, “no longer had the unity of doctrine, it no longer had a unity of mission and it no longer had a unity of discipline.” He also began to feel that scripture was being viewed differently.

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