Why are some Louisiana churches leaving the United Methodist denomination?

A process within the church

At the 2019 Global Conference, delegates also added a key provision to the Book of Discipline, a rule guidebook for all United Methodist Churches. Paragraph 2553 was an unprecedented exit policy designed to give churches a four-year window to disaffiliate for “reasons of conscience” and maintain their church property.

The exit policy sunsets Dec. 31.

Lunceford, the attorney, said the formal process within the church is a better alternative to the chaos that some other denominations faced when churches left.

“It’s very democratic and has a lot of checks and balances along the way,” he said.

Still, the process has been challenged in court in several states.

In Louisiana, a group of pastors recently sued the state conference, arguing administrators were improperly relinquishing millions of dollars of property and other assets to churches that were leaving. A state judge dismissed the lawsuit, arguing the courts don’t have authority to resolve internal church disputes. 

While it was technically a win for the state conference, it brought church leaders little solace, said Rev. Dr. Van Stinson, an assistant to Bishop Williamston

“There are no winners here,” he said. “We’re going to continue to do our best to keep this process as faithful to the Book of Discipline and as fair to all the churches that enter discernment. But there are no winners here.”

Many of the state’s congregations are staying put. First UMC of Baton Rouge, which has over 4,200 members, unanimously voted to remain affiliated March 13. Whitton, the church’s pastor, espoused the power of unity in the denomination, citing the network of churches that often work in harmony to help schools and hospitals, do mission work and spread the gospel.

“The prevailing reasons were love for our church and each other,” he said of the Baton Rouge congregation’s vote. “The belief that, although we don’t always agree, we are better together, and a desire to remain focused on our mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ. We have also seen how the disagreement over human sexuality has created profound hurt and division in other congregations and didn’t want that to happen in our church.”