CLUB 444: Adam Hamilton says….

Hamilton responded to somebody who posted that infographic about the differences between the two denominations of Methodism. This was his response …

“Hi Cindy, this is NOT accurate. I’ll give you a few responses for others who are reading this: Both are Orthodox. UM’s are not pluralistic. Jesus is not one of many ways. He is THE Savior and Lord. The question that the person who prepared this seems confused about is, What is the eternal fate of people of other faith? On this United Methodists (and I suspect some in the GMC as well) have various views – but if people of other faiths are saved, it will be through the saving work of Jesus.
On International Membership, I could be wrong, but I think there will be a number of African annual conferences that will remain UMC, as well as parts of Eastern Europe and Latin America.
On “Clergy to Perform Same Sex Marriages – in the UMC this will be permitted but not required.
On Position On Abortion, the UMC has held the same position for years. It is not pro-choice, but one that acknowledges the moral and theological dilemma of abortion and seeks to limit it, but also to make sure it is safe and rare. The Discipline speaks of the “tragic conflicts of life with life.” I consider myself pro-life and so do many other UM’s, but also recognize the situations in which a legal and safe abortion should be available and occur as early as possible.
On Primary Church Focus – The United Methodist Church is focused on making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Our primary focus is not “Social Justice.” We will continue to seek to draw people to Jesus Christ, which is our primary focus, and then involves working to see our world transformed to look more like God’s kingdom. The Church is the body of Christ and incarnates Jesus ministry in the world. That includes, as Micah 6:8 tells us, doing justice, loving kindness and walking humbly with God, and as Jesus commands us, loving our neighbor as we love ourselves.
This document is the kind of misrepresentation that I was talking about in the video. Thanks for sharing it.”