CAPTAIN’S NOTE: For the sake of full disclosure, years ago when yer Captain was exploring ministry and needin’ to decide on a college and seminary, Asbury College and Asbury Seminary were, in fact, considered, largely due to their proximity to home.
Both schools were quickly rejected when the young Captain-to-be discovered students at both institutions lived under a strict dress code: shirt and tie for male students, dresses for female students.
Such a code was indicative of a much more conservative mindset than I was looking for.
I was not wrong.
* * *
About two weeks ago news broke that the United Methodist University Senate has removed Asbury Theological Seminary from its list of UM-approved schools.
And you would have thought the world was coming to an end!
With this announcement, evangelical publications took to the internet to decry the decision.
In one lopsided and ill-informed article after another, they characterized the decision as “The UMC kicked out Asbury”.
They blamed the progressive changes that took place at the General Conference in 2024 (more on that later) and praised Asbury for holding fast to the faith!
What was missing from most of these articles was an explanation of the United Methodist side of the story and how this all works.
Yellow Journalism rarely cares about the facts.
Naturally, a firestorm has ensued.
Commenters were mostly Asbury supporters because, well, who else reads evangelical publications?
They self-righteously declared the United Methodist Church has lost its way.
They condemned the UMC as being “apostate”.
They went so far as to say that the UMC is no longer “Christian”.
They pointed out that this expulsion of Asbury ignores the two great Holy Spirit-led revivals that took place at Asbury College (1970 and 2023).
CAPTAIN’S NOTE: In fact, Asbury College has a long history of events which they have labeled “Revivals”: 1905, 1908, 1921, 1950, 1958, 1970, 1992, 2006, 2024.
Not sure any of that is relevant.
Gather around, mates, and I’ll tell you what you need to know.
The University Senate is an accrediting agency for the denomination, ensuring consistent instruction, policies and practices among the 13 UM seminaries and 25 non-UM seminaries. Approved schools must be compatible with UM theology and social principles, and they must offer courses in UM history, theology, and polity for ministerial candidates.
Asbury Seminary has always been the most conservative seminary among “The Big Thirteen” approved by the University Senate.
As such, Asbury could not and would not abide with the changes at GC2024.
So what happened at General Conference 2024?
The UMC has long maintained that “all people are made in the image of God and possess equal worth, dignity, and value.”
Yet this statement conflicted with other legislation inserted into the Book of Discipline in the early 70’s by a conservative faction that sought to deny certain rights to gays and lesbians. That wording called homosexuality “incompatible with Christian teachings.”
CAPTAIN’S NOTE: Ironically, the only other place “incompatible with Christian teachings” was found in the Book of Discipline was its position on war.
Yes, The United Methodist Church “officially” believes war is incompatible with Christian teachings.
Yet how many of UM churches have brass plaques honoring their members who died in war? How many insist on singing “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” and “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”?
Over the years, conservatives inserted more and more into the Book of Discipline, including the forbidding of same-sex marriage - even adding a penalty for UM pastors who presided at gay weddings, and forbidding the ordination of gay and lesbian candidates for ministry.
CAPTAIN'S NOTE: Why do conservatives and evangelicals worry so much about what's in a person's pants? It seems irrelevant... unless you want to get into that person's pants...
Not Muslim. Not gay. Not drag. 😙
Infighting over homosexuality grew to the point that a special-called General Conference in 2018 allowed a brief window for the departure of churches that wanted to leave the denomination.
It was intended to set the progressives free.
It was the conservatives who left!
With them out of the way, the 2024 General Conference delegates approved ordination and other permissions for gays and lesbians, once again proclaiming the denomination's belief that all people possess equal worth, dignity, and value.
CAPTAIN’S NOTE: The seminary I ultimately chose, the uber-liberal School of Theology at Claremont, was already on-board with this - as early as the mid-80's - offering theological training for gays and lesbians even though the UM denomination would not let them move forward with ordination.
But that’s not the whole story. Because Asbury Seminary was out of step with the denomination, it did not provide a United Methodist professor to teach UM history, doctrine, and polity.
In short, it did not meet the University Senate’s standards.
Asbury’s president David Watson told Christianity Today, “We weren’t surprised by this at all. We knew with the division of the United Methodist Church into more liberal and conservative factions that something like this would happen.”
Watson said the process began at the beginning of the year when the University Senate conducted its regular review. Asbury was not able to sign on with the new social principles.
There was no hostility, Watson said, and when Asbury was told about the cut they decided not to appeal.
And here’s the truth, mates.
Asbury College (now University) and Asbury Theological Seminary will continue on as educational institutions.
All the University Senate did was remove its endorsement. The seminary does not meet the qualifications needed to train future UM clergy, but it can train others.
President Watson knows that UM enrollment at Asbury has dropped from 32% to only about 9%, so this decision will affect very few.
And Asbury can now turn whole-heartedly toward courting the conservative off-shoot Global Methodist Church for future support.
As for all the faux social media outrage: y’all need to calm down!
It is the Captain’s hope going forward that Asbury will teach its students that 1) Jesus did not hand to Asbury the Keys to the Kingdom, and 2) that they don’t have an exclusive claim to the Holy Spirit.
The Old Testament prophet Joel (2:28) proclaimed that the day would come when God would pour out his Spirit on all flesh.
That day came in Acts chapter 2.
And we believe “all flesh” includes The United Methodist Church.
In fact, the Captain is convinced that General Conference 2024 was a Spirit-filled revival for The United Methodist Church, as delegates opened the Church once again to all people.
Asbury no longer requires the shirt and tie, but its theology continues to be much more conservative than the Captain’s.
And that’s okay.
A lot of people disagree with me.
And I with them.
And that’s okay.
