Columbia, S.C. (WACH) — More than one hundred churches in South Carolina are declaring independence. They are separating from the United Methodist Church and several of those churches are here in Columbia.
Leaders of the churches that are separating say they are cutting ties due to a misinterpretation of the denomination’s Book of Discipline by John Wesley.
“Do you interpret them along with two thousand years of church history or are you seeing them differently suddenly.” said Lead Minister of Chapin United Methodist Jody Flowers.
Minister Flowers says the United Methodist Church on the national level has failed to stay true to the ideals of the church.
Flowers’ church is the second largest United Methodist Church in the Midlands and one of the 113 churches in the state separating.
“The human sexuality issue gets all the press but it goes way deeper than that,” said Flowers.
Flowers says the church had been thinking about this move for nearly three years.
Other churches in the Midlands that decided to separate are Columbia Korean United Methodist Church, Rehoboth United Methodist Church, Lebanon United Methodist Church, Mt. Horeb United Methodist Church and Pond Branch United Methodist Church.
In order to declare their independence churches had to pay any outstanding debts along with a tithe for the value of the property. For some, it totaled hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Reverend of Pond Branch United Methodist Church Drew Martin says the separation won’t affect the way he conducts worship.
“My sermons wont change my hymns won’t change,” said Martin. “I mean a lot of things will stay exactly the same we just will no longer be in connection.”
Source: WACH
