DEVOTIONAL FROM PASTOR DAVE APRIL 27, 2023

What is up with all these churches leaving the United Methodist Church? And what about Signal Crest? Where is our church in the midst of all of this?

This past Saturday, a specially called meeting of the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church approved the departure—or “disaffiliation”—of 264 churches across north Georgia, east Tennessee, and southwestern Virginia. These churches, mostly smaller and more rural congregations, represented about one-third (31%) of the total number of churches and about one-fifth (21%) of the total number of church members in the conference.

The UMC’s longstanding disagreements over same-sex marriage and clergy led to the passage in 2019 of a provision for disaffiliation. This is essentially an “exit ramp” for those congregations who felt a sense of urgency to leave the denomination. These churches completed a three-month long discernment process, fulfilled certain financial obligations to the conference, and voted by at least a 2/3 majority to disaffiliate.

So what about Signal Crest? Where are we in all of this? I have not sensed an interest to explore exiting the denomination; in fact, I have sensed a deep appreciation for our United Methodist heritage and identity. In my onboarding sessions with the Church Council last summer after I arrived here as senior pastor, I was asked whether I planned to stay UMC or not. I shared with them that I do intend to remain a United Methodist pastor. That is the church that raised me in the faith, that I believe has the best theology and methodology out there, and that I committed myself, first at my confirmation and then later my ordination, to serve with everything I have in me. It is by no means a perfect church, and we don’t always agree on everything, but it is my home, and this is my family, and this is where I plan to stay. Several nods around the room indicated to me that this was the sense of the Church Council as well.

So what do we do now? As I shared in my sermon a few weeks ago, we keep doing what this church has been doing, and doing so well, for over 65 years. We keep sharing the gospel and making disciples of Jesus Christ who make a difference in the world for him. We keep inviting and welcoming all people to the open table of God’s grace where they can find a home and take their place among the family of Christ. We keep doing what Jesus told us to do: “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15). As I like to say, the calling of Signal Crest is to signal Christ—to point people to Christ, to proclaim Christ, to show and to share his love and mercy and grace everywhere, to absolutely everyone.

Because do you know what else happened this past weekend? It may not have made the news, but a young couple who found their way to Signal Crest last summer was married in our sanctuary Saturday afternoon. They had their reception in the Crest Center (and you have never seen the Crest Center decked out like that!). They and their families have raved about how welcoming this congregation has been to them. And then on Sunday morning, six middle- schoolers professed their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and joined the church from this year’s Confirmation Class (and one more will do so this Sunday). That’s a pretty good weekend, if you ask me, and it gives me hope for the bright future of this church. So let’s keep up the good work, Signal Crest, and let’s stay focused on Jesus and trust that he will lead the way.