A Tale of Two Lanyards
Stark Differences Between Southern Baptist and United Methodist Gatherings in Dallas This Week
On my daily commute to Oak Cliff, I shoot straight through the heart of downtown Dallas. And as I drive to the church I pastor, Kessler Park United Methodist, I often encounter lanyard-wearing convention goers.
Yesterday, I saw a group of young, lanyard-wearing men who were clearly headed to the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), meeting at our convention center.
But it may have escaped your attention that this week I too was a lanyard-wearing religious conference attendee. Our church joined more than a thousand other lanyard-wearing United Methodists (UMC) at a similar gathering: Annual Conference for the Horizon Texas Conference of the UMC.
They didn’t both make your local news, but this week Dallas hosted not one, but two, religious conferences.
The National Southern Baptist Convention.
The regional Horizon Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church.
You probably heard about the former. But as national Southern Baptists took over downtown spaces, we United Methodists also descended on SMU. From all across North Texas, the Panhandle, and I-35 corridor, representatives from hundreds of United Methodist churches, representing thousands of members, gathered for our own yearly meeting.
Two groups of lanyard-wearing, convention-going Christians, coming together to organize their polity, doctrine, and proclaim what they believe.
The confluence of these two “conventions” allows me to make a point I have repeatedly written on, for more than thirty years now:
Theology Matters.
And whether you know it or not, denominational theologies are quite different.
If you’re an outsider to Christianity, those differences might not be readily apparent. Maybe you think all Christians think alike.
We do not.
And those differences, they do end up mattering. A lot. Practice follows theology, and those differences lead different denominations to quite different places, in terms of their ministry, practice, and mission.
When most Americans seek out a church home, they often breeze right past the theology of their local church. Perhaps they briefly scroll the “What We Believe” page on a church website.
But Americans don’t seem to put “theology” at the forefront of why they choose their local church; choosing a church-home based on worship style, offerings for families, convenience, parking, family social pressure…or any number of other reasons that have nothing to do with what a church believes.
But the truth remains: Underneath all the complicated reasons person might join/visit a church, there is always theology, social teaching…doctrine. Sometimes that doctrine stays intentionally hidden, until well after a family has joined the church. There can be a kind of “gotcha” hammer-moment, where people feel suddenly duped or manipulated, as the true doctrine is revealed.
All this is exactly why I am writing you today.
The confluence of these two lanyard-wearing groups allow us all to see the stark difference between the denominations.
Again, especially for you outside Christianity, looking in, I truly hope you can come to see these differences in stark relief. Because while churches or denomination might look fairly similar on the surface, don’t be fooled by this.
One thing both conferences did was pass “resolutions” on a variety of social issues of the day. 1
Let me draw some stark differences in these two denominations and their aspirational beliefs by citing passages from each denominations’ work.
What Resolutions/Statments Did Each Gathering Make?
You can “do your own research.” Copies of resolutions passed by the HTC can be found here on the HTC website.
The SBC resolutions are supposed to be online, but the link is now dead. So, I’m sorry, I don’t know how to point you to their written texts, and I don’t know why they’re no longer public.
But here’s a head-to-head comparison of what laynard-wearing Christians did in Dallas this week….
Women Pastors
The SBC
For the second year in a row, the SBC took up a constitutional amendment that would BAN women pastors from service in SBC churches. That resolution did get a majority of votes: 61% of SBC delegates voted to ban women clergy.
But, in order to become “constitutional,” it need an only slightly higher number of two-thirds.
That “weather balloon” tells you that a clear and convincing majority of SBC delegates are willing, and want to, ban women clergy.
The HTC of the UMC
We United Methodists find this tragic and confusing.
The UMC has ordained women for more than 50 years, so we were not debating them in resolutions.
At our conference, dozens of women clergy took leadership roles, preached, taught, and even gathered for large dinner together. There are tons of them. We heard a powerful sermon from Louisiana Bishop, Delores Williamston.
While we United Methodists do struggle for parity and equity in the kinds of churches women serve, and their pay, we have not —for many decades now— “debated” their call or worthiness to be pastors.
My clergy sister, Rev. Ashley Ann Sipe, wrote a beautiful essay about this last week. It’s a love letter to her former SBC denomination. Among other things, she said:
“I am now a Senior Pastor in the United Methodist Church, leading a growing congregation in Texas. I don’t seek authority—I seek depth.
I’m not here to control—I’m here to serve.
I wash my people’s feet on Maundy Thursday.
I preach Jesus with everything I’ve got.
I meet people at the margins and invite them into belonging.
This calling has never been about power.
It’s always been about presence.”
If you want to see the differences between SBC and UMC leadership on women clergy, read the whole thing here.
Same Sex Marriage
The SBC
They passed their own kind of “Big, Beautiful Resolution”2 on multiple social issues, and same sex marriage was included in this “ominbus” document. The SBC committed to work for:
“the overturning of laws and court rulings, including Obergefell v. Hodges, that defy God’s design for marriage and family.”
They named this as their next great “social justice” fight, calling back to the repeal of Rowe v Wade as the last “successful” one.
These chose to do this, of course, during Pride Month, weeks from the ten-year anniversary of Obergefell, and in the same week as the annual Dallas Pride Parade.
The HTC of the UMC
The United Methodist Church recently ended a 50-year Civil War over LGBTQ issues, when 25% of our more conservative churches left us to form a new denomination. We have a painful history related to human sexuality, same sex marriage, and queer clergy; and this has been one of the deep justice-struggles of my own life, and the lives the local churches I have served.
That said, our polity is clear. And we did not pass resolutions on same sex marriage, because in this moment we consider the issue to be settled.
United Methodist pastors and churches may perform same sex weddings.
And many do.
I have now done five over the past eight years. Pastor Kay Ash and I (the two ordained pastors at KPUMC) have both performed same sex weddings there in recent years, without controversy…and with the great celebration and joy of our members. 3
The HTC also ordained LGBTQ clergy, and commissioned them for ministry…again, without special comment and debate….signaling our denominational intent to honor their call in ministry with local UMC churches.
Transgender Persons
SBC
I am sorry for any harmful language that follows…
In that same ominbus resolution, the Southern Baptists called transgender people “a rebellion against God’s design for male and female, inflicts unjust harm on children and women, employs coercive language control, and undermines fairness, safety, and truth.”
The HTC of the UMC
We local United Methodists passed a resolution titled: “Resolution on the Dignity and Safety of Trans Persons.”
We HTC United Methodists resolved that:
“…we oppose the stigmatization or criminalization of individuals based on their gender identity or sexual orientation…
our churches in the Horizon Texas Conference will be places of sanctuary for trans, nonbinary, and gender expansive children, youth, and their families where they may find physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual safety and support; know respect, affirmation and dignity; and experience the abiding love of God; and
we do not consider gender-affirming care child abuse and will not report it as such because of our convictions of faith, and, in not reporting, we do not violate current mandatory reporting laws in Texas…”
That resolution was pass overwhelmingly.
There were no recorded no votes. 4
Gaza
SBC
The SBC was strangely silent on the conflict in Israel and Gaza. You might imagine the strong evangelical support for Israel would lead them to speak on this issue.5
But, no.
The HTC of the UMC
In a resolution offered by Rev. Dr. Becky David Hensley, local United Methodists said this in our resolution:
“(we) unequivocally deplore the October 7, 2023 attacks carried out by Hamas, including the killing and kidnapping of over 1,300 Israeli civilians, which we recognize as acts of terror and violations of international law; and, we also recognize that the scale and scope of the Israeli military response has been grossly disproportionate, resulting in the death of toll currently stands at over 50,000 Palestinian civilians, nearly a third of which are children under the age of 18; and,
….the Horizon Texas Annual Conference joins the 140+ Global Christian Leaders and global organizations in naming these atrocities as a genocide against the Palestinian people; and
Resolved, That the Horizon Texas Annual Conference affirms the first amendment rights of students and others who are protesting genocide in Palestine and also condemns extrajudicial detention and deportation of individuals on the basis of their speech on this matter.”
In terms of debate and vote, this resolution was the most controversial, to be sure. It was among the only resolution to receive speeches against. And my own “SWAG” of the final vote is something like 80% in favor, and 20% against.
Immigration
The SBC
As with Gaza, the Southern Baptist Convention was shockingly silent on immigration, in a time when this issue rips through our daily headlines, and roils every local community in the United States.
The HTC of the UMC
The HTC passed a resolution asking that:
“every congregation in the Horizon Texas Conference be encouraged to live out the call we have received from the United Methodist Council of Bishops to
1. “Affirm the dignity, worth and rights of migrants, immigrants and refugees.
2. Recognize that displaced people are particularly vulnerable as their in-between status often provides them with few protections and benefits, leaving them open to exploitation, violence and abuse.
3. Urge one another to welcome migrants, refugees, and immigrants into our congregations, providing concrete support to them including help with navigating restrictive and often lengthy immigration policies, and assistance with securing food, housing, education, employment and other kinds of support.
4. Oppose all laws and policies that attempt to criminalize, dehumanize or punish displaced individuals and families based on their status as migrants, immigrants or refugees.
5. Decry attempts to detain displaced people and hold them in inhumane and unsanitary conditions.
6. Challenge policies that call for the separation of families, especially parents and minor children.
7. Oppose the existence of for-profit detention centers that are used for the purpose of detaining migrants, immigrants, and refugees including minor children.”
This resolution also passed with no “no” votes, although there might have been 10-15% who would have “abstained.”
This resolution was offered by my clergy sister, Rev. Amy Spaur, who serves a United Methodist Church made up predominantly of South and Central American immigrants. As you might imagine, there is much fear among the people she serves.
Here is a recent statement Rev. Spaur made during our weekly clergy vigils at ICE Headquarters in Dallas:
Dallas Clergy: A Message to Immigrants
Our weekly clergy vigils at ICE Headquarters in Dallas continued this morning.
Almost every week, United Methodist have been a key part of these weekly vigils in front of the Dallas ICE offices.
Many United Methodist Churches also attended the thousands-strong “Dallas MegaMarch” in support of immigrants and immigration reform. Our own Bishop Ruben Saenz offered prayer at this gathering.
I simply offer these as recent evidence of United Methodists living out the intent of this resolution.
As you can see, the differences are stark.
The theology is different. No, not every local United Methodists believes or affirms every word of these resolutions. They are, as I say in the footnote below, “aspirational.” And, yes, we work to respect theological differences with those who disagree with these. We make space for disagreement, and this has always been fundamental to our lives as United Methodist.
But my hope in this essay is to starkly draw the point I have been repeating, ad nauseam, for more than 30 years:
Different Christian Churches really do have different theology, and that theology really does matter.
My own strong sense is the theology of the Southern Baptist Church clearly undergirds and gives theological “cover” to the growing Christian Nationalism of our nation.
United Methodist theology challenges our people to “protect the vulnerable,” as Bishop Saenz named at the conclusion of our gathering.
And so, as I’ve done many times, I’ll close with two reminders:
Becauase theology matters, and because different denominations really do have different social teachings…
If you find yourself in agreement with the United Methodist aspirations in this essay: Visit us. We need you, and you probably need us, whether you know it or not.
There are no hidden tricks, or “gotchas” here. These are examples of the things our United Methodist Church aspires to. And we we say in our membership vows, we attempt to live them out “with God’s help.”
Yes, our denomination is smaller.
Yes, on average, our churches will not be as “flashy” as many megachurches or evangelical ones. But we are here.
We have always been here.
And many of us are fighting the good fight in our local communities.
But know this, lest you have any remaining doubt…
We may all wear the same lanyards at conferences; but our hands and feet do very different things in our daily call to faith in Christ.
As I understand it, the SBC passes these resolutions, even though Baptists have a strong historical belief in “local control.” Our Horizon Texas Conference resolutions are “aspirational.” This means that the HTC is not the ultimate authority for the UMC. That would be a “General Conference” that meets, every four years.
All of that said, I love local resolutions, because they help us see where the sense of the local UMC churches are. They are like weather balloons….the closest thing we have to “polling” on what Methodists believe in the moment in a particular area.
Turn on your sarcasm detectors.
So, this is a “two for one” point I’m making: The celebration of same sex weddings, and also the authority of women pastors. :)
From my vantage point, there might have been abstentions, had those been recognized, but the vote would have been between 80-90% affirmative, even with this.
The evangelical support for Israel, as I like to gently remind my Jewish friends, is not because they love Jewish people, but because their literal theology demands that a literal state of Israel exist in the real world…so that Jesus can return.
Somehow, in their literal theological and Biblical world, God is not powerful enough to “come back” without humans insuring a literal “Israel” exists.
This is not to denigrate the State of Israel. But it is to denigrate the foolish literal Christian theology that undergirds most evangelical support of “The State of Israel.”
I, and most United Methodist, do not believe such things. We do support Jewish people, and we do see them as siblings in our Abrahamic faiths. And we both support Israel and also a two state solution.
But we also trust that, should God ever decide to on a “second coming” date, God can would be powerful enough to save the world any damn way God wants to….with or without our help in fulfilling some weirdly literal interpretation of scripture.
This post reaffirms my belief in and support of my local UMC. It also saddens me that the SBC has become so completely divested of the teachings of and the examples set by Christ. But it’s been a while since I’ve attended a SBC service… do they even teach about Jesus? Is he even mentioned anymore? I’m dead serious. Thank you Pastor Folkerth for all you do, not just what you say.
The DMN coverage of the SBC’s convention was hard to take. I didn’t read too much beyond the headlines, but is it really headline news that the SBC wants gay marriage reversed? What would be more interesting reporting is an investigative piece into how the various GOP leaning groups are working to get SBC (and other) churches to advocate for their views.