OKERAFOR ATHANATIUS, JALINGO
The Bishop of the Global Methodist Church, Nigeria (GMCN) Episcopal area, His Lordship Most Rev. John Pena Auta has said that the acceptance of homosexuality and LGBTQ practice by the United Methodist Church (UMC) was the reason why some members of the Church defected to the Global Methodist Church Nigeria (GMCN).
The clergy said homosexuality practice was never scriptural. He spoke during an interactive session and dinner with members and stakeholders of GMCN at Campview Event Centre in Jalingo the Taraba State capital.
According to the man of God, GMCN members were full members of the United Methodist Church but it was when they noticed that UMC was deviating from the church’s theological code, that was when the defectors had a rethink.
“We began to notice that some people are embracing a foreign teaching, making several efforts to change our doctrines. That is the foundation of our disagreement”,
“Whosoever tries to convince you for any other reason, why you left the UMC, tell that person that you left the UMC because the UMC changed the doctrine of the Church, tell the person that UMC changed the doctrine from what we have inherited from John Wesley the founder of the United Methodist Church”,
“We represented some of you as Delegates at the General Conference in Charlotte Carolina, USA and at Charlotte, there was a debate and the debate was like a ploy to change the doctrine of the Church to what we don’t know. And because our theological understanding was getting changed, some of you who were Delegates to this Conference fought hard that UMC was supposed to be as John Wesley has said”,
“But some people by one way or the other, tried what they could to change the doctrine and they succeeded. Before that, we had several annual conferences but what broke the Camel’s back was the meeting at Charlotte. We knew that something was going to happen at Charlotte. What happened was that at the end of the meeting, homosexuality, LGBTQ was accepted in the United Methodist Church”
“Marriage was no longer between a man and a woman but between a man and a man. And some of us held back to the decision of our former Bishop John Wesley Yohanna who said, if the conference still make up their mind to change the doctrine, we have to go back home to take a decision and such decision gave rise to the Global Methodist Church”,
“Global Methodist Church will officiate a marriage between a man and a woman not a man and a man or woman and a woman”, said the man of God.
The floor was later left open for the interactive session proper.
Highlights of the event were short exhortation by Rev. Alexander Sabo. The gathering later queued for dinner before departure.