Dear Central Family,

As some of you may have heard by now, last night our Church Council voted 18-6 to move us into a 90-day formal period of discernment regarding disaffiliation from the United Methodist Church.  I have recorded a brief video that outlines the process and shares my heart, which I encourage you to watch here.
 

There are lots of things I’m not certain about over the coming months, but there are a few things I am certain of: 
 

1. We are Divided. This church has some people who definitely want to remain in the denomination, no matter what. We also have some people who definitely want to become untethered from the denomination, no matter what. And we have many, many people who are on the fence, undecided, not yet informed enough to make a decision or have an opinion. This 90-day period of discernment will be extremely helpful for that large group of people in our congregation, to bring everyone up to speed and make sure everyone has all the information they need.
 

2. We are United. It’s going to be extremely important to remember as we go through this process that the Central member sitting next to you or in front of you or behind you in worship loves Jesus, just as you love Jesus. We are all somewhere on our journey of faith, and we all proclaim Jesus as our Lord, God as our Father, and the Holy Spirit as our Advocate. We all say the creeds with confidence and pray our prayers with boldness. Paul reminds the Galatians that we are all one in Christ Jesus, and we cannot forget that here. The fact that we are in disagreement regarding our denominational affiliation should in no way lead us to speak ill of one another or act un-Christlike to one another. Yes, in some areas we have very different views of the Bible and its interpretation, certain areas of theology and doctrine, views surrounding sexuality and marriage, and the current state of affairs within the denomination, but none of this should give license to do anything but exhibit the fruit of the Spirit: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. 
 

3. We are His. Ultimately, we are God’s children, and this is God’s church, and God is in control and on the throne. I love that moment in Scripture after Peter declares that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God, Jesus tells him, “On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell will not overcome it” (Matthew 16:18). Let’s be sure not to get out in front of God through this process; let’s be steeped in Scripture and bathed in prayer as we listen for his leading every step of the way. I will be spending time during the lunch hour every Wednesday in personal prayer and fasting for our church, and I invite you to consider doing the same. How powerful will it be to know that every Wednesday hundreds of our Central family are going to the Lord in prayer!  As David tells us in 2 Samuel 22:47, “May God, the Rock of my salvation, be exalted!”
 

I hope to see you Sunday as we finish up our Wholly Holy series on Paul’s first letter to the church at Thessalonica – our text is 1 Thess. 5:23-28 if you want to read ahead. Take care, and God bless!
   

In Christ,

Carness Vaughan
Senior Pastor