While the United Methodist Church continues to lose congregations over its liberal theological drift, the UMC in Great Britain has added one more barb to offend any remaining traditionalists: a call to use inclusive language and to “repent” of hurting others by using terms such as husband and wife, or gender-specific terms such as men, women, boys and girls.

Quoting Galatians 3:26 from the New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised—“For in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith”—the Inclusive Language Guide claims, “Using careful and positive language is key to effective ministry and mission.”

And all this should be done, the guide says, “in the Spirit of Christ.”

“These are Biblical terms—and marriage between a man and a woman is Biblical truth,” remarked Franklin Graham in a Facebook post. “The word ‘wife’ is used in some 360 verses in 38 books of the Bible. They are in essence trying to edit what the Word of God says and teach us to be more appealing to the changing whims of culture. We are warned against that in Scripture. As Christians, we aren’t called to avoid what might offend people—we are called to share the Truth of God’s Word that can guide and direct us through every step of life.”

The Methodist Church in Great Britain closes the new guide by stating: “There is no definitive guide to ‘inclusive language.’ Language, by its very nature, is constantly evolving. This guide is just a starting point, to get us talking, thinking, and sharing. If you’re reading this and feel that somebody or a group of people have been left out, get in touch to let us know and we’ll edit this guide to include them. We will update it every six months.”

Calvin Robinson, a conservative Anglican commentator and deacon, wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “This is not Christianity. It is Critical Theories: ‘smash heteronormativity.’ It is no longer enough to acknowledge disordered lifestyles. Everything normative and ordered must be demolished for fear of causing offence.”

Over the last several years, the UMC in the United States, where the denomination has the most churches, has seen more than 7,500 of its 30,000 congregations leave, according to the denomination’s news service, as the church has tried to move left on questions of gay ordination and homosexual marriage. Meanwhile, a newly formed conservative denomination, the Global Methodist Church, has welcomed many formerly UMC congregations. The Global Methodist Church now numbers more than 3,000 congregations in the U.S. and in nations such as Africa and other Global South countries, where Christianity is seeing its greatest growth.

Scripture mandates that our speech “always be with grace, seasoned with salt” (Colossians 4:6). Further, we are to be able to give answers to those who seek a reason for the hope we have as Christians, “with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15). But Scripture also demands that we speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15) and that we never cause weaker people to stumble by our words or actions, much as we would treat children in our care (Matthew 18:6).

Photo via X screenshot @MethodistGB