Holston members sign complaint against Chicago’s Bishop Sprague
By Annette Bender
Five Holston Conference members are among 28 people recently filing a complaint against a United Methodist bishop, calling for his removal based on comments he made about Christ's divinity last year.
The group, which includes the Rev. Buford Hankins and the Rev. Phyllis Hankins, cited comments made by Chicago Bishop Joseph C. Sprague in a January 2002 speech and in a recent book, "Affirmations of a Dissenter."
The complaint charges that Sprague "denies the physical resurrection of Christ's body" and "maintains that Jesus Christ is not the only way to salvation," according to a United Methodist News Service report.
Buford Hankins, pastor at First Elizabethton United Methodist Church in Johnson City District, said that he learned of a widespread effort to file a complaint against Sprague during an interdenominational "Confessing the Faith" conference in Indianapolis in October 2002. His wife, Phyllis Hankins, pastor at Austin Springs UMC in Johnson City District, also attended the event and agreed to sign the complaint.
Hankins told The Call that Sprague "is very public and outspoken on some areas that are completely contrary to the vows he took as a pastor to uphold the doctrines and teachings of our denomination.
"Based on his writings and what he said publicly," Hankins said, "he certainly does not believe in the classic Christian faith as outlined in the 'Book of Discipline.'"
Other signers of the complaint include Robert Moore, member at Trinity UMC, Big Stone Gap District, and Gerald and Cornele Kersey, members at Broad Street UMC, Cleveland District. Eleven annual conferences were represented among the signatures.
Hankins said he hoped that the complaint would prompt Sprague to resign.
For additional coverage, see the United Methodist News Service report, "Group files complaint against Bishop Sprague," on page 6.
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