United Methodist - At Least Politically, An Oxymoron
This is from a sermon preached by Dr. John Frederick Fiedler at the First United Methodist Church in Dallas on September 15, 2002. The title was "Can We Agree to Disagree?", and the text was Romans 14:1-12:

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Let me tell you a little secret. Politicians don't work very hard to cultivate the United Methodist vote. Do you want to know why? Because they know that Methodists can't line up a vote. Methodists will go in great numbers to the polling place and they'll cancel out each other's votes. It's true!! We're that diverse. We've got good Democrat United Methodists. Good Republican United Methodists. Good Independent United Methodists. You have Hilary Clinton…United Methodist. You have George W. Bush…United Methodist. It's true; we are a diverse people. So you don't go around asking, "What is the United Methodist viewpoint on invading Iraq?" You just can't line up a vote. We are a very diverse people. That's who we are. We celebrate that diversity. We see strength in the gifts and the diversity of our gifts and our opinions. But let's be honest…it also creates challenges at times.

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