Life of Bishop Bennie D. Warner (’71) Honored in UM News
The following is an excerpt from the UM News article, “Bishop Warner remembered for humility in exile,” published on November 25, 2024 by Heather Hahn. Click here to read the full article.
“After years as a pastor, he decided he 
needed a seminary education to continue. In 1968, he and his young family moved to Massachusetts. He attended United Methodist-related Boston University School of Theology, where he graduated with a master’s degree in theology after majoring in Christian social ethics.
Back in Liberia, he continued his dual path as teacher and preacher. He was serving as religion instructor, counselor and chaplain at the College of West Africa in Monrovia, when what was then the Liberia Central Conference elected him as bishop in 1973. Warner became his nation’s 25th vice president in 1977.
Three years later, the coup left him without either office in his homeland and in need of political asylum, which the U.S. government granted. As the military took over, Warner recalled being told that if he came back, ‘There’s a machine gun with your name on it.’
With no episcopal assignment available in the U.S., Warner needed to begin United Methodist ministry again. In “Black Marks on White Paper,” Warner said that he heeded the advice of a friend who said upon his election as bishop and vice president: ‘Don’t wear your jacket too tightly because it will be difficult to take it off.’ With that guidance in mind, he said he wore his august positions loosely. ‘So when they came off, I had no problem,’ he said. After seeking God’s guidance, he began to see himself as a missionary to The United Methodist Church. Still, he continued to pray for the people of Liberia as coup eventually gave way to civil war.”