Conservatives pitched the idea of a split as beneficial for gay advocates. They said it would "set people free in their convictions to pursue the ministry to which they have been called."

But liberals called it destructive. They have previously proposed allowing regional Methodist districts to set their own rules on ordaining gays, but insisted they wanted to keep the denomination unified.

"We can still be a family together," said the Rev. Troy Plummer, executive director of the Reconciling Ministries Network, which advocates for gay and lesbian Methodists.

Several bishops said the proposal was contrary to the spirit of the denomination, which they said had stayed together despite equally painful disagreements on race and other issues. They were skeptical that Hinson would win support for his plan.

"It's a statement that has not been affirmed by any group or caucus in the church," said Bishop William Oden of Dallas. "He's speaking only for himself. And there are generalities that I don't think any of us would feel comfortable supporting."

Methodist conservatives have been mulling a split for years.

The March church trial of the Rev. Karen Dammann, an openly lesbian pastor, likely compelled them to act now, said the Rev. James Wood, a sociologist who studies General Conferences.

A church jury of 13 pastors in Bothell, Wash., acquitted Dammann of violating Methodist law even though she acknowledged she had a female partner.

Wood compared the verdict to last year's U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down Texas' sodomy laws. He said both galvanized conservatives.

The top church court last week rejected a request from conservatives to intervene in Dammann's case, but it left her future in doubt by emphasizing that bishops cannot appoint sexually active gay clergy.

Hinson said Methodist evangelicals were inspired partly by conservatives in the Episcopal Church, who formed a breakaway network of congregations after that denomination consecrated its first openly gay bishop last year.

The leader of the Episcopal network, Bishop Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh, spoke about his movement in a meeting with Methodist evangelicals last week.