John and
Charles Wesley started a movement to reform the Church of England in the 18th
century that remains a significant institution in the world. There are over 75 million Methodists of all
persuasions, the largest being the United Methodist Church with a declining 8
million members in the United States and a fast growing 4 million members in
Africa and Asia.
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| John (left) and Charles Wesley |
The Wesleys
wanted to bring their gospel message of personal spirituality and social
responsibility out of the confines of England's rigid class systems. They preached in marketplaces, coal mines and
prisons. They offered Holy Communion to
non-church members, non-property owners and people of color. Women were accepted as small group leaders
and un-official preachers. Methodist
music and worship were scorned by the establishment as "enthusiastic,"
while their embrace of science and natural law, and their scholastic approach
to the Bible and church history made them "reasonable enthusiasts."
I grew up in
a United Methodist family and was introduced to Christianity in that
tradition. Feeling a strong call to professional
ministry as a teenager, it was only natural to pursue such a life-style in the
United Methodist institution. In 36
years of ordained ministry I have been privileged to participate and lead in a
denomination that stands for many values I continue to hold essential to the
Christian life-style, including:
-In the life, death and
resurrection of Jesus we see the incarnation of the One God of all people. All people.
-We don't take the Bible
literally and we don't take it lightly.
This sacred text is best understood within the context of history. Its interpretation and application is found
in the dynamic relationship of faith.
God did not stop speaking when the scriptures were canonized in the 4th
century. It is the "living word of
God."
-Our default is grace. Doctrine and dogma are secondary to
compassion. People are more important
than rules and regulations.
-With the conviction that God is
at work in our worship sacraments (Holy Communion and Baptism) we offer them to
all people, not just church members, not just the pious, not just the
"understanding." Such grace
cannot be regulated or restricted by human-created institutions.
-We celebrate, welcome and
nurture a diversity of worship expression, theological thought and
cultural/ethnic participation. We do not
insist on conformity.
-We are not in this life
alone. The power of spirituality
flourishes in community.
-We are a global church, with
interests and convictions beyond our own ethnic/nationalist concerns.
-We exist as an institution to
welcome and nurture disciples of Jesus, not as an end in itself, but for
nothing less than the transformation of the world. The promised future of God...a society of
love, peace and justice...is the spirit that frames our present. When we pray "...thy kingdom come, thy
will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" we mean it. We advocate for and serve in a myriad of
social efforts that will contribute to that day.
-The only religion that really
matters is the one you live. How we
treat each other is how we treat God.
I have given
my professional life to promote such ideals. The rewards for me and my family have been
enormous as a result.
Such
principles have motivated me to oppose my denomination's restrictions on the
full participation of self-avowed homosexual people in the life of the church
since first legislated in 1972. Publicly
affirming members of the LGBT community currently may not be ordained as our
clergy nor hold committed relationship celebrations in our church. They are labeled "of sacred worth" and
also "incompatible" as Christians in the confusion of our
official language. (Please note that as
long as LGBT clergy stay closeted they are welcomed and honored as our
leaders. There are many such folk doing
just that at a great price.)
Such blatant
prejudice violates many of the principles that I hold dear about being a
Methodist. The recent General Conference
(April 23-May 4, 2012 in Tampa, Florida), our quadrennial governing council,
even defeated a proposal "to agree to disagree" over the issues of
the full inclusion of the LGBT community in the life of the church. The majority would seem to be saying,
"We don't want to hear from the minority position on this matter, please
go away!"
So why do I
stay?
Being the
"loyal opposition" has been my justification in hopes of contributing
to that day of full inclusion, but that won't happen anytime soon, at least in
my lifetime. Oddly, I did not have great
expectations for any significant changes during the 2012 General Conference but
that a Methodist proposal quoting John Wesley "to agree to disagree in
love and grace for each other" was defeated, leaves me stunned. This pastor won't be so "loyal" in
opposition anymore.
I stay to
stand in solidarity with my colleagues, Bishops and laity who continue to
courageously advocate for the day of full inclusion.
But I have
no delusions about reforming this institution.
It will happen in its own time.
I stay
because thirty to forty years from now when full inclusion of the LGBT
community in the life of the UMC is a given, and we look back at this painful
time...as we now look back at the days when women weren't fully ordained or the
thought of electing an ethnic minority Bishop was an impossibility...I want my
grandchildren to know that at least I wasn't silent.
I stay
because I am privileged to serve the precious people in my congregation and
community and I will continue to do so as God gives me the grace and strength
to do so.