We
are continuing our discussion of the debate over human sexuality within the United
Methodist Church. (Please refer back to
the first article to be reminded of the ground rules for our discussion.) In previous articles, we have outlined the
history of the debate, which dates back to 1972, and we have seen that the
Commission on a Way Forward has offered to the Council of Bishops three models to
help them decide what recommendation they will make to a special General
Conference at the end of February 2019 in St. Louis.
The
three models, briefly, were: 1. Maintain the current position of the church and
increase accountability for those who violate Discipline. 2. Remove restrictive language regarding ordination and
marriage and allow individual annual conferences to make decisions about
ordination, and individual pastors and churches to make decisions about
marriage. This is also called the one church
model. A similar approach has been
suggested in the past and was known as the “local option.” 3. Divide the UMC
into two, or more, branches, each with the ability to set their own policies
regarding human sexuality.
Since
the last article, the Council of Bishops has met and has taken the first model
off of the table, leaving the other two as possibilities for being brought
forward to the special General Conference.
It should be remembered that the bishops have not yet finished their
work and that it is the General Conference delegates who are the ones who must
vote on this, and they may reject whatever plan the bishops bring forward.
This
time, I wanted to familiarize you with the various sides, or positions of this
debate and some of the groups within the church which represent them. The best description I have seen for the
various positions is offered by Tom Berlin who credits Tom Lambrecht. His blog about this can be found at http://revtomberlin.com/church-vitality/#sthash.kSsETug3.dpbs. He talks about
four groups. First, there are
progressive non-compatibilists who believe that LBGTQ+ persons should be fully
affirmed and included in the church. For
them, this is something that God’s love and justice calls them to work for and
they will accept nothing less. One of
the groups that represent this position is the Reconciling Ministries Network. (https://rmnetwork.org/) Second, there are progressive
compatibilists who believe in the inclusion of LBGTQ+ persons, but who
understand and respect the position of those who do not, and they are not
willing to spilt the church over this issue.
The third group are the traditional non-compatibilists, who are similar
to the progressive compatibilists, except that they are in favor of the
traditional view of sexual morals. These
two compatibilists groups have come to be known as centrists and some have
organized themselves into a group known as Uniting Methodists. (http://unitingmethodists.com/) This group has
come out in favor of the one church model mentioned above. Finally, the forth group are traditionalist
non-comparatist. These are people who
wish to uphold the traditional view of sexuality and resist any change in that
standard as being unfaithful to the Bible.
This group is represented by, among other organizations, the Wesleyan
Covenant Association. (https://wesleyancovenant.org/) In the interest of
full disclosure, I am a member of the Wesleyan Covenant Association and the
treasurer of the Iowa chapter.
This
article is already running a little long, but before I close, I want to invite you
to continue to interact with me and with this series of articles, in person and
online. Also, I would like to invite you
to participate in the following opportunities.
·
The book study of A Firm Foundation which deals with this
issue among others in the United Methodist Church. We will meet on Tuesdays at 1:00pm at Montour
beginning April 3rd and on Sundays at 6:00pm at Tama beginning April
8th. You can get a book from
me for $14.
·
Join Bishop Laurie when
she comes to our District for a presentation and discussion on the Way Forward
on April 22nd 2:30-5:00pm at First UMC in Cedar Falls. If you would like to go, let me know and we
can organize car pools.
In
closing, as I am sure many of you have heard by now, I have been appointed to Wesley
UMC in Muscatine and my family and I will be moving sometime in the last half
of June. I would expect that the pastor
who is coming here will be announced in the next few weeks. This move comes as a surprise to us and, while
we look forward to the new opportunity, we are very sad to leave and will
deeply miss all of you. I ask that you keep
my family and me, the new pastor, whoever that may be, and both these churches
and Wesley UMC in your prayers during this time of transition.
