Votes and the Future of the United Methodist Church
Like
many non-United Methodists, I have been watching the proceedings of the UMC
Special General Conference, which was called largely to deal with the question
of whether LGBTQ persons would be fully welcome within the denomination.
Several options were provided, but the “Traditional Plan,” which is designed to
put teeth into the existing ban on celebrations of same-sex marriages within
the church as well as the ordination of openly gay clergy was received by a
majority of the delegates. Thus, the One Church plan offered by UMC bishops was
rejected, though it was designed to provide space for all within the church. There was another, more progressive plan, that was also rejected. This decision may lead to schism within the largest mainline Protestant
denomination. My prayer is that schism will not be the end result, but as one
who is deeply committed to Christian unity and believe that division is horrid,
I also know that some marriages can’t be saved. This may be true in this case.
I have
not said much publicly about these proceedings, but I am very interested in the
outcome. For one thing, my son is a student at a UMC-related seminary.
Secondly, I have good friends who are UMC ministers. I know that they grieve, no
matter their position on the issue that stands at the center of the debate. In
addition, during one of the darkest moments in my ministry, after I was asked
to resign from my pastorate, my friend LLoyd Saatjian, a UMC minister now
deceased, reached out to me in support. Being a former District Superintendent,
he offered to find me a church if that was needed, even though I wasn’t
Methodist. Then, when my son was to receive his God and Country award for Boy
Scouts, since we were without a church home at the moment (my resignation)
Lloyd invited me to present Brett’s award at his church (the sponsoring
congregation of Brett’s troop). I will always remember that gracious act of
friendship.
I write
this reflection from the perspective of being the pastor of an Open and
Affirming congregation. I can tell you that this process was not easy. It was
not without losses. It was not without grief. While, I believe it was the right
thing for this congregation and am blessed to have been able to help shepherd
the process, I grieve the loss of friends who blessed this congregation in so
many ways. I am also the product of an evangelical seminary, which has not yet
moved to an affirming position. That seminary helped form me and I am proud to
be an alum. So, I know the evangelical community intimately. As such, I can say
that there are many within the evangelical community who may be moving toward
an affirming position but aren’t there yet. Many others have already become affirming
without becoming theological liberals. Many of us fully embraced women in
ministry long before we embraced full inclusion of LGBTQ folks. That’s me. That’s
my vantage point.
Returning
to the UMC General Conference and the vote to implement the Traditional Plan, I
have watched as many non-Methodists have reached out in support to our UMC
friends and spiritual siblings, especially those who are from the LGBTQ
community. We who live outside the UMC are watching and listening and praying. We are disappointed and saddened at the vote. Unfortunately,
some of those from outside the UMC, while I assume they are well-meaning, have
invited UMC folk to come over and join us in our “more welcoming” church communities.
While perhaps well-meaning, this isn’t helpful. In fact, as one Methodist
posted, this actually stings. It’s important to remember that our friends
within the United Methodist Church who find themselves on the “wrong side” of
the vote, and are concerned about their future within the denomination, are
still Methodists. They’re Wesleyans. They are part of this community of faith
for a reason. Methodists aren’t Reformed. They’re not Disciples. They’re not
Lutherans. They’re not Congregationalists. They are, however, deeply
connectional. They have a theology rooted in the traditions of John Wesley. They want to remain within that community.
They simply don’t know yet what that looks like.
Another
thing for those outside the UMC to consider, and this is really important, is
that the United Methodist Church—unlike the Disciples, the UCC, and the PCUSA—is
a global church. As a result, the UMC is a lot more diverse than our North
American based denominations. There is, unfortunately, among some progressives
a colonialist mindset that perceives the global church, which tends be more
socially conservative, to be theologically and culturally backward. I’ve seen
and heard progressives speak derisively of their siblings, because they are not
in the same place. While we need to stand with marginalized folks, let us not
marginalize folks ourselves. As I’ve thought about this, I’ve been wondering if
some of the resistance to the changes in the churches from outside North America
is rooted in a growing sense of independence. We have told these churches that
our money controls things. So, they may be turning tables on the paternalistic American
churches. I don’t know this for sure, but I wonder. As I think on this, I
wonder, for instance, how votes at the Disciples General Assembly would go, on
this and other issues, if our Brothers and Sisters from the Congo (a church
much larger than the American branch) got to vote. The two are autonomous, so
we’ll never know. But again, I wonder.
As my
friend Jose Morales reminded us in a sermon preached at the 2017 Disciples of
Christ General Assembly, while the Disciples have made Christian unity a
hallmark of our tradition, this unity we prize isn’t easy to achieve or
sustain. He told us “unity is hard work. It’s inconvenient. It’s hard because
unity as such isn’t always good.” That is, there are safe forms of unity, which
are often superficial in nature. Church is messy, so unity is difficult to sustain.
I don’t know the future. I do know that this should be a time of deep sadness for
the Christian community. We who stand outside the UMC will watch as our friends
grieve, and so we should grieve with them. We should offer our shoulders to cry
on. That’s because, the church, like most families, is messy and days like this
will occur. We need to be there for each other in times of distress.
I don’t know what the future holds
for the United Methodist Church. Divorce may be in the future. Divorces, of
course, take time. Interestingly, before the vote was taken, pensions were
protected! As we watch the future unfold, I hope and pray that good will come
of this moment. Perhaps there will be two churches. Perhaps the divorce won’t
take place. Whatever the outcome, there will be, I believe, a Methodist church
that welcomes LGBT persons. We just don’t know what that will look like. In the meantime, let us continue praying.
Comments
I was quite surprised by this outcome, however. And I think one of the comments of the attendees is right: lgbtqi people aren't going away...ever. And since they will be in such churches, the debate is never really dead.