I received an email from Reconciling Ministries Network today. RMN advocates for the full inclusion of LGBTQ people in the life of the United Methodist Church. In the email were links to articles related to the Commission on a Way Forward. This is the body created during General Conference last May in hopes of avoiding a denominational split. They are given the task of coming up with recommending changes to the Book of Discipline that might prevent a split.
The reason for the email from RMN is the membership of the Commission has been announced. The bishops have selected 8 bishops, 11 laity, and 12 elders. The list of members is here and includes affiliations. An earlier report said there were only 8 laity, making many feel the Commission would be unbalanced. The bishops will not have a vote, so with 11 laity and 12 elders the numbers are about right.
The RMN email included a link to a message by Matt Barryman, Executive Director of RMN. He will be serving on the Commission. He has some complaints about what has happened so far.
* He is annoyed that he hears the term “human sexuality” when people talk about the work of the Commission. No, he says, the Commission is to wrestle with a denomination that discriminates against LGBTQ people. Using the term “human sexuality” distances the members (and all of us) from the primary issue.
* There are two known openly gay men on the Commission. Berryman is one of them. Perhaps there are more. But it sounds like the Commission will talk about LGBTQ people instead of with them.
Berryman notes these issues do not prevent a good outcome but lessen our confidence in the integrity of the process.
The RMN links included one to the blog Hacking Christianity written by Rev. Jeremy Smith, United Methodist clergy. That prompted me to take a look at some of the other articles Smith has written.
One of those posts describes the new Wesleyan Covenant Association. This is all I need to know about them: To join one must agree that LGBTQ people should not be fully included in the denomination. Some might say that WCA was formed in response to the recent General Conference, but it actually started before then.
In another post Smith highlights a basic flaw in any split. He says that 10 minutes after conservatives and progressives part ways a youth in a conservative church will come out as LGBTQ. That means on the conservative side the split has accomplished nothing and the cycle begins again.
In a third post Smith deals with this question: If the minority of progressives don’t like the denomination’s stance on LGBTQ people they should leave. But where would they go?
We know progressives are in the minority, otherwise the vote to abolish LGBTQ prohibitions would have gone our way.
To answer the question: Perhaps progressives could go to another Wesleyan denomination? There are 80 such denominations worldwide, 8 in America. But as conservative as it is, the United Methodist Church is the most progressive. None of them allow for LGBTQ inclusion.
Perhaps progressives could go to another type of denomination. That would mean there would be no progressive movement anywhere in the Wesleyan tradition.
Perhaps progressive could form their own Wesleyan denomination. Even with a progressive Wesleyan denomination as an example, the new conservative side would likely become more conservative, doing such things as stopping ordination of women.
The denomination as a whole, the Wesleyan tradition as a whole, perhaps even Christianity and the world as a whole would be better off if progressives remain in the struggle with conservatives, to stand firm, to advocate for something better from within, to agitate, pray, coexist, and persevere.
On to an important question: Do I agree with Smith? Mostly, but not completely. I understand and agree with his reasons.
But…
I’ve been thinking over the last few months that I’m now in a really good congregation. What goes on at General Conference doesn’t impact our local church all that much. The denomination can do, or fail to do, what it wants. When the time comes when the decisions at GC do have an impact on my church I will, like many others around me, decide whether to remain. I’ve heard others, including clergy, say that the time may come soon when we decide we simply can’t stay.
Until then we struggle, stand firm, advocate, agitate, pray, coexist, and persevere.
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