We realize that all of us are fundamentally sinners (members of the LGBTQ community no more so than me), in desperate need of the restoration uniquely available in Jesus. Methodists were historically known for recognizing that we also need a Christian community who loves us enough to challenge us when we sin.
We submit to Jesus as Lord. If He is truly Lord, then no area of our lives can be off-limits to Him. Jesus spoke strongly about the centrality of self-denial in following Him, which often means dramatic personal sacrifices, including not acting on powerful desires for things outside of God’s best for us. This is rather different from just seeking religious endorsement for how we have already decided to live our lives. But Jesus and new life in Him are more than worth it.
We are a biblical church. Our core doctrine calls the Bible “the true rule and guide for faith and practice.” Even liberal biblical scholars now agree that the Old and New Testaments are very clear in their moral disapproval of homosexual practice. I will never forget the courageous witness of a same-sex attracted friend I got to know while earning my master’s at Harvard Divinity School. After a relative asked him what more he could possibly expect the Bible to say to convince him of its position on homosexuality, he committed himself to celibacy and went on to faithfully serve in ministry. More fundamentally, Scripture paints a beautiful picture of marriage as a holy covenant of intensely intimate, self-giving community between man and woman, uniting the two most basic, equal categories of humanity.
Thanks, Kendall, for posting this fine, succinct piece by IRD’s staff member for Methodist matters. It’s calm, eminently reasonable, and well crafted. It appears to be designed not to persuade the opposition, but to reassure the supporters of biblical morality that the UMC nned not, and probably won’t, capitulate to the pro-gay tidal wave sweeping across our culture. That is, the UMC won’t IF it hangs together. But CAN it??
The Master warned us, “[i]A house divided against itself cannot stand.[/i]” Personally, I doubt that the UMC will survive in its current form. LIke TEC, the PCUSA, and the ELCA, it will probably split in the future, only this time it’s the “reappraisers” who are apt to be the ones departing. The global nature of the UMC may end up being what saves the denomination, just as it is what is now saving Anglicanism worldwide.
David Handy+