By James V. Heidinger II,
President and Publisher
GOOD NEWS PERSPECTIVE – No. 22, April 30, 2008
Welcome to this special General Conference issue of Perspective sent from Fort Worth, Texas. We hope you find it helpful and informative. Please feel free to forward it to family, friends, or persons in your local church who might be interested in receiving General Conference updates. To subscribe, send your e-mail address to: perspective@goodnewsmag.org. E-mail addresses will not be sold or shared.
“I pray that from his glorious unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit.” (Ephesians 3:16)
Today, we are very grateful for the faithful prayers and petitions lifted up on our behalf and on behalf of the Body of Christ around the world. Thank you for pleading for our inner strength these past days in Ft. Worth.
Votes today on some important but sensitive issues took place, and we are thankful that these decisions were made without rancor. Current Discipline language stands upholding language on sexuality. Pray that God continues to call clergy and laity into ministry to all persons seeking a redeemed sexuality. Pray for those who wrestle to live sanctified sexual lives, and ask God to show you how to reach out in new ways.
Remember delegates these last few days of Conference. Important work remains to be done. Pray for energy to finish well, and for safe travels for those beginning to journey home.
The debate before us
For nine previous General Conferences (1972-2004), the issue of homosexuality has absorbed increased time and energy and caused deep division in the church. This will be the tenth. After numerous dialogues, at least two General Church study commissions, official study resources, dozens of convocations, piles of books, demonstrations and disruptions of the General Conference business, and extended impassioned debate, our denomination has consistently affirmed a holistic position that is pastoral and biblical, compassionate and redemptive.
United Methodism’s statement is a balanced and nuanced position that affirms the “sacred worth” of all persons even while acknowledging that as Christians we cannot affirm every expression of human sexuality. After all, there are certain sexual practices that contradict biblical standards and as faithful disciples we must be willing to declare them to be incompatible with Christian teachings. The United Methodist position does that with mercy and grace.
To a watching world and local churches at home, it is a statement of ethical stability in an age of murky morality. It is a statement of theological honesty in an age of religious ambiguity. It is a prophetic statement to a world that offers no boundaries to sexual expression. To young people, our statement may provide a necessary guardrail to protect them from sexual brokenness.
The biblically prophetic message has always been more interested in truth and transformation than in consensus and conformity to the world’s standard of morality. What the world often finds excusable and acceptable the church does not and cannot.
In the interest of reaffirming our stance on human sexuality, we must admit that we have not always shown love for those that struggle with same-sex attraction. In far too many of these highly-charged denominational gatherings, the temptation has been to view one another in the “us vs. them” mentality. Sometimes our words and actions weighed heavier on “incompatible with Christian teaching” than on “persons of sacred worth.” That was never our intent. Despite that, we are truly sorry.
This is not to paper over legitimate differences of opinion that we have regarding sexual ethics, the authority of Scripture, and the role of boundries in the UM Church. We probably will not change one another’s minds. Nevertheless, we are grieved that what has been lost in the debate over homosexuality since 1972 has been a lack of ministry to those who struggle with sexual brokenness.
Even though our denominational debates usually focus exclusively on homosexuality, United Methodism must begin to learn how to provide effective and compassionate ministry to all persons who struggle with their sexuality—whether it be heterosexual or homosexual. Many in our congregations have been victimized by sexual abuse or by an unfaithful spouse, or have engaged in promiscuity, battled addiction to pornography, suffered with sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS, struggled with their sexual identity, or wrestled with same-sex attractions. In the midst of our sexual brokenness, the Bible says, “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear!” (Isaiah 59:1)
The United Methodist Church was birthed as a Holy Spirit movement that believed in the power of God to transform the lives of all those who struggle with sin—homosexual or heterosexual. Through a biblical ministry of mercy and grace, we must be a church that welcomes the sexually broken and confused. We must be a church that stands with those who seek healing, wholeness, and holiness in their sexuality.
Words we reject and approve: As we debate this important issue once again, we urge delegates to think carefully about the word choices that we approve and reject. We understand the desire of those who would like our statement to declare that “Christians differ” on the issue of homosexuality. Nevertheless, we believe the wording is imprudent because United Methodists differ about most all of the issues addressed in our church’s Social Principles. Our statement in ¶161G of the Discipline forms the foundation for all our actions on homosexuality. If we weaken that statement, we undermine our clear standards on the ordination and appointment of practicing homosexuals as clergy, same-sex marriage, and using apportionment dollars to promote the acceptance of homosexuality.
We would also urge delegates to look carefully at other mainline denominations that have weakened or abandoned the biblical standard on human sexuality. Their “compromises” have not resulted in greater unity within their denomination. Instead, membership loss has accelerated, congregations have withdrawn, conflict has increased (including numerous lawsuits over property issues), and some denominations are in the process of splitting apart. This is not meant to be some kind of a scare tactic. The truth of the matter is that United Methodism remains the strongest and most vital of the mainline denominations. We would be wise to not follow others down the path toward weakness or even schism.
One last point should be made regarding sensitivity to the ministry context of our brothers and sisters outside the United States. For many of them, particularly in Africa, to weaken our stance on homosexuality would jeopardize the vitality of their churches and expose their members to ridicule and even violence.
We recommend that you vote to retain the current language of the Discipline on all paragraphs that deal with homosexuality.
The
burden of the cross
By Phoebe Palmer (1807-1870)
Christ’s yoke is easy and his burden light. The strength of Christ being imparted to the soul that trusts wholly in him, how can the burden be otherwise than easy, and even delightsome, when borne in almighty strength, and with the soul filled with the constraining love of Christ.
The soul that thus relies, has only to ask, “Could my Savior have endured under such a trial? such a cross? or under any circumstances, however varied, in which I may be placed?—then I may endure.” “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me;” not only who did strengthen, or can strengthen, but who strengtheneth just now, and continually, for every emergency as it occurs. It is only by a careful, constant, and entire reliance on Christ, that holiness can be retained.
It is an important consideration, that the entire way to Heaven is narrow. It is the way of the cross. We sometimes hear persons speak of going around the cross; but those who speak thus have not carefully acquainted themselves with the chart leading from earth to Heaven. He who would be a disciple begins to lift it, in the strength of Christ, the first step he takes in the Heavenward course. Before he entered upon the way, the Spirit presented the terms of discipleship, and never could he have become a follower of Christ unless he had resolved on entire compliance with the conditions of discipleship, which, in the Savior’s own words, stand recorded thus: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23).
Phoebe Palmer was a holiness evangelist and the author of books such as The Way of Holiness, Entire Devotion to God, and Faith and Its Effects.
The peace of the womb
I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child — a direct killing of the innocent child — murder by the mother herself. And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another? How do we persuade a woman not to have an abortion? As always, we must persuade her with love, and we remind ourselves that love means to be willing to give until it hurts. Jesus gave even his life to love us. So the mother who is thinking of abortion, should be helped to love — that is, to give until it hurts her plans, or her free time, to respect the life of her child. The father of that child, whoever he is, must also give until it hurts. By abortion, the mother does not learn to love, but kills even her own child to solve her problems. And by abortion, the father is told that he does not have to take any responsibility at all for the child he has brought into the world. That father is likely to put other women into the same trouble. So abortion just leads to more abortion. Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching the people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want. That is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion.
Many people are very, very concerned with the children of India, with the children of Africa, where quite a few die of hunger, and so on. Many people are also concerned about all the violence in this great country of the United States. These concerns are very good. But often these same people are not concerned with the millions who are being killed by the deliberate decision of their own mothers. And this is the greatest destroyer of peace today: abortion, which brings people to such blindness.
—Mother Teresa (1910-1997)
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