Evangelical pastors and lay people in the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference have formed a coalition in response to what they view as a rise in disobedience in their region of the church.
"Evangelicals are basically rallying at this point and saying that we are going to remain obedient to the historic ecumenical Gospel, and we’re saying no to this other agenda," said the Rev. Gary Starkey, pastor of Westpark United Methodist Church in Yakima, Wash., and a group member.
That "other agenda" refers to efforts in the Pacific Northwest Conference to change the denomination’s rules regarding the inclusion of homosexuals in the life of the church. The United Methodist Book of Discipline forbids the ordination and appointment of self-avowed practicing homosexuals in the denomination, as well as the performance of same-sex ceremonies by the church’s clergy and in its sanctuaries.
The coalition, formed Sept. 6, will be aligned with the Confessing Movement, an unofficial United Methodist organization espousing adherence to church law and the apostolic faith. The Indianapolis-based group is generally viewed as conservative. The Pacific Northwest Conference is generally regarded as liberal on social issues, such as the inclusion of homosexuals.
The evangelicals haven’t named their group yet but are using the term "Coalition of Evangelical Voices" to describe their activity in the conference, Starkey said. He described the group as "a surprising amalgam of people," with ethnic evangelicals as well as whites, and including women clergy and laypeople. Members represent churches urban and rural, big and small, he said.
He’d like to see the group expand to include people who might be considered more moderate by label than conservative evangelical, "but I would not characterize this coalition as being a bunch of moderates," he said. "I would consider it more as being those who feel urgency about the confession of the historic Christian faith within the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference."
The group believes the historic Christian faith is being undermined by developments in the conference, he said.
Those developments include the strong support in the conference for three openly gay clergy members and the formation of the Clergy Alliance to work for changing the denomination’s strictures against practicing homosexuals. The alliance’s formation was announced during the national meeting of the Reconciling Ministries Network last July in Tacoma, Wash. The Chicago-based network, viewed as liberal, is an unofficial United Methodist organization working for the full inclusion of gays, lesbians and other sexual minorities in church life.
Alliance members adopted a three-pronged strategy, consisting of working within the parameters of the Book of Discipline to support inclusion; committing to "radical obedience" to the Gospel through nonviolent confrontation and other means; and establishing a Professing Church, developing a parallel church structure and resources for fully inclusive ministry.
The Rev. Mike Graef, an evangelical leader, said he’s "used to a very liberal conference" in the Pacific Northwest. "What’s changed is the ecclesiastical disobedience that’s going on," he said. "That kind of ratchets it up a notch." Graef is pastor of Salmon Creek United Methodist Church in Vancouver, Wash., and a board member of the Confessing Movement.
The evangelicals became galvanized after the June 13-17 annual conference gathering, when three openly gay clergy members expressed their desire to lead congregations. Many conference members offered moral support, though the pastors didn’t receive appointments. Instead, the conference asked the denomination’s supreme court, the Judicial Council, for a declaratory decision on two passages in the Book of Discipline relevant to the issue. The first passage forbids the ordination of practicing homosexuals, and the second requires that all clergy members in good standing be given appointments. The conference holds the three pastors in good standing. The court will consider the matter when it meets Oct. 24-27 in Nashville, Tenn.
About 15 evangelicals expressed their concerns to Galvan during a July 9 meeting in Covington, Wash. The meeting seemed to go well, according to Graef and the Rev. Daniel Foster, another pastor who attended. "I thought Bishop Galvan was a very patient listener," Foster said.
Galvan also was positive. "It was an excellent meeting," he told United Methodist News Service. He said he discussed and clarified points regarding the conference’s actions. By meeting’s end, everyone had a better understanding, though there might not have been agreement, he said. "It was a very friendly and supportive meeting. I had a good time and enjoyed being with them."
A few weeks later, on July 31, the evangelicals issued a statement titled, "A Dissent and Call," urging the conference to adhere to the denomination’s official policies regarding homosexuality and specifically those banning the ordination of practicing gays and lesbians. Five pastors signed the statement: Foster, Graef, Starkey, David Parker and Colleen Sheahan. The document was sent to other Pacific Northwest evangelical pastors, the bishop’s office and the Seattle Times.
Graef was the primary author. "I would like to have us rally around the flag of the faith of the historic church," he told UMNS at the time. "That’s the call that I’m making."
The document concluded with such a call. "We are sure that God will use this crisis for good. We desire to build strong relationships across United Methodism with those with whom we disagree. Let us who labor in the Lord’s vineyard which is PNW United Methodism acknowledge ‘one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all,’ - and by so doing, work side by side and face to face with those with whom we agree and disagree."
In an interview, Galvan spoke positively of the document, saying it had a good affirmation of unity in Christ and that it expressed a readiness by the evangelicals to continue working with those with whom they disagree.
The evangelicals were disappointed that the "Dissent and Call" seemed to go unnoticed by the conference. In light of the Clergy Alliance’s formation, which occurred at the same time, the evangelicals decided their document was too weak and set it aside.
"We still feel it’s a valid expression," Starkey said, "but because of the defiance of the gay activists in our conference who are willing to continue disobedience, we feel this document is really inadequate for what has developed." Work is under way on a mission statement, he said.
Aligning with the Confessing Movement makes sense for the evangelical coalition because both share the same understanding of the historic Christian faith, a commitment to obeying the Book of Discipline and an understanding of the authority of Scripture, Starkey said.
About 41 evangelicals were registered during the Sept. 6 meeting, Starkey said. The group represented 29 congregations, and ethnic pastors were particularly outspoken, he said. The group named spokespeople but did not elect officers, believing that organizing in a more conventional way would distract it from the work that must be done, he said.
The important question for the conference to consider is: why have the evangelicals organized? Starkey said. "It is clear that evangelicals are organizing because there is a rise of determination to be obedient to the historic ecumenical Gospel and that if the conference persists in moving in a direction away from that, this resistance will grow and become hardened."
Starkey described the atmosphere in the conference as "more dangerously polarized" than ever. The evangelicals have been treated as pariahs, he said. "I think if evangelicals had been recognized, that is, if their voices had been effective, they very likely would not have organized."
Tim Tanton is news editor for United Methodist News Service.