Leading United Methodist ministers from 42 churches in 18 states gathered in Houston in December to draft a strongly worded statement cautioning the church against a move away from traditional doctrine.
The 48 pastors from some of the denomination's largest churches were called together on short notice and at their own expense by seven leading ministers including William H. Hinson, pastor of Houston's First United Methodist Church, who served as chairman of the group. With 13,000 members, First Church Houston is the largest United Methodist congregation in the world.
On December 15, the organizing pastors released "The Houston Declaration" to the media, a document carefully prepared by those present which affirmed their strong support of three key United Methodist positions:
In addition to Hinson, the other pastors who signed the letter of invitation for the gathering include: James Buskirk, pastor of the 5,000-plus member First UMC in Tulsa; Maxie Dunnam, pastor of the large Christ UMC in Memphis; Ira Galloway, pastor of First UMC in Peoria, the largest church in the North Central Jurisdiction; J. Ellsworth Kalas, pastor of the large Church of the Savior in Cleveland; John Ed Mathison, pastor of Frazier Memorial UMC in Montgomery, Alabama, one of the fastest-growing churches in the denomination; and Gerald Trigg, pastor of First UMC in Colorado Springs, the second largest church in the Western Jurisdiction. Hinson said about the unprecedented meeting. "We've gathered as pastors and as those who live among our people. We are not a part of any group or caucus such as Good News. We are mainly who have come together out of concern for what's happening in our church."
Gap Between Leadership and Laity
A common theme heard during the two-day meeting was the increasing gap between those who serve as leaders in the church and the masses of United Methodist laity.
"We listen to these boards and agencies, and their ideas on theological and Biblical understanding are far removed from where United Methodists are," said Hinson.
As examples, Hinson noted that the church's national Board of Church and Society, its Board of Higher Education and Ministry and its General Commission on the Status and Role of Women are proposing that United Methodists eliminate their present prohibition against ordaining homosexuals.
"What we have here are boards and commissions which are supposed to serve the church. Instead, they're actually promoting positions contrary to the doctrines and the Discipline," Hinson said.
In the section dealing with The Ordained Ministry, the Declaration affirms: "The Church, on the authority of the Scriptures, has never viewed homosexuality as a part of God's diverse, good creation, but always considered homosexual practices as a sin and a manifestation of the brokenness of God's fallen creation…. It is not acceptable in the context of the Christian faith that persons engaging in homosexual practices should be ordained to the ministry or continue in representative positions within the Church, so long as they have not turned from such practices."
Pastors and Laity To Receive Statement
The seven pastors who called the meeting spoke about the crisis of faith and morale across the United Methodist Church. At the news conference they noted the sense of destiny the participants felt about the meeting. They also reported their plans to send "The Houston Declaration" to every United Methodist pastor and lay leader in the country.
"When I was world editor of the Upper Room and traveled across the church, I saw there was a crisis of faith, low morale and disenchantment with ministry," stated Maxie Dunnam. "This is related to our lack of clarity about our faith. The Declaration is the kind of statement that folks can say, 'That's it. That's what I believe!' "
The group decided to give pastors and laity the chance to say, That's what I believe." In the mailing of the statement, an enclosed response card will give persons in both groups a chance to join in affirming the Declaration. The pastors pledged over $25,000 at the meeting to help underwrite the distribution of the document.
The statement will also be sent to the boards and commissions which have asked for changes in church law, calling on them to retract those requests "which don't represent Biblical positions."
The pastors addressed much more than United Methodism's heated homosexual controversy. In the introduction to the Declaration, the pastors attest, "We came to reaffirm and promote the central certainties of our faith." They were doing so "in the face of actions by some Boards and agencies and some caucus groups that tend to undermine these certainties…."
Among those central certainties were (1) the primacy of Scripture; and (2) the nature and name of the one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The latter issue deals with the controversial God-language matter in which some United Methodists would delete masculine references to God (i.e. "Father"), substituting instead asexual words such as "Creator."
The Declaration says, "We deplore the effort in baptism, ordination, and the total liturgy of the Church to resymbolize the faith by abandoning the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit or adopting inadequate substitutes…. Formulas such as "Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer" or "Creator, Christ, Spirit" are inadequate substitutes. As to the first: God's richly personal being cannot be defined merely in functional terms. As to the second: Christ and the Spirit are not mere creatures."
Theologian Prepares Working Papers
At the opening plenary session, the pastors received working papers on the three topics of concern prepared by Dr. Geoffrey Wainwright, professor of systematic theology at the Duke University Divinity School.
When asked why he chose to be a part of the meeting, Wainwright said, "Because I believe the historic Christian faith is at stake in these issues. Throughout my career I've devoted a lot of time to the unity of the church (Wainwright currently chairs the World Methodist Council dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church). I do not want to see any part of the Methodist family go off into sectarian positions that abandon the great truths of the Christian faith. I'm confident the great majority of United Methodists will welcome the opportunity of associating themselves with this clear statement of the age-old faith."
Pastors Believe Church Will Respond Positively
What will result from this gathering? Dr. Ira Galloway of Peoria, Illinois, one of the organizing pastors, believes the meeting will cause other United Methodist clergy and laity to stand up and be counted. "The pastors I've talked with here have a sense of destiny about being here. Laity are looking for this kind of voice. We are sounding a clear note for people to rally around and take hope in," Galloway said:
Another convening pastor agreed. John Ed Mathison from Frazier Memorial UMC, said, "We feel we speak for the vast majority of United Methodist clergy and laity. And this statement is also in harmony with what is in our Book of Discipline."
Rev. Barbara Brokhoff, United Methodist evangelist from Clearwater, Florida, said about the gathering: "I would hope the total church sees and grasps these matters we've discussed as essential to our Wesleyan Heritage. I preach all across the country. I feel our statement represents a majority of the clergy leadership and an overwhelming majority of our laity."
All 48 clergy present signed the Declaration. The concluding paragraph says, "We covenant together to proclaim these central truths of the Christian faith and to invest our lives and ministry in the continuing renewal of our beloved Church. We invite all. laity and clergy of the United Methodist Church, to join with us as persons who have been called to follow Christ and give our lives to advancing the Gospel and the historic Christian faith. The need is urgent—the time is now!"
By James V. Heidinger II in Houston
This article was published in Good News (January/February 1988).