Bandits No More

One of the recent controversies in the UMC is over a Virginia pastor who has been removed from ministry for not allowing a homosexual man to become a member of the church. I’m not a member of the Virginia Annual Conference and am not familiar with the details of the case. I have not had the experience of not allowing someone to join the church but I can imagine how such an action might be thought out. Others, including Woody Woodrick of the Mississippi United Methodist Advocate, cannot.

Woodrick begins his piece:

Oh, how my heart hurts. One of my fears for The United Methodist Church appears to have come true. A pastor in the Virginia Conference has been suspended from his pastoral appointment because he would not accept into the membership of his church a man living in a homosexual relationship. Much to my dismay, conservative groups within the denomination have criticized Bishop Charlene Kammerer for her decision to suspend the pastor.
Members of the church quoted in news stories have supported the pastor. The defense for not accepting the man seems to center around his refusal to renounce his sexual orientation. So a group of Christians has turned him away. From the church!

I guess Woodrick knows more than he’s letting on. I was under the impression that the pastor had not turned the man away from the church, but from becoming a member of the church. I realize that contemporary practice in many UM churches takes membership to be a privilege, but on my reading of the Discipline, our liturgy, and even the Bible, membership might better be described as a responsibility.

He continues:

As the debate within the church over homosexuality has raged, my fear has been that someone would draw a line in the dirt and say, “We don’t want homosexuals in our church.” Until now that statement might have been in folks’ minds, but it wasn’t said publicly. Now it has.

Again “in membership” is taken to be the same as “in the church.” I know many UM pastors who support our Discipline’s assertion that “homosexuality is incompatible with Christian practice.” I don’t know any who because of that stand refuse to let homosexuals participate in the life of the church.

I am bewildered. How can a church that professes to love God and its neighbors reject anybody? Best as I can determine, no new member is required to state a sexual preference to join a United Methodist church, just profess that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior. Last time Ilooked, lots of folks who believe that with all their hearts were committing sin and not repentant.

I know I have a lot of sinners in my congregation. I even have a few that are unrepentant. I don’t know of any who declare that they are unrepentant. Again, I don’t know the details of the Virginia situation, but I can imagine that perhaps this person who wanted to join thought his practice of homosexuality was perfectly compatible with Christian practice and thus in no need of repentance. I suppose one might argue that something can be “incompatible with Christian practice” and not be a sin – after all, the Discipline doesn’t come right out and say that it’s a sin. If someone comes to join my congregation and says, “I confess Jesus as my lord and savior, but I intend to keep practicing adultery/gossip/malice/etc. ” I would have to think membership to be inappropriate and that they don’t understand what the means by confessing Jesus as lord.

How can a church minister to alcoholics, drug addicts or the imprisoned but reject homosexuals? How can a church justify accepting one group of sins as acceptable,
or at least redeemable, but not another? How can we turn our backs on someone who seeks fellowship with other Christians?
I was taught that the church is the exact place where sinners should be; the church was the one place where we are accepted. When the church turns away sinners,
they find solace where ever they can. Where does that leave them? Where does that leave us?

So does Woodrick agree with the Discipline that “homosexuality is incompatible with Christian practice”? He certainly seems to take the position that it’s sinful. I suppose Woodrick’s practice of taking in members contains something like, “Today we welcome X into church membership. He/She is a practicing drunkard/liar/usurer/homosexual and is currently unrepentant. We will therefore do all in our power to help him/her discover the destructiveness of this practice and lead him/her to repentance.”
My take on the main fault lines in the church are that they are different than what Woodrick identifies. On one side are those who think homosexual practice is sinful and to be repented of. On the other are those who think homosexual practice is perfectly acceptable, needing no repentance. Although, as I’ve said, I know many who take each position, I don’t know anyone (till now) who thinks the best way to pursue the first position is to treat the second as perfectly acceptable. I teach that one of the signs of a healthy church is to have obvious sinners in attendance. I also teach, however, that the transition to membership is a change that indicates repentance and faith. Perfection? By no means. That comes later. I also teach my people that we need to be in ministry with all people – whether thy’re easy or hard to work with, whether their sins are social acceptable (each community seems to have its pet sins that it rationalizes) or not. But I also tell people that we will love them and minister grace to them even if they never become members.
I suppose it’s possible this Virginia pastor had been teaching that membership in his church was necessary either for salvation or to be a recipient of ministry, leading the rejected man to think he could receive either no other way. In such a case I can understand why he was relieved from duty, though the issue should have been heresy, not mere insubordination.

Understand, I’m not condoning this man’s lifestyle. However, I know I’m not worthy of Christ’s saving grace. I’ve seen the evil in my soul. I wrestle with it every, single
day. I rationalize my behavior every, single day. I’m sure there are things in my life I don’t consider sin, but God does. I dread the day when the section in the Book
of Life devoted to me stands open. I am dropping my rock and silently slipping away.
Yet, despite how sorry I am, Christ accepts me. He longs for me, and He never rejects me. If Christ accepts my sorry soul, how can He not accept this man in
Virginia? How can I not accept him? If God can accept this man as he is, with all his imperfections and shortcomings, how can we not accept him? He’s good enough
for God, but not good enough for us?

If membership were coterminous with salvation or grace, I might side with Woodrick here, but I don’t imagine that people have to be members of the church to receive or experience grace or to be saved. Whether Christ “accepts” the man in Virginia, I don’t know. Since I’m not a universalist, I don’t believe everyone will be saved. Some people – even church members (even pastors!) – may persist in sin in such a way that it constitutes a rejection of Christ.
Why does Woodrick need to “drop his rock?” Why is he even carrying a rock? Or does he assume that the identification of sin as sin – and that in a particular life – is an evil to be repented of? Are all membership standards to be rejected? Are United Methodists no longer a disciplined people? (Or does being “disciplined” simply mean we have a large book full of instructions and rules for the way we do things?)

Not long ago, our Sunday school class discussed the
“worst” sin. Have we just committed it?

Which sin is that? Having standards for membership? Being disciplined? Identifying sin as sin? Thinking that church membership is necessary for receiving God’s grace and being saved? Though there are likely some out there, I don’t know any UM pastors who think homosexual practice is the worst sin. I have heard of some who think saying – and acting on the belief – that it is might be the worst sin.

I was honored to be invited to preach for the closing worship of the CTCYM (Central Texas Conference Youth in Mission) Senior High trip again this summer. Here is a downloadable version of the message:
Audio version

Enjoy!

Since I have been blogging, I have been trying in a variety of ways to get the word out. I tell people I think might be interested, and encourage them to tell others.

Something very interesting happened. When I told youth, almost all of the were very surprised I had a blog. In fact, their reactions were beyond surprise; they were shocked, as though there were something inappropriate about an adult guy, and a pastor, blogging. I had to know what their concern was.

This was news to me, but apparently for youth, blogging is basically online diary writing. As they explained this, I quickly began to understand their reaction to my being a blogger. Once I explained my bloggin to them they understood me, too.

Such misunderstandings pervade our society. We use common words and phrases and mean entirely different things by them.

One of the most problematic of these is the simple word “god.” I enjoy asking people, when they’ve made some generic reference to god, “which god do you mean?” Some have worried I am a polytheist. I have actually had people explain to me that if we all use the word “god,” and since there is only one god, we must all be referring to the same god.

I challenge Christians in such a case to describe our God in terms of what we know of God in scripture. Instead of just assuming “god” means the God of Abraham, Issaac, Moses, David, and Paul, Christians ought to clarify by the scriptures exactly who the god we claim is God is.

We don’t all mean the same thing with the same words. We need to start having the necessary conversations to clarify what others mean by words we use. They don’t know what we mean and we don’t know what they mean unless we do.

Should we really be surprised that Iraq is having difficulty dealing with constitutional matters? Word has it two of the biggest issues of contention are the rights of women and the role of Islam in the government.

I suppose there are some liberals left (mostly in that category popularly referred to as Conservatives, though they are political Liberals) who may have thought that freeing the Iraqi people from suppression would ipso facto create a yearning in them not just for freedom and democracy, but exactly the same kind of modern western democracy we have in the United States.

During my coursework in the J.M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies at Baylor, I occasioned to peruse the constitutions of many of the world’s democracies. I quickly noticed that most of those that followed the founding of the United Nations were nearly identical. Apparently some good natured liberal thought that what was important was that each nation has a constitution; not that it be drafted by and out of the lives, traditions, and philosophies of the people of that nation.

I have no doubt the Iraqis will come up with a constitution. Will it satisfy the U.S. more if it looks more like ours, or if it fits the people charged with developing it?

Scott Burns writes today about the high cost of raising a family. He only goes as high as two children, demonstrating how much people need to increase their earnings just to stay even (clue: it takes more than just staying up with inflation). From a financial point of view I seem to have gotten myself with a double whammy. Not only do I have three children, but I’m also in a profession where I don’t have much power to increase my income each year (though sometimes I’m able to keep up with inflation). But children are worth it, and we need more people who value children over financial comfort.

Here’s a link to today’s sermon, Learning from John Wesley: Salvation. It’s the first in a series on John Wesley.

What to think about the Israeli pull-out from Gaza? Is this a good thing for the Palestinians – or does it merely open the door for a war between the PLO and Hamas (and whoever else has a gun and strong opinions)? Is it a good thing for the Israelis (thinking the Palestinians will leave them alone and stop the constant bombings? I don’t see any sure-fire good news for either party in this. Good news is still a long way off and will require lots of work.

In the mean time, here’s a word from Brother Andrew (once upon a time known as God’s Smuggler) who just returned from Gaza:

Brother Andrew just returned from Gaza on Wednesday, August 17. Having talked first hand with our brethren, here’s how they ask us to pray:

• Pray for the Gaza Baptist Church, the only evangelical church in Gaza. It has received threats from Muslim fundamentalists and is currently being guarded by armed security.
• Please pray for protection for Pastor Hanna Massad and his family. Many Christians fear that there will soon be a civil war between Hamas and the PLO. This would leave our Christian brethren in the crossfire of bullets, literally.
• Please pray for the ministries that Open Doors supports, including the Gaza Baptist Church, the Bible bookstore in Gaza, as well as the only public library, where Christian literature is readily available.
• Pray for the ongoing outreach to Palestinians living in refugee camps, that by showing them God’s mercy we will gain an influence in their spiritual hearts.

We sometimes forget that we’re only one piece of the international economy. The rise in oil and gas prices affect not only us, but also the rest of the world. The growing economies in India and China have been adding huge demand to the world oil markets, helping drive prices up (in other words, the rise in prices is more than a “terrorism premium”). Have you been wondering how the quick uptick in prices (Here in Pittsburg prices are up over thirty cents a gallon in about a week) has been affecting those countries? I have, and now Gateway Pundit has some news from China. Be sure and read the comments as well.

One of the latest offerings in reality tv will be “Tommy Lee Goes to College,” on NBC. The show has Tommy Lee, famous mostly for his stint as Motley Crue’s drummer and once-spouse of Pamela Anderson Lee, attending classes at the Unniversity of Nebraska.

The brief report in the Waco Tribune-Herald, as well as in the lin kabove, explains that the 42 year old connected with his botany class. “I think I was a tree or something in a past life,” Lee said.

Do you suppose that, in botany classes at the University of Nebraska, they teach students to relate to or get in touch with nature on the basis of reincarnation?

We like learning in school because what we learn there tends to be abstracted from our actual life situations. Math is clearly objective – not need for emotion or conflict there. History – we might argue over interpretation of various events, but whatever it was was way back when.

Some models of Christian education take this same tack and major on learning facts – what we might call head knowledge. We can learn tons about theology and the bible and still hold it at a distance, away form our lives. Unfortunately – so we think – that wasn’t Jesus’ style and isn’t what we followers of Jesus most need. Jesus spoke to people in the moment of their need. He provoked them and challenged them on what they were in the process of doing. No dry theory for him.

Jesus’ method provoked pain in his hearers – enough pain in some that they had him nailed to a cross and killed. His objective was not merely to fill their heads with knowledge but to change their lives. Since my calling to preach and teach came from Jesus, that ought to be my goal also.

But some times people don’t like it. “Have you been spying on me?” “Did so and so tell you what I said?” “How did you know that?” “I felt like you were preaching right at me this morning.” I’ve heard all these before. When I hear those kind of comments I know I’m doing something right. After all, isn’t it people I’m supposed to be talking to? Surely it’s a waste of time to address myself to pews & walls? What’s the point in saying things people don’t need to hear?

So how do I know what people need to hear? Three things:

1. I pay attention to what’s going on around me. Some things aren’t that hard to figure out. Consider the loss of the feed store. Is any one shocked that I talk about comfort in times of loss – about our mission being larger than buildings? When the decisions about renovating the sanctuary were made a few years ago there was some conflict in the church. I wasn’t here during that time, but I’ve had wide enough experience in church to not be shocked. So if I talk about conflict now with the loss of the feed store am I exhibiting extraordinary knowledge? I think not.
2. I creatively move from that I see out there to what I know of myself. Being a sinner, I know a bit about how sinners think – and act. I know what temptations I face. Sometimes you may here a sermon or teaching, or read something I write (this piece?) and think I’m talking to you. If so, give thanks someone loves you enough to talk to you. But many times from my own perspective, I’m addressing my own temptations, fears, and problems. I just happen to be enough of an ordinary human being that other people share some of my problems and insecurities. Surely you wouldn’t want any other kind of preacher.
3. I pray a lot. Many times what I preach, teach or write on has no inspiration whatever in what I see. This is a good thing, since though I work at paying attention to what’s happening around me, I’m still oblivious to too much of it. God seems to figure that I don’t have any need to know who needs to hear a particular message – only that some do. I not only listen to God, I also ask God to let what I say and write speak to the needs of the people. Most of us don’t have needs for abstract knowledge and theories. We need a word spoken into our lives where we are right now.

So – if in my speaking and writing it seems that I’m speaking directly to you – give thanks for it. But chances are I don’t have a clue what’s happening unless you tell me.