Holding Traditionalists Accountable for Their Actions

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Sometimes you have to “tell the truth and shame the devil.” As we get closer to the Special Session of the 2019 General Conference, keep your eyes on the way that our conservative opponents begin to subvert the democratic process, which rests on the principle of each person voting their conscience and convictions.

These are the same folks who argue in every church discussion that liberals and moderates have broken a largely, mythical “covenant,” meaning church policies that discriminate against LGBT people and are held in place by “hook or by crook.”

Nonetheless, in the name of Jesus and in service of a determined grab for power, they have employed a host of dirty tricks that would make even the most corrupt politicians blush. These “dirty tricks” have included:

  • “Interpreters” telling delegates how to vote.
  • Threatening pastors who vote against conservative positions with retaliation.
  • Giving financial inducements to delegates from Central Conferences to ensure their cooperation.
  • Using hand signals on the floor of General Conference to instruct large blocs of delegates how to vote.
  • Interfering in the process of episcopal elections in African Central Conferences by heavily supporting their hand-picked candidates.

And, most infamously, there are the General Conference “pre-meetings” with African delegates and bishops in which delegates and bishops are pressured to support the conservative agenda — not only on matters related to human sexuality but also in regards to a variety of social justice issues, including reproductive health, climate change, the equality of women, etc.

Case in point, as this post goes live, the Wesleyan Covenant Association, with the able assistance of Dr. Jerry Kulah, is holding a meeting of the Africa UMC Initiative. Billed as part leadership training, part prayer meeting, and part future planning, this is a Wesleyan Covenant sponsored rather than an official UMC event.

And make no mistake that along sessions focused on “the financial viability of the African Church,” you can bet that a substantial part of the meeting will be dedicated eroding African support for the One Church Plan.

Long-time General Conference watchers will remember Dr. Kulah for his both incendiary speeches and public statements, indicting the U.S. Church for not being biblically faithful. Additionally, eight years ago, word on the street was that he personally wrote the “Africa Manifesto," which again castigated the US Church, and was misrepresented as speaking for the entirety of the African Church.

Now technically, neither holding pre-meetings in Africa nor attempting to persuade delegates to vote for conservative positions violate any rules. However, problems arise, when both delegates and bishops are placed in positions where they feel pressured to adopt the Wesleyan Covenant Association’s hard-line positions, AKA the Traditionalist Plan, which is intended to eject those who don’t conform to conservative positions out of the UMC and/or set the table for an inevitable and deeply inimical separation.

So, I repeat, in the lead-up to GC2019, keep your eyes and ears open, so that we can shine a light and hold our opponents accountable for their bad faith actions.

“Be wise as serpents, innocent as doves...”

“May the Lord watch between us...”

“None so blind as those will not see.”

Dr. Randall Miller, a longtime advocate for LGBTQ inclusion in The United Methodist Church, serves as Director of Global Religions at Arcus Foundation. This post is republished with permission from his Facebook page.