Mike DuBose Mike DuBose, UMNS
Asbury Wesley Statue
This statue of John Wesley graces the campus of Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Ky.
A letter from some 70 alumni and current students of Asbury Theological Seminary condemning the Traditional Plan is making social media rounds this week in what’s noted as a “final form.” A bit of history might be in order to understand the significance of the letter.
Asbury occupies an unusual place in the life of The United Methodist Church. The Wilmore, Ky.-based college and seminary fashioned itself as an evangelical multidenominational school in the late 20th century. Although not one of the 13 officially related United Methodist seminaries, Asbury has been approved to educate United Methodist clergy. In the four-decade battle over LGBTQ acceptance, Asbury became the heart of the UMC’s evangelical political movement. At one point it was estimated that Asbury had trained as many as half of the estimated 40,000 U.S. United Methodist clergy, as well as a providing training for a hefty contingent of pastors from Central Conferences, especially Africa. In some instances, entire annual conferences reportedly discouraged their clergy candidates from attending any seminary but Asbury.
However, the recent hard-right turn of both Asbury and its evangelical forces, shown in the fervent campaigning for the Traditional Plan by current and former Asbury faculty and administrators, especially it president emeritus, Rev. Maxie Dunnam, has robbed the seminary of some of its previous glory. As a result, disaffected alumni and current students drafted the undated resistance letter that circulated again July 10 on Facebook and email. A similar letter originally circulated at the time the Traditional Plan was being promoted in advance of the 2019 special called General Conference. Now that the Traditional Plan has been adopted, it seems that this ad hoc group of like-minded Asbury folks has revised its message.
The text of the Asbury letter follows:
“We as signers of this letter are either alumni or current students of Asbury Theological Seminary. We are tremendously grateful for our time at Asbury Seminary; for the passion for truth and the mission of the church that was shared by many faculty and students alike. Though we each arrived at Asbury with a love for Jesus we recognize that our love for Jesus was nurtured through our studies there and we continue to seek after God’s Kin-dom and its manifestation on earth.
“Yet, we also must honestly recognize the part that Asbury has played in the tremendous harm committed against LGBTQ+ people in the United Methodist Church. The ill-named “Traditional Plan,” which was enacted by the Special Session of the General Conference earlier this year, furthers our marginalization of LGBTQ+ people in the life and ministry of the United Methodist Church. The plan also enforces harsh penalties through mandatory minimum sentences against LGBTQ+ leaders and LGBTQ+ allies. These are the same kind of sentences used in the United States criminal justice system that created mass incarceration, particularly among people of color in the United States. Stunningly, though the United Methodist Church opposes mandatory minimum sentences in the U.S. criminal justice system, the church will be utilizing these kinds of sentences to purge LGBTQ+ leaders out of its fellowship. The Traditional Plan is unbiblical in its construct and in its implementation.
“We recognize that many of Asbury’s faculty, administration, students, and alumni have either actively aided the passage of the Traditional Plan at the Special General Conference or have stood by silently and been complicit with its passage. Either way, this is sin. As signers of this letter we confess our culpability in not making space for LGBTQ+ people in our lives, churches, and ministries. We have asked God for forgiveness and we seek to live in solidarity with our LGBTQ+ siblings. As we learned at our time at Asbury, to persecute people for who they are - for who God has created them to be – is a denial of the Imago Dei within each person. To stand in judgment over others and to attempt a systematic purge of LGBTQ+ people through a series of complaints and trials is sin.
“We urge our fellow Asbury administrative leaders, faculty, current and fellow alumni to repent of this sin and to join us in standing in solidarity with our LGBTQ+ siblings in Christ.
“Further, we ask for the current administration of Asbury Theological Seminary, as well as past presidents, to publicly repent from the harm done against LGBTQ+ people in the United Methodist Church as well as LGBTQ+ students who have attended Asbury in the past and who attend Asbury currently.
“It is indeed far past time for members of the Body of Christ to rid ourselves of theologies and missional practices that deny the Missio Dei and which cause harm to others. It is time for us as members of the Body of Christ to stand in solidarity with those on the margins of society as well as those marginalized by the church. We rejoice in the overwhelming love and grace and justice of God our Creator, Jesus our Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit our Sustainer and we pray for Asbury’s current administration, faculty, students and fellow alumni to receive afresh God’s love, grace, and justice.”
Unfortunately, there appeared to be no online method for additional Asbury alumni and students to sign on to the letter housed in Google Drive. However, the online version does include the names, cities and states of the signers, so it may be possible to be added to the letter’s supporters through one of its current signers.
Media Mentions as of July 10, 2019
Where Do North Carolina Methodists Fall In Church's Growing Schism? – WUNC
Better together: FUMC Waynesville welcomes LGBTQ members – Smoky Mountain News
Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, which she founded in 2011.