Eagles Fans 2
In a post titled “That Time Has Come!” Dr. Bob Hayes, Bishop in Residence at The Woodlands Methodist Church, argues that it is time for the United Methodist Church to separate, and that traditionalists (i.e. real Christians) should go with him to the new Global Methodist Church.
After recounting his long personal and family history in The United Methodist Church and his pain in leaving the church he loves, he explains the problem this way:
“This is NOT a minor squabble over people having the freedom to choose how they want to live or the lifestyle they prefer. Rather, it is a major conflict that goes to the very heart and soul of who we are as children of God and disciples of Jesus Christ, and how we have made the conscious decision to follow the dictates of God and not be caught up in the ways of the world nor be defined by the world’s values.”
Let me first say that I can totally understand his reference to lifestyle choices. I dearly love my daughter, but I am honestly troubled by her lifestyle decisions. In the first place, she and her wife are football fanatics. I love football, but we all know (in our hearts) that it must always come second to the game God blessed, which is baseball. And beyond that, my daughter and her wife are Eagles fans when they ought to be Patriots fans, even though they live in Philadelphia and claim that for that reason they can’t help it. I admit that the Eagles have a better song than the Patriots, if the Patriots even have a song, but I still believe that they could pray it away if they really tried.
But seriously. Being gay is not a lifestyle choice. My daughter didn’t choose to be gay any more than I chose to be straight. And calling it a lifestyle is demeaning to our LGBTQ siblings. Being gay is about one’s being. It is about who one is. The unwillingness to comprehend this fundamental issue is not a minor squabble at all. It is just plain hateful.
And, as Bill Parcells would say, “No disrespect to Bishop Hayes,” but how does he presume to know “the dictates of God?” We all know the biblical verses he is referencing. But we also know that there are several leaps of interpretation required to see those verses as “the dictates of God” while ignoring the calls to grace and acceptance that echo throughout the rest of the Bible. Do we really believe that God “dictates” how we should act and what we should believe? How do we hear that dictation? Do we believe that God dictated those troubling verses? Did God dictate all of the verses?
Later, the bishop writes, “one of the most disconcerting differences rising out of our dysfunctional state is how some are even now questioning the identity of God and the divinity of Jesus.”
One suspects that when Bishop Hayes speaks of “the identity of God,” he means the idea that God should be referred to with male pronouns. Or as “Father, Son and Holy Spirit,” rather than “Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.” If that’s what he means, then I would agree that among progressives those are legitimate issues. And you can count me on the side of those who believe we need to get away from using male pronouns for God.
And if he means something deeper, then I want to say as clearly as I can that we ought to be “questioning the identity of God.” That is what theology is. We are questioning and searching. We are trying to go deeper and wider into the mystery of God.
In his essay, Bishop Hayes quotes the third iteration of “Paul” in the letters to Timothy. I want to go back to the original, historical human being named Paul in one of his letters to the church in Corinth. He speaks of the growth of his faith and understanding, and the evolution of his theology. “When I was a child,” he writes, “I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways.” Paul’s understanding of faith has grown and changed, and so should ours.
But wait. There’s more.
Beyond everything else, I believe that the bishop’s observation is the result of asking the wrong questions in our discussions. I have often seen both traditionalists and progressives asking, “Do you believe Jesus is divine?” or “Do you believe in the resurrection?” or “Do you believe in the virgin birth?” As short answers, I would give those “yes,” “yes,” and “no.” But the questions are not well stated. And the answers are almost meaningless.
We should be asking something more like, “How do you understand the divinity of Jesus?” “How do you understand the resurrection?” and “What does the incarnation mean to you?” Of course, those are not the only ways or maybe the best ways of phrasing those questions. But they should not be phrased to elicit yes or no answers. They should be phrased to invite reflection, discussion, introspection, and understanding.
Having said all of that, I don’t believe “That Time Has Come” for Bishop Hayes or anyone else to leave The United Methodist Church. I am a believer in a big tent church, and a big tent faith. I don’t know Bishop Hayes, but I can see and feel the warmth of his faith. I know that my more traditionalist friends and colleagues can teach me things. And I believe we are better together.
Bill Trench
The Rev. Dr. William C. Trench
The Rev. William C. Trench is a retired clergy member of the New England Annual Conference and former pastor at East Greenwich UMC in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. This post is republished with permission from his Facebook page. To reproduce this content elsewhere, please contact the author via Facebook.