UMNS photo by Mike DuBose.
Prayer Suppoert
The Rev. Frank Schaefer (second from right) prays with supporters before a news conference at Arch Street United Methodist Church in Philadelphia where he announced he will not surrender his clergy credentials. Clockwise from front left are: Joe Kalil, Jordan Harris, Schaefer and the Rev. Robin Hynicka, pastor of the Arch Street church.
The Christmas spirit was brewing this morning, then NPR lined up some coal for my stocking:
§ Phil Robertson, patriarch of A&E’s top rated TV reality show "Duck Dynasty" is suspended for derogatory remarks about gays and blacks.
§ UMC pastor Frank Schaeffer is formally defrocked for his refusal to promise to uphold the Discipline in its entirety, including the provision that “homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching.”
§ And for special added effect, under global pressure, Russia is hustling to dismantle some of its anti-gay policies prior the Winter Olympic Games.
Several elements jumped out for me: the ‘Duck family’ is known for concluding each episode gathered around their dining room table in prayer—they are distinctly Christian, albeit of the conservative stripe. Schaefer was ordained as a Christian pastor to officiate at the formal expression of ‘the table,’ the sacrament of communion—which by the way, in UMC doctrine, is open to all. Now both of them are excluded from the table, but for exactly opposite reasons. (Maybe the UMC would like to ordain Robertson to replace Schaefer?)
Here on the west coast in Hollywoodland, the real drama is, how will the “Duck” network balance the competing pressures—not between pro and con of the issue of homosexuality, but between the constructed ‘reality’ of its TV show, the considerable income the show generates. In other words, how to continue to make money off of a moving target—the public’s sensibilities about this hot issue? At least they know where their bottom line is.
The United Methodist Church—not so much. Our bottom line is supposed to be our top line—our ethical and moral teaching as defined by our doctrine. But that top line is jagged and broken and filled with gaps because we interpret and apply our doctrine incoherently. We respect and honor “the sacred worth of all persons,” (including eligibility to receive the sacraments), but not everyone’s committed relationships (heterosexual only!)
It’s intriguing that this incoherency is rooted in the phrase about homosexuality being “incompatible with Christian teaching.” This goes to one of John Wesley’s oldest questions, “What shall we teach?” and places it squarely in the realm of academics—which is precisely where we have forfeited the best of what our own Wesleyan heritage has to offer, the quadrilateral. In contrast to the quadrilateral, for the pro-incompatible demographic, scripture is not just primary, it is absolute. But in order for it to function that way, it has to be kept buried in a 19th century vault of protective tradition, immune to the transforming impact of the best of biblical studies (reason) and the disciplined combination of experience tested by reason, otherwise known as the scientific method (which, for the record, confirms homosexuality as predominantly an in-born orientation.)
Both A&E and Russia are acting according to their best interests (bottom lines) in light of the cultural tidal wave of embracing LGBT people as, well, people. One could say the UMC is clinging to the high ground of its “teachings,” but that is a sham and a show as long as the Discipline continues to reflect it’s legislative “stone soup” heritage, an assemblage of competing and even contradictory statements that indeed no cogent person could coherently, thoroughly and absolutely uphold or apply in practice. Given our history of misusing the bible to inform the Discipline in order to sustain slavery and suppress women’s rights, the Discipline is at best “shifting sand” on which to build a teachable curriculum, much less a strategy for mission into the future.
A future which grows more dim the longer we drag behind the curve. To be clear, that curve is not cultural decline as some would assert; rather it is the “arc of justice”, God’s bending, leaning, leading into the preferred kingdom future. In the midst of our dimness, may the light of Christmas shine and burn this coal into dust.
Rev. Gary M. Keene is senior pastor, Camarillo United Methodist Church in the California-Pacific Annual Conference.