When I read the posts about the upcoming meeting of the new “Wesleyan Covenant Association”, the image that comes to my mind comes from an old theological quandary–
“How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?”
Before I explain my image, a word of explanation for my non-United Methodist readers. Our recent General Conference called for the Bishops to lead the church in discerning a “way forward” regarding the church’s stance on homosexuality. In response, the Bishops are creating a commission to bring recommendations to a special General Conference probably within the next two years. In response to that, the conservatives in the church are creating this new “Wesleyan Covenant Association” with the stated purpose to “stand together as an alliance to advance vibrant, scriptural Christianity within Methodism…committed to promoting ministry which combines a high view of Scripture, Wesleyan vitality, orthodox theology and Holy Spirit empowerment.” Their goals include “cooperating in visioning toward what a revived and authentic Wesleyan ministry could look like and empowering congregations and clergy to engage in risk-taking, bold ministry strategies to reach their communities and the world to make disciples of Jesus Christ”.
Sounds good…right? I can heartily agree with all of that. In his invitation to join, my friend Jeff Greenway says they are inviting “…like-minded, warm-hearted, Jesus-loving, Spirit-filled, covenant-keeping, evangelical, orthodox, Wesleyan Christians” to come together in Chicago in October. Well, I like to think of myself as one of those. Would I be welcome to join?
The answer to that question comes in their 9th goal: “To uphold and promote biblical teaching on marriage and human sexuality.” BINGO! All the theological, missional, ecclesiastical angels are dancing on the head of a pin. So if I agree with everything they have stated except their stance on homosexuality, am I still welcome? If I can affirm all the classical creeds they list on their website but would favor a more inclusive stance on this one issue, am I still orthodox? If I support the General Rules, John Wesley’s “Standard Sermons” and “Explanatory Notes on the New Testament” as they appear on the WCA website but would like to see the church change its position same-sex marriage, am I still a Wesleyan Christian?
Let’s be honest. The call of the General Conference, the creation of Bishops’ commission and the forming of the WCA is about one thing–the church’s stance on homosexuality. You can dance all the other issues on the head of this one pin.
In his invitation Jeff says the Bishops’ commission will “...bring proposals which will shape the future of United Methodist Church. We do not know what that will be, but we do believe that change is coming and this is the reason we launched the Wesleyan Covenant Association. As we live into what comes next, the Wesleyan Covenant Association is committed to preserving the core of what we believe as United Methodists.” Though I fail to see where homosexuality and same-sex marriage are at “the core of what we believe as United Methodists”, my read of that statement is that they expect the commission will recommend changes and they want to organized and ready to break away and become the new evangelical, orthodox Wesleyan group if they don’t happen to like what the commission recommends. You can cloak it in all the broad language of vision, mission and theology, but in the end, that is what this is all about.
And to answer my own question, no matter what else I believe,no matter how much I support their other stated goals and hopes for the church, my guess is if I am not willing to dance on the head of that pin, I am not really be welcome in the Wesleyan Covenant Association…so I don’t plan to attend.
The Rev. Jack Harnish is a retired United Methodist pastor living on beautiful Platte Lake in northern Michigan, currently serving as the Interim Pastor at Traverse Bay United Methodist Church, Traverse City, MI. This is republished with the author's permission from his blog, Monday Memo. His recent book “Do Not Be Afraid” is available fromhttp://www.ccpublishinghouse.org.