Last week, at my parents’ request, I attended both a meeting and a service at my parents’ church. (Since I’m posting this on my website, I’m choosing to not name the church—they are probably typical of many small United Methodist churches right now.) What I heard at both the meeting and the service was fear.

From the pulpit, the minister declared “the world is rotten” as he explained that young people need educated about the dangers and consequences of sex, and at both the meeting and the service, various people made it clear that they feared what would happen if the church welcomed LGBT+ people in its doors. Fear that their tolerance of LBGTQ+ people would keep them from God’s favor and ultimately Heaven seems to be their motivation. Good Christians know that homosexuality and all that is wrong—that was explicitly stated once and implied other times. That is the core of the justification for the congregations who are rushing to leave the UMC (United Methodist Church), as far as I can break it down.

Big decisions are difficult. Heart-wrenching, even, especially when the decisions impact institutions that have been woven into the lives of many people for generations. Those decisions are even more difficult when unclear
communication and mistaken information is tangled in the mix, and having an elderly congregation compounds the problems. I am concerned that my parents’ congregation is poised to make the fear-based decision to leave the United Methodist church in part because of inaccurate information.

Because I was concerned that information my parents’ congregation was given Sunday morning did not match my understanding of the situation based on my reading and conversations with other people in the UMC, I called the district superintendent, Rev. Amy Haines. She answered my questions patiently and without bias, and I feel that I need to pass on this information to clarify for my parents and any other members of a UMC who are struggling to make a decision about that congregation’s future.

The congregation was told that all United Methodist churches in our district must have an official vote to determine if they want to join the new United Methodist church, go independent, or join the Global Methodist church. This information is not correct on three points:

• Churches do NOT have to have an official vote about disaffiliation with the UMC. The congregational leaders MAY, after discussion and discernment, choose to have a whole church vote about whether to disaffiliate (this refers to the vote that the district superintendent oversees), but this is not a requirement, and many churches are not considering leaving the UMC.
• There is no “new” United Methodist church, therefore churches do not have to decide to join the “new” UMC.
• There are more options than going independent or joining the new Global Methodist Church; there are many denominations out there, and most of them welcome new congregations.

Furthermore—and this is possibly the key point—none of the rules regarding sexuality and gender have changed in the United Methodist church. There is going to be a General Conference in 2024, and at that time, it is likely that the subject will be raised again. If a large percent of the more traditional, conservative members have left, there is a chance that there will be changes, but at this point, no one is sure what might or might not be changed. There are people who fervently believe that the language in the Book of Discipline that says “homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching” needs taken out.

So far, they have not succeeded in getting the Book of Discipline changed. This discussion has been going on since 1972, so it’s not a new issue. (For a deeper explanation of this issue, look at https://www.umc.org/en/content/ask-the-umc-what-is-the-churchs-position-on-homosexuality) There are many people who would argue that it is time for the UMC to finally take action on this issue, and they may—but nothing is changing at least until the summer of 2024, if then. Given the UMC’s pushing aside of the issues for well over a decade, no one can predict what will happening with full confidence.

It is worth noting that even if the rules change, no minister would be forced to perform marriages of gay people, which seems to be another fear. They currently can refuse to perform a marriage for anyone who they do not want to marry for whatever reason; there is no discussion about changing that to force ministers to perform every marriage they are asked to perform.

Before I close, I’ll admit that as far as my parents’ church goes, this information will not change what is going to happen next. I know that, but I had to at least make sure that the correct info was out there. For further reading, the website “That We May Be One” sponsored by the Texas Annual Conference (https://twmbo.org/tips-tools) offers a variety of resources. The local conference website has plenty of information, too: https://www.westohioumc.org/disaffiliation

I’m appalled by how a few Bible verses are used to justify judging the sexuality and gender of others. Even taken out of context, the “clobber verses” are less clear and powerful than a few of Jesus’ greatest hits. I’m thinking of Matthew 25:40-45: Whatever you do for the least of these, you do to me. Or how about Matthew 7: Do not judged, or you too will be judged in the same way. I think John 15:12 sums it up nicely: “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.” Much of the conversation I’ve heard about our LBGTQ+ friends and neighbors does not come close to meeting that standard.

As I considered the fearful subtext of the meetings and service I attended, I started considering I John 4:18: “There is no fear in love. But perfect live drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not perfect in love.” Cherry picking Bible verses is not a sport I usually play, but in this context, it seems worth mentioning.

For more about the “clobber verses” which are used to condemn homosexuality, read

• https://www.believeoutloud.com/voices/article/clobbering-biblical-gay-bashing/
• https://postbarthian.com/2017/10/11/clobber-verses-six-scriptures-cited-gays-lesbians-sex-relationships-lgbtq/
• https://outreach.faith/2022/09/amy-jill-levine-how-to-read-the-bibles-clobber-passages-on-homosexuality/

***Just in case anyone wonders, I’m not a United Methodist. I was raised in the church and belonged to it most of my life, however, and since my parents are active members in my childhood church, I’m still very connected to it. I’m a frequent sounding board as they try to untangle the information which will lead to crucial decisions their congregation is making.