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\u201cHi. My name is Roger, and I\u2019m a progressive Christian.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nApparently, those are fightin\u2019 words that necessarily lead to estrangement, inquisition, and scapegoating when heard by evangelical Christians. Evangelicalism became the mainstream form of Christianity in the U.S. starting in the 1980s and they\u2019ve rather enjoyed their time in the Sun \u2013 and aren\u2019t at all happy to be losing their transient and fleeting clout and status<\/a>.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been in ministry serving as a pastor in the United Methodist Church since 1996. The UMC is a non-creedal, \u201cbig tent church\u201d that includes a wide range of theological and political beliefs. At our best, we meet a real need in our increasingly polarized society by not being one of those churches where you can predict how everyone votes as they are echo chambers of people who all think the same. At our best, we heed John Wesley\u2019s admonition to \u201cthink and let think\u201d and embrace the adage \u201cthough we may not all think alike, may we not love alike?\u201d and we roll up our sleeves together to do much good in a world that needs it. However, since legislative language was imposed into our Book of Discipline in 1972 that discriminates against homosexual persons (officially opposed to ordaining out gay clergy and prohibits all clergy from conducting same sex weddings) the UMC has been more divided than united. If only the delegates from the U.S. were counted at the recent General Conferences where it came up for a vote, we\u2019d already have removed that discriminatory language years ago. And, while many regions of the UMC in parts of the U.S. have been ordaining LGBTQ clergy for years, as well as allowing clergy to marry same-sex couples \u2013 heck, there\u2019s even a married lesbian<\/a> serving as a bishop in one of the largest annual conferences \u2013 the truth is that many UMs, especially in the southern states, have been fighting against<\/a> this tooth and nail. In the past year, a new denomination called the \u201cGlobal Methodist Church<\/a>\u201d has been created and hundreds of UM clergy and congregations are in the process of disaffiliating from the UMC \u2013 with most of them joining the GMC. For example, I understand some 50-90% of the UM congregations in various parts of Texas are disaffiliating.<\/p>\n Speaking<\/em> of Texas\u2026 I\u2019ve long been an advocate of helping the Church<\/a> I love to grow and evolve<\/a> in their love and shift to fully including and embracing LGBTQI+ persons. Resisting<\/em> these efforts to shed and repent from institutional homophobia has been the chief matter and concern of the conservatives (frankly, conservative evangelicals) within my denomination. Granted, they occasionally gave lip-service to other topics. I recall their feathers being ruffled about encouraging increased inclusion of feminine images of God back in the early 1990s; i.e., their outrage at the Reimagining Conference -aka \u201cThe Sophia Conference.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0I entered the fray more formally upon the release of my book Kissing Fish<\/em><\/a> (2011) and started blogging for Elephant Journal,<\/em> Huffington Post<\/em>, and Patheos <\/em>(on their Progressive Christian portal). In 2018 seven UM clergypersons, all from Texas, filed charges<\/a> against me \u2013 without even talking to me first (disregarding Jesus\u2019s direct teachings) \u2013 and I\u2019ve never even lived in Texas. It was a blog that I wrote calling for a mature Christian understanding of sexuality<\/a> that was the last straw for them. Let\u2019s be clear. It was sex that triggered them<\/a>. It always does. Sigh. The charges were eventually dismissed<\/a> and the conservatives were left brooding. Their brooding eventually led to an attempt to push out the progressives in the denomination, but then reality hit. They realized that the majority of members of the UMC in the U.S. are pro-LGBTQ and so they are now choosing to leave in droves. Ironically, they are complaining about the rigorous hoops and hurdles in place to disaffiliate \u2013 hoops and hurdles that they<\/em> introduced thinking it would be the progressives who would be leaving.<\/p>\n At any rate, Methodism in the U.S. experienced a divorce once before in our past. Upon the onset of the Civil War, the Methodists split in two. There was a Methodist Episcopal Church North, and a Methodist Episcopal Church South. In time, that war ended, with the side favoring justice (the end of slavery) winning out, and the two churches reunited creating The Methodist Church in 1939. I was born in 1968, the year the Methodist Church merged with the Evangelical United Brethren to form the United Methodist Church. Some contend that much of the current division in the UMC is due to a lack of full integration of those two churches, contending that UM congregations and persons who were formerly EUB being more theologically conservative. I don\u2019t think that insight fully explains things, however, I do think that the current split that is happening will also be temporary.<\/p>\n I just learned that a conservative UM layperson in Indiana has been giving a presentation at many of the UM congregations in that state. His talk included a powerpoint presentation<\/a> and one of those slides (19 minute mark) featured words I wrote in a blog in 2018. They were pulled out of their context and provided no reference to the article<\/a> \u2013 which provided a lot of nuance<\/a>. Conservatives tend to not care for nuance. Sigh. He\u2019s tragically unaware about the rich history of valid theological diversity within the Church re: christology, theories of the atonement, understanding of scripture, and more. (He\u2019s also unaware that I ended my tenure as Director of the Wesley Foundation at C.U. Boulder in June 2019. He also misspelled my name.) Here\u2019s a screenshot of that slide: I noticed that exact same cherry-picked selection of my words was found in a letter sent out this past July<\/a> as a dog-whistle to the conservatives to fire them up for their coordinated effort to spin the the reason for their mass disaffiliation. That same summer, the UM bishops in Africa saw that they were being manipulated by the American conservatives and broke ranks<\/a>.<\/p>\n It appears that I\u2019m now being made into a Poster Child<\/a> of \u201call that is wrong with progressive Christianity\u201d (specifically, with the progressive wing of the UMC) and that I\u2019m being scapegoated as a bogeyman by conservatives in their effort to save face<\/a> \u2013 by gaslighting<\/a> themselves and others that the \u201creal\u201d reason they\u2019re leaving is about theology<\/em> \u2013 not their homophobia. They\u2019re engaging in a coordinated \u201cdramatic exit<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n I\u2019ll close with the following essay (modified) I wrote for the\u00a0Progressing Spirit<\/em><\/a> newsletter stating things as they are \u2013 placing current events in a helpful historical context:<\/p>\n \u201cThe Jig is Up<\/strong><\/a>\u201d In response, a cabal of far-right conservative politicians and conservative evangelical leaders conspired to bamboozle the masses into thinking that American Christianity needed a revival \u2013 and specifically, a revival to get as many Christians as possible to shift their understanding of Christianity such that it was reduced to mean embracing a specific culture that has strong stances controlling human behavior. It wasn\u2019t about theology, it was about imposing specific values. The Moral Majority was formed in large part to trick Christians into thinking that embracing certain, so-called, \u201cfamily values\u201d is what it meant to be a Christian. Biblically speaking, they sought to get people to think that being anti-gay, anti-abortion, anti-marijuana, and pro-capitalism, pro-gun, and pro-American empire is the \u201cshibboleth<\/strong><\/a>\u201d for authentic Christianity. It was a call for Christian nationalism. Instead of being a movement of the Holy Spirit it was a mass act of blasphemy, idolatry, and apostate backsliding. An\u00a0excellent article<\/a><\/strong> in Politico Magazine supports my assertions and provides details.<\/p>\n Billy Graham warned, \u201cIt would disturb me if there was a wedding between the religious fundamentalists and the political right. The hard right has no interest in religion except to manipulate it.\u201d<\/em> Despite that warning, the\u00a0Southern Baptist Convention<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0was\u00a0hijacked by fundamentalists<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0in the early 1980s and that denomination became the largest Protestant denomination in the country. Many independent congregations also popped up in storefronts, and in time, as big box mega churches. What they frequently share in common is a wedding of the false gospel of wealth and prosperity and indoctrination into conservative \u201cfamily values.\u201d In tandem, the Republican party was rebranded \u2013 a la Ronald Reagan, Pat Robertson, and Jerry Falwell \u2013 as being \u201cGod\u2019s Own Party.\u201d Tragically, to this day, many American Christians think that if you\u2019re a Christian you must vote Republican.<\/p>\n Simultaneous to all of this was the creation of the Institute for Religion and Democracy (1981) \u2013 a conservative political think tank and political action organization. That organization, funded by far-right conservatives such as Adolph Coors, etc., seeks to undermine the remaining major Protestant denominations \u2013 which have tended to be centrist, if not liberal politically. Their mission is to cause conflict, strife, and confusion, divide and conquer, and thus render impotent the prophetic \u201cspeaking truth to power\u2019 wings of those denominations. The Wesleyan Covenant Association is the tentacle of the IRD \u201cHydra\u201d within the United Methodist Church<\/a> \u2013 the denomination of which I am a member and serve as a pastor.<\/p>\n Followers of this newsletter are likely aware that the United Methodist Church hasn\u2019t been \u201dunited\u201d in quite some time, and that the denomination is experiencing a split regarding the reality of homosexuality. A new splinter denomination has formed this past spring and it is likely that 10% or more of the UM congregations in the U.S. will defect to that conservative group which doesn\u2019t embrace LGBTQ persons.<\/p>\n The new \u201cGlobal Methodist Church\u201d was intended to yoke the conservative (divided) Methodists in the U.S. with the majority of Methodists in Africa and South America. But reality hit. Leaders of the UM Church in Africa have balked and are indicating that they may not wish to split after all. They woke up and smelled the proverbial coffee. \u201cAfrican bishops<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0claimed the Africa Initiative has \u2018lost its original goal of helping The United Methodist Church in Africa\u2019 and instead is \u2018working with Wesleyan Covenant Association to destroy our United Methodist Church.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n And, just a few weeks later, a\u00a0major study<\/strong><\/a> conducted by evangelical Christians in the U.S. came out indicating that 65% of American evangelicals reject original sin; 74% don\u2019t believe the Bible should be read literally; 56% believe God accepts the worship of world religions; nearly half (48%) believe that God changes; and nearly half (43%) don\u2019t think Jesus was \u201cGod.\u201d [views shared with many progressive Christians]<\/em> And yet over 90% have consensus that abortion is wrong and that sex outside of marriage between a man and a woman is wrong. Conservative evangelicalism in the U.S. is clearly far more about the social values of being opposed to certain behaviors than it is for \u201cproper theology.\u201d<\/p>\n Certain conservative leaders within the Divided Methodist Church have been claiming that they aren\u2019t leaving because of views about homosexuality, but rather, that they\u2019re leaving because \u2018too many United Methodists hold unacceptable theological stances.\u2019 Clearly, Conservative evangelical Christians in the U.S. have overplayed their hand. They have discovered that fewer United Methodists in the U.S.<\/a> share their views and stances<\/a>.\u00a0No, what\u00a0is<\/em>\u00a0true is that even evangelical<\/em> Christians aren\u2019t heeding to conservative notions of normative doctrine and orthodoxy. What is true is that evangelical Christianity in the U.S. is imploding and experiencing their own internal split<\/a>. What is<\/em>\u00a0true is that it\u2019s clear for all to see that the\u00a0real<\/em> reason that conservative UMs are leaving is because of bigotry, especially homophobia \u2013 and sex phobia in general.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m reminded of the movie\u00a0Footloose\u00a0<\/em>(1984) where young Kevin Bacon\u2019s character challenges the strict religious values and traditions of a small town in Texas that has banned dancing. Which in turn reminds me of the joke,\u00a0\u201cWhy are fundamentalists opposed to premarital sex? Because it might lead to dancing!\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 (excerpt from my forthcoming book, \u201cDiscovering Fire,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0p. 18, Chapter 4)<\/p>\n What\u2019s clear is that few people wish to be part of \u201cchurches\u201d which seek to control, judge, and exclude people who they know Jesus loves and embraces. I\u2019ll close with the words of the late poet Edwin Markham: and those of George Orwell,\u00a0 \u201cThey fear love because it creates a world they can\u2019t control.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n XX ~ Roger<\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/396\/2022\/10\/images-5.jpg\")
I predict that within 30 years the GBM and the UMC will reunite<\/strong> \u2013 again favoring the side of inclusion and justice. The fact is, very few people under 40 years old are opposed to homosexuality. Homophobia has a shelf-life, and its days are numbered<\/a>. 40% of Generation Z identify as LGBTQ along with 30% of Christian young people<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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\nThe 1960s and \u201970s were a time of great social change in the United States. Racial segregation was officially ended. The Civil and Voting Rights Acts were passed. The two major political parties switched platforms and agendas. Women\u2019s Liberation and Gay Pride were on the rise and a sexual revolution took place, culminating in \u201cThe Summer of Love.\u201d In concert with all of this was a profound movement of young people challenging the status quo in many ways \u2013 including pushing back against the war in Vietnam. The voting age had been lowered to 18 and many bras and draft cards were being burned. And the US Supreme Court passed the Roe v. Wade ruling. In the eyes of some, the \u201cAmerican way of life\u201d was under attack. What such people meant by this is that they feared that the era of privilege and power for straight, white, wealthy, capitalist men might soon pass unless it becomes vigorously defended.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cHe drew a circle that shut me out-
\nHeretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
\nBut love and I had the wit to win:
\nWe drew a circle and took him In!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n![\"James](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/396\/2022\/10\/e5336186fb48eeb6983561560d0fb198-266x300.jpg\")
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Rev. Roger Wolsey is a certified Spiritual Director, United Methodist pastor, and serves on the Board of Directors of ProgressiveChristianity.Org. He is a contributing writer for the Progressing Spirit newsletter, and author of Kissing Fish: christianity for people who don\u2019t like christianity<\/strong><\/a> \u00a0Click here for the Kissing Fish Facebook page\u00a0<\/a>.\u00a0 His new book, Discovering Fire, will be released in early 2023. <\/strong><\/em>![\"image](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/396\/2020\/08\/roger-wolsey-headshot-237x300.jpg\")
<\/em> \u00a0<\/em>Roger\u2019s other blogs on Patheos<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n