I grew up in a church with women priests. I also grew up surrounded by gay people. So the questions over women's ordination and the inclusion of LGBTQ people in church leadership, or even LGBTQ marriage, do not cause me to go into theological tailspins. Those issues have been floating around in the mainline protestant denominations for years. It is only in the era in which Pride has become an international holiday and Bud Light boycotts that LGBTQ issues in those denominations became news.
I can't remember the date of the actual story, but the Babylon Bee once ran a satire piece about African Christians coming to the United States to do missionary work since so many American churches have drifted light years away from the Gospel. As usual, the Bee hit close to home. During my graduate studies, I remember reading about Christians in other countries who scoff at believers in the U.S. churches who have, in many ways, decided to try and follow the world in the usually vain hope that the world might follow them back.
Case in point: the Daily Mail reports that over 1 million members of the United Methodist Church engaged in an en masse exodus in the wake of a decision by the church in May to permit same-sex marriages and LGBTQ pastors. The United Methodist Church's Ivory Coast division, which has approximately 1.2 million members, departed the denomination. The division announced its May 28 decision via a declaration:
Decision of the Ivory Coast Annual Conference
Whereas the United Methodist Church from the postponed 2020 General Conference held from April 23 to May 3, 2024, in Charlotte, North Carolina, in the United States, is not based on any biblical and disciplinary values,
Considering that the new United Methodist Church is now based on socio-cultural and contextual values which have consumed its doctrinal and disciplinary integrity,
Considering that the new United Methodist Church has preferred to sacrifice its honorability and integrity to honor the LGBT,
Considering that the new United Methodist Church which distances itself from the Holy Scriptures is no longer suitable for the Annual Conference of Côte d'Ivoire,
The Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church-Côte d'Ivoire Ivory, gathered in its extraordinary session on Tuesday, May 28, 2024, at the Jubilee temple of Cocody, for reasons of conscience, before God and before his word, supreme authority in matters of faith and life,
Decides to leave the United Methodist Church denomination.
Done in Abidjan, May 28, 2024
For the
Bishop Benjamin Boni Conference
And just like that, the United Methodist Church is 1.2 million members lighter.
The UMC probably didn't see it coming, despite the fact that a bishop from Liberia stood up during the May gathering to voice his opposition.
United Methodist bishop from Liberia opposes a vote to redefine marriage, holding his Bible above his head:
— Dope Preacher Clips (@WPCButGoodGuys) May 3, 2024
"This is the word of God...We have a majority General Conference characterized by liberals + progressives who are doing everything to change the Bible to something else." pic.twitter.com/OP31Nq3rG6
Part of the issue is that gender and LGBTQ issues are First-World church problems. In other countries, Christians put everything on the line for the Gospel, up to and including their lives. They don't have the luxury of hanging up rainbow decor, going on Pride marches, or playing fast and loose with pronouns or exegesis. Their faith is a part of who they are, and they may risk paying a serious price for it. It is too valuable to treat it like a social media post or a path to social prominence. It may be hard to stomach, but Christians in many parts of the world have died for their faith. For those people, faith is not something you post on Instagram for likes. I've met some of those people who have suffered for their faith. I've even told some of their stories on PJ Media.
Having been raised an Episcopalian, I can tell you that within that denomination, there has always been a tendency to relish the act of poking the establishment. It was a point of pride (pun intended) to be counter-cultural. Except now, the counter-culture is the predominant culture, and one can get that practically anywhere. There's no need to ruin a Sunday when you can sleep in if there is a rainbow plastered on every flat surface. Mainline churches aren't offering anything different than a plethora of businesses and governments.
If someone were to ask you to name three of your sins right now, could you do it? And no, I'm not looking for confessions in the comments section, but could you name three sins? We aren't talking about "being too hard on myself," "not being a good listener," or "sometimes I get irritated too easily." We aren't talking about stuff people bring up in small-group Bible studies. I'm talking about serious sins that separate us from God and one another. It might be a tough exercise for most people. And that makes sense because sin is something no one really wants to discuss. We're happy enough to discuss other people's sins, but not our own. And while things like cross-dressing and homosexuality are sins according to the Bible, there are plenty of other sins that people commit every day that somehow get excused for one reason or another. And, if someone does broach the thorny topic of sin, you can bet someone else will be there to shout "pharisee!" and cite John 8:1-11 to make sure the judgmental person shuts up.
In Genesis 32:22-32, we read the story of Jacob wrestling with God. Jacob ends up with an injury, but he also comes away with a new name: Israel. Most Christians in the U.S. don't want to wrestle with God. That can be a frightful thing, despite the rewards. It is easier to affirm everyone and, in the process, let yourself off the hook.
Everyone is called to wrestle with God about something. That includes gay people, straight people, and people who are enamored with their identity du jour. That "something" may not be sexually related, but wrestling with a sin is the first step in transformation. And that first step can lead to an entirely new life.
Chances are you have sat in the pews with gay and lesbian people. One of them may have even been a pastor or priest. That being said, a church and minister's first obligation is to the Gospel, not the latest social trends. And a faithful minister, even a homosexual one, understands that. When a church, any church, wants God to validate its case of "the feels" and not challenge it, you have a recipe for a declining and dying church.
