November 7, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: James V. Heidinger II
859-858-4661 or 859-338-5576
Tom Lambrecht
920-757-5101
Bishops’ Pastoral Letter about Judicial Council Decision
Has Many United Methodists Confused and Troubled
WILMORE, KY --
The attached statement is a response from Good News
to the recent Judicial Council Decisions as well as to the Bishops’
Pastoral Letter sent out November 3rd by the bishops to
their annual conferences. The Bishops’ Pastoral Letter was prepared
and sent by the Council in the midst of its fall meeting at Lake
Junaluska. The letter was in response to Judicial Council Decision
1032, which affirmed a pastor’s right to determine one’s readiness for
membership in a local church.
“We are disappointed that the Bishops’ Pastoral Letter does not
affirm more clearly the Judicial Council decision (1032), but instead
appears to be raising questions about it,” said the Rev. James V.
Heidinger II, President and Publisher of Good News, an evangelical
renewal ministry with the United Methodist Church. “We are not sure
what the intent of their response is,” said Heidinger. “We are left
wondering if they were questioning the decision, disagreeing with it,
or just seeking to clarify the decision and reaffirm the church’s
commitment to be in ministry to all persons.”
Good News notes in its statement that it is significant what
the Pastoral Letter does not say. “It does not state that it ‘disagrees’
with the Judicial Council or that Decision 1032 was wrong, nor
does it ask the Judicial Council for a review or
reconsideration of the decision. They might have tried any of the
above three options, but it is doubtful such action would have
received unanimous approval.”
The Bishops’ pastoral states that in considerations for
membership, “homosexuality is not a barrier.” “At this point, the
Bishops were not clear about what they mean,” said Heidinger. “We
would assume, being very familiar with this debate, that they
purposefully mentioned simply ‘homosexuality,’ rather than ‘homosexual
practice.’ For most all of us, homosexual orientation or inclination
is not in itself a barrier to membership.”
The Pastoral Letter cited brief portions of the church’s
standards about human sexuality from the Social Principles. Good News
board chairman, the Rev. Tom Lambrecht, Greenville, WI, noted the
risks of selective quoting from the Social Principles, which could
send a distorted message to our church and world. “The
carefully-balanced statement of our Social Principles affirms the
sacred worth of every person, while at the same time clearly
acknowledging the Biblical witness that certain behaviors are contrary
to God’s will and Christian teaching. Our confused, sexually
licentious society needs to hear a clear word of faithful teaching and
correction, not an ambiguous message that would lead some to believe
sinful behavior is somehow acceptable to God,” said Lambrecht.
Good News noted that it is important for United Methodists to
remember what was determined in the recent Judicial Council decisions:
1.) In the Beth Stroud decision (Decision 1027), The Council
upheld the church’s standards prohibiting the appointment of clergy
who are self-avowed practicing homosexuals; and
2.) In Decision 1032, affirmed that pastors have the right to
make the determination about a person’s readiness for full membership
in the church.
Good News also noted that Rev. Ed Johnson, the pastor who had
been placed on “involuntary leave of absence” and would now be
reinstated to an appointment, was at the time responsibly involved in
ministry with the man he was counseling about membership in his local
church.
Steve@goodnewsmag.org