I use the word “presumably” intentionally. I don’t believe the debate has ended.
The PC(USA) tends to draw into its ranks people from both sides of the
theological spectrum. One side believes it is fighting for justice and the other
for biblical integrity. We can assume that following the May 10 vote, most
on the theologically progressive side of the sexuality debate are celebrating
and most of those on the conservative side are grieving. We cannot assume,
however, that the battle has ended. Those who have watched Presbyterians
debate this topic for a whole generation should perceive the obvious: people
who believe they are “predestined” have stick-to-it personalities; they don’t
easily leave a cause or a church.
The media gives us a sense that now that the vote has gone through, the
denominational debate is over. It is far from over. It will now pour forth from
the cloistered ranks of denominational meetings and into the lives of church
members.
Many press reports failed to explain that recent voting related to the ordination
of gays and lesbians effectively changed only one small paragraph in the
denomination’s Book of Order. It is an important paragraph, no doubt. But
there are other important references to the traditional understanding of marriage
and sexuality still unchanged in the denomination’s other constitutional
document, The Book of Confessions. More significantly, no denominational
vote can change wording in the Bible, which, in both its plain reading and in
the opinion of most biblical scholars, affirms traditional marriage and disallows
sex outside of marriage.
I am not suggesting the Presbyterian Church won’t experience significant
losses as the result of the May 10 voting victory for theological progressives.
Following the last Presbyterian debate about this topic, in 2009, the
denomination lost 2.9 percent of its approximately 2 million members, its
largest numerical loss since 1975. The impact following the May 10, 2011, vote
will most likely set the record for the largest loss the church has known. Even
more alarming, some predict, based on membership statistics over the past
decade, that the denomination will be extinct within 20 years.
What I am suggesting is that it is time for Presbyterians, and all Christians
for that matter, to find a new approach. When a denomination becomes stuck
in debate mode, it becomes crippled and unable to offer dynamic ministry.
The church’s responsibility is not to argue about sexuality, but to care for the
wounded and to show the love of Christ. Had the church engaged in meaningful
study about issues of sexuality three decades ago when it enjoyed greater
biblical consensus, it might now be thriving rather than crumbling. It might
have learned how to come alongside people experiencing sexual brokenness of
all types, heterosexual and homosexual.
Years of debate moved people on both sides of the spectrum into a defensive
posture and away from a ministry posture. Progressives found themselves
arguing against Scripture, saying that people who struggle with issues of
sexuality generally cannot change. Conservatives have sometimes given the
false impression that change for issues of sexual confusion, addiction and the
like can be found easily by those who simply surrender. Because we have made
complicated issues of sexuality too simple, the teachings of Scripture have been
made to seem impossibly complicated.
I have been impressed by churches that I have located around the country
which are quietly offering life-changing ministry to people who come to them
with sexually broken lives. These congregations have not turned aside from
the basic teachings of Scripture; nor have they turned people aside who are
searching for acceptance and understanding. These congregations understand
the power of God’s grace to impact individuals and societies.
Those who make gay rights in the church only a “justice” issue and those who
make it simply a “biblical” issue are both doing the church a disservice. The
Bible shows a God who is concerned about societal justice as well as biblical
truth. Where justice and truth are kept in a dynamic tension, there grows a
healthy and dynamic church. When one of these values suffocates the other,
debate will dominate and church members will lose—no matter how the votes
fall out.
W. P. CAMPBELL is the minister of First Church in Hendersonville, N.C. He
is author of the book, “Turning Controversy into Church Ministry: A Christlike
Response to Homosexuality” (Zondervan. See ChurchReflections.com).
