Finding Our Way: Love and Law in The United Methodist Church

by Rueben P. Job, Neil Alexander, Gregory V. Palmer

Questions and conflict about homosexual practice and the church abound. We encounter media reports of same-gender unions and clergy trials. This leads to talk in congregations and district preacher’s meetings, in the hallways at district, conference and general church gatherings, and in the deliberations of the Council of Bishops where we hear prayers, questions, and an outpouring of conviction or anguish.

We observe The United Methodist Church grappling with issues of importance that divide and confound us. We hunger for our church to engage hard questions and decisions in a spirit of generosity, gracefulness, and mutual respect.

This book could change the nature of the conversation. It encourages frank and constructive dialogue that will help us conference together and open ourselves to God’s guidance. We seek faithful, fair, just, and loving resolution to issues that challenge our faith community.

Finding Our Way: Love and Law in The United Methodist Church is authored by several United Methodist bishops. These writers enunciate and clarify pathways that represent faithful, responsible, and constructive ways forward through the current controversies. Each bishop articulates a prescription for moving through current conflict about homosexual practice, same-gender unions, qualifications for ordination, and maintaining the “good standing” of elders. Go to www.ministrymatters.com/FindingOurWay to read the introduction and to comment.

Genres: LGBT, Church, Christianity

125 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 6, 2014

Reviews

[Steve Campbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was made available for free at our recent annual conference session to help facilitate discussion concerning the contentious issue of how the church should respond to homosexuality. The contributors are all active or retired bishops in the United Methodist Church. After an introduction that attempts to frame the issue, the book is organized into three parts. The first part offers four options for United Methodists to relate to the current language in regard to sexuality in the United Methodist Book of Discipline. The first option offered is to enforce the Book of Discipline. Gregory Palmer expressed his initial reluctance to take up this point of view for this volume. I suspect that he did not want to come off as harsh and legalistic. Early in his essay he expresses a preference for the word "uphold" rather than "enforce," which would be my preference as well. Palmer makes a good case for upholding the discipline even though he admits that he would have rather been assigned a different perspective. Hope Morgan Ward offers the option to emend our lives and the Discipline, by which she appears to mean that we should keep a respectful dialogue open and work to emend (as opposed to amend) the Discipline and our lives so that our language is less hurtful. Melvin Talbert advocates disobeying the Discipline in favor of biblical obedience. Talbert practiced what he preaches here when he officiated at a same-sex wedding. I find it interesting that Talbert considers disobedience to the Discipline's prohibition of the ordination of self-avowed, practicing homosexuals and the participation of United Methodist clergy in same-sex weddings as obedience to the Bible. He claims that church law in the Book of Discipline is in tension with God's love and grace and cites Micah 6:6-8 and Mark 12:28-31 as examples of the witness of the Old Testament prophets and the heart of Jesus' teaching respectively. He ignores any direct references to homosexual behavior. His incendiary language directed toward those who have a different idea of what biblical obedience looks like in regards to our response to homosexuality leaves little room for meaningful discussion. Kenneth Carter rounds out the first section with an essay calling for disarming the "incoherent conflict between personal and social holiness." Part Two offers three possible responses to our current impasse on sexuality, and Part Three is Rueben Job's suggestion that we trust God by entering into a period of deep prayer and discernment to discover a way forward. The theme that seems to run through all these essays is that we need to love each other and listen to each other so that we can stay united. The one exception is Talbert's essay. Talbert appears to believe that if you don't believe as he does, you are not being biblical.

[Jackie Machardy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An important book for all members of the United Methodist Church! Written by current and retired UMC bishops, this book provides diverse explorations of the conflict about homosexuality that exists in the church today and offers possible paths forward, closing with a call for prayer and discernment. A must-read!

[Dawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

The format of this book felt very disjointed. Even though there is one topic, albeit varying aspects, it still didn't feel cohesive.

[Eileen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prior to reading this book, while I was aware of the conflict I was not very informed on the issues behind it. I do think this book helped raise my awareness and inform my critical thinking. That being said the first part seemed like rhetoric and was burdened with clunky phrasing.
Then in the second part two voices stood out to me John K. Yambasu, a bishop who serves the Sierra Leone Area and Rueben P. Job, retired, from the Iowa Area. Bishop Yambasu gets his ideas across in a clear and concise manner and makes some excellent points about conflict, what the people involved are doing to each other and what they might do about it. Rueben P. Job brings the book to conclusion with a clear and impassioned call to prayer.
Yes, I thought Ruben you're right and wondered why we hadn't heard about anything like this being called for and possibly that we had missed out on something. I asked at the bishop's night on the district if there were any plans for a campaign for everyone to pray intentionally about this issue in the two years ahead before the next general conference. She said yes but she didn't elaborate since it was the last question of the evening. As Ruben said - we need to trust God and pray.

[David Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was given out at Annual Conference, as required reading for meetings this upcoming fall. It is written by a number of Bishops, each representing different perspectives on how the UM Church can navigate it's way through our current conflict. While it is somewhat helpful to read the different viewpoints...it still leaves me wondering what will happen and how we can indeed find our way forward.

[Haley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am grateful that this book exists and for the thoughtful contribution of various bishops from a variety of theological views. However I was disappointed that there was not a more applicable plan for action on the local church level. Problems were accurately and faithfully named. The theological and ecclesial visions cast for the future also are lovely but no practical way forward is proposed.

[Bob Buice]

I read this book for a weekly group discussion. It summarizes both sides of the issue of same gender relationships and points out that the church is divided to the extent that we are ignoring other needed activities.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

If nothing else this is an important step in opening up the conversation that needs to take place

[Sue Whitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

a must-read for Methodists this year. agreed with much; disagreed with some

[Ryan M. Crabb · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a valuable tool for us as United Methodists to gauge the idealogical struggle we are going through in our episcopal office.