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In the last week, I have had two conversations with worried Vineville members because of “They Say” statements. One was concern over a mandatory children’s curriculum that they say will be inconsistent with our values involving human sexuality. Let me say as plainly as possible, there is no mandatory children’s curriculum of any kind. They don’t know what they are talking about. We have never had and we do not now have mandatory curriculum for any age group in the United Methodist Church. When it comes to our children’s material, Reese McCurry, our children’s minister, determines what we use. That at times has been literature published by Cokesbury, our denominational publishing house. At other times, she has chosen other material based on a number of factors including topic, style, creativity, ease for volunteers to lead, and appeal to children. No publishing house hits a home run with every publication. Take our most recent VBS as an example. Our curriculum this year was published by Orange, an independent company that is known for creative and accessible lesson material. Orange material has been used by over 10,000 ministries in over 80 denominations in over 40 countries. In our Youth Ministry, Mike Kinnebrew, our youth minister, determines what material is used and presented. It is rare, if ever, that they use printed curriculum. Mike draws on a number of resources, many of them from other denominations, as he prepares his Sunday night messages for youth. There is no mandatory curriculum. While one of our adult classes does use a Cokesbury lesson series most of the time and another occasionally, those decisions are made by the teachers themselves. A number of our classes have used resources from Andy Stanley, who is Baptist, along with other non-UMC teachers and preachers. Bottom line, “they” are wrong! I have no way of knowing who the original they was or what their intent was, but there is no reason to be troubled by their misinformation. There is no mandatory curriculum in the UMC for any topic.
The second thing that “they” have been saying is that adultery is now permissible for our UMC pastors. Once again, “they” could not be more wrong. At the family meetings and in the written answers to congregational questions, I covered this, but it is worth repeating as “they” keep sharing their misinformation. As part of the work of General Conference, the paragraph in our Book of Discipline that contains chargeable offenses was edited. As I mentioned in our meetings, the list of things for which a pastor and all lay members of the church may be brought up on charges was edited to be identical. Some may not know that laity can be charged just like clergy. The changes made in no way released clergy or laity from their covenant relationship with their spouse.
Paragraph 2702 as printed below was approved by a 474-2066 vote at 5:04 PM on April 25TH:
A bishop, clergy member of an annual conference, local pastor, clergy on honorable or administrative location, or diaconal minister may be tried when charged with one or more of the following offenses (a) immorality; (b) crime; (c) disobedience to the order of the discipline of the United Methodist Church; (d) dissemination of doctrines contrary to the established standards of doctrine of The United Methodist Church; (e) relationships and/or behavior that undermines the ministry of another pastor; (f) child abuse; (g) sexual abuse; (h) sexual misconduct including the use or possession of pornography; (i) harassment, including, but not limited to racial and/or sexual harassment; (j) racial, or gender discrimination; (k) fiscal malfeasance; or (l) domestic abuse.
I think we would all agree that adultery is immoral so an offender could be charged under this category. Take note of (h) sexual misconduct including the use or possession of pornography. This is another category under which a pastor could be charged for committing adultery. The fact that a pastor can be charged for sexual misconduct for the possession or use of pornography should put to rest any fears that adultery is permissible. If it is sexual misconduct to possess images of another person it is pretty clear if there was involvement with an actual person that this qualifies as sexual misconduct which is grounds for removal from ministry.
In the Wedding Service found in our Hymnal on page 865, the couple is asked, “Will you forsake all others and be faithful to each other as long as you both shall live?” General Conference did nothing to alter the covenant made in the marriage ceremony. In our Family Meetings, I explained that both clergy and laity can be charged for having sex outside the marital relationship. The process for those charges to be brought and adjudicated has not changed. Any couple having sex prior to marriage can be brought up on charges of immorality whether they are clergy or laity. All of this to say, that once again, “they” is wrong.
I know that there were several people for whom this wrong information has been very troubling. Some even began to question if Vineville was the place for them. I hate to think that somebody might leave Vineville based on things that are in no way true. To me, that is when the harm of “They say…” is plain to see. It might be just a talking point in a conversation for some, but that wrong information could have tremendously damaging consequences for others. My prayer is that “They” will quit sharing things that are not true.
Right now, there is another United Methodist Church considering whether to remain United Methodist. I believe that the rhetoric of that debate is one of the sources for “they say” kinds of information. Hopefully, once that decision is made on the 24th, some of this will dry up. In the meanwhile, it is my prayer that nobody makes a major decision based on inaccurate, misleading, or just plain false information.
I have said this before, but it is worth repeating. I am available to listen, to answer questions, and to provide resources. You can call me (478) 745-3331 ext. 102. You can email me jasbell@vinevillemethodist.org. We can set up an appointment to meet in person or talk on the phone. Maybe you have heard other things “they” have said. Let me know, and I will do my best to make sure “they” don’t cause people to worry or make decisions based on bad information. If for some reason, you don’t want to talk with me about it, reach out to Teresa, one of our retired pastors, or Ivey Hall, our Administrative Council Chairperson. In closing, let me ask all of us to refuse to share information that we don’t know to be true. If “they” is not named or is not verifiable, then let’s agree not to repeat it. Let’s ask people who share what “they say” to provide the source so that it can be evaluated.
Thanks for reading. So glad WE are in this together!
Peace,
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