Commentary:
The Methodist Middle
By Bishop Michael J. Coyner*
I want to affirm the Methodist Middle, the great middle ground of
middle-of-the-road United Methodist laity and clergy
who are not part of either the vocal "right" or "left" groups that seem
to be making all of the news these days.
Those who are in the Methodist Middle support our United Methodist
doctrine and discipline, value Scripture because it
"contains the Word of God" (in the words of our historic creeds and our
membership vows), believe that all persons are
children of God and deserving of a place in God's church, and struggle
to apply these values, Scriptures, doctrines and
disciplines to the complex issues of today's world.
Those in the Methodist Middle value doctrine, but they do not use it
like a club to beat their opponents (such as the far right
do), nor do they simply choose to ignore doctrine when it interferes
with their personal preferences (like those on the far
left do).
Those in the Methodist Middle value Scripture, but they are not
biblical literalists, nor do they simply ignore Scripture
when it fails to support their personal preferences.
Those in the Methodist Middle value our conferencing as United
Methodists and respect the opinions of others within the
Body of Christ. Unlike the far right and the far left, they do not
believe that they have the only answers to every issue that
confronts us today. The Methodist Middle would never consider breaking
any of our covenants of understanding with one
another; rather, they are willing to discuss, debate, consider, pray
and look for answers together.
Those in the Methodist Middle consider the idea of schism in our
denomination to be unthinkable because they believe in
dialogue, discernment and keeping their vows of faithful membership.
Those in the Methodist Middle know that the really tough issues of our
day, like homosexuality, are not resolved by
name-calling, petitions or judicial processes. They know that medical
science is divided on the question of whether people
are homosexual by birth or by development (or by both). They know
people who are homosexuals and who struggle to be
faithful Christians, and they understand that the issue of
homosexuality is not a simple one.
They also know that the Scriptures are not silent on this issue and
they take that seriously, while seeking to learn from the
best biblical scholarship to discover the context, meaning, and
interpretation of those texts. They are aware that the
traditions of the church have spoken against homosexual practice, and
they respect those traditions. They also believe that
God's Spirit continues to give the Church discernment on this issue,
and they are willing to remain in the United Methodist
Church to struggle with this difficult issue.
The Methodist Middle is not ready to concede that either extreme (right
or left) has the final answer. Perhaps most
importantly, those in the Methodist Middle do not want the United
Methodist Church to lose sight of its purpose and
witness by focusing too much on this one issue at the expense of
missions, education, outreach, worship and service.
Those in the Methodist Middle realize that the Jimmy Creech trial has
not changed our United Methodist stance on the
issue of homosexuality, and they are not in a panic to make any quick
changes in our Book of Discipline. They realize that
our Book of Discipline asks us to live with the paradox of welcoming
homosexual persons into our churches because they
are persons of sacred worth, while at the same time stating that we
believe homosexual behavior is outside of the guidelines
of Scripture and Christian teaching. Those in the Methodist Middle are
willing to live with that paradox, and they are
unwilling either to exclude homosexual persons or to condone homosexual
practice.
Those in the Methodist Middle are not in the middle-of-the-road just to
avoid issues. They try to center their life and faith
on Jesus Christ, and they believe in the continuing presence of the
Holy Spirit to guide and direct their lives and their
church. Their faith is not relegated to past traditions, nor does it
ignore those traditions. Their faith is firmly grounded in
Scripture tradition, reason and experience. They are not opposed to
theological exploration and new ideas, but they want
these explorations and ideas tested by the whole community of faith and
by the whole experience of Christian tradition.
Are you part of the Methodist Middle? I am, and I believe that 70 to 90
percent of all United Methodists are. I also believe
that those in the Methodist Middle resent the attempts by the far left
and the far right to damage our denomination.
Perhaps it is time for the Methodist Middle to be heard. And perhaps it
is time for the far left and the far right to be quiet
and listen for the will of God in the church.
*Coyner is bishop of the Dakotas Area of the United Methodist Church.
