Human Sexuality

Rev. Mike Slaughter and Rev. Adam Hamilton present a substitute petition
to "commit to disagree with compassion, grace and love" on the
issue of homosexuality.

This will be an emotional day. It is clear that tension is high on the floor, as we begin to discuss an issue that evokes very strong feelings.

The discussion opened with a delegate who urged the body to not see this as something we must take sides on. The right thing to do, he said, is to tell the truth:

The church has different understandings of this issue: Many people feel that we need to take a strong stand against homosexuality, and many people feel that we should be totally inclusive...We want winners and losers, but we should be truthful about the fact that we disagree. If you need to go home and tell people we do not stand for homosexuality, then do that. But some of us need an opening to reach young people where they are. Let us vote for what is God's will - that is, that we disagree. We would prefer to have a single stance, but in this case, we have dual standards.

Adam Hamilton then took the floor, presenting a substitute amendment (paragraph 161f in the Book of Discipline), below:

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Proposed Amendment by Substitution for
Calendar Item 513 (DCA page number 2367),
Petition Number 21032 (ADCA page number 270)


The following amendment would replace the proposed amendment contained in the original petition:

Homosexuality continues to divide our society and the church. All in the United Methodist Church affirm
that homosexual persons are people of sacred worth and are welcome in our churches, but we disagree as a people regarding whether homosexual practice is contrary to the will of God.

The Bible is our primary text for discerning God's will. We read and interpret it by the light of the Spirit's
witness, with the help of the thoughtful reflections of Christians through the centuries, and assisted by our
understanding of history, culture and science.
The majority view through the history of the church is that the scriptures teach that same-sex sexual intimacy is contrary to the will of God. This view is rooted in several passages from both the Old and New Testament.

A significant minority of our church views the scriptures that speak to same-sex intimacy as reflecting
the understanding, values, historical circumstances and sexual ethics of the period in which the scriptures were written, and therefore believe these passages do not reflect the timeless will of God. They read the scriptures related to same-sex intimacy in the same way that they read the Bible's passages on polygamy, concubinage, slavery and the role of women in the church.

United Methodists will continue to struggle with this issue in the years ahead as a growing number of young adults identify with what is today the minority view. The majority view of the General Conference, and thus the official position of the church, continues to hold that same-sex intimacy is not God's will. We recognize, however, that many faithful United Methodists disagree with this view.

It is likely that this issue will continue to be a source of conflict within the church. We have a choice:
We can divide, or we can commit to disagree with compassion, grace, and love, while continuing to seek to understand the concerns of the other. Given these options, schism or respectful co-existence, we choose
the latter.

We commit to disagree with respect and love, we commit to love all persons and, above all, we pledge to seek God’s will. With regard to homosexuality, as with so many other issues, United Methodists adopt the attitude of John Wesley who once said, "Though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike? May we not be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion? Without all doubt, we may."


Submitted by Adam Hamilton and Mike Slaughter
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Currently, speeches are being heard for and against "substituting this amendment." However, I''m not sure that's exactly what the speeches are focusing on.

As I've asked before, I ask for prayers for our church. There is a lot of pain around this issue.