Two Camps: A Study in Contrasts
There’s a vast difference between the “two camps” operating in United Methodism today–but it may not be what you think it is. This difference is not primarily about social issues, the authority of Scripture, or who Jesus is. It’s about something else…
01. Renewal and Reform
The Renewal and Reform Coalition is a coordinated group of conservative/traditionalist groups that continue to lead The United Methodist Church. They are:
- Good News
- Transforming Congregations (program of Good News to “transform” LGBT persons to become straight)
- RENEW Network (program of Good News of conservative-evangelical women)
- The Confessing Movement (similar group to Good News)
- UMAction (the wing of The Institute of Religion and Democracy’s agenda targeting The United Methodist Church)
- Lifewatch (anti-abortion and denier of reproductive rights for women)
Largest and most organized among them is Good News. Today, we examine the perspective of their founder, which gives insight into their past and current philosophy and actions.
A Minority To Rise…
Rev. Charles Keysor was the originator of the Good News Magazine and eventual caucus group for conservative advocacy in The United Methodist Church. His first article (calling for the creation of Good News) was a 1966 article entitled “Methodism’s Silent Minority: A Voice For Orthodoxy”
Orthodoxy seems destined to remain as Methodism’s silent minority. Here lies the challenge: We who are orthodox must become the un-silent minority! Orthodoxy must shed its “poor cousin” inferiority complex and enter forthrightly into the current theological debate. We who are orthodox must boldly declare our understanding of Christian truth, as God has given these convictions to us. We must speak in love and with prophetic fearlessness, and must be prepared to suffer.
Keysor’s article was a rallying cry for who he perceived to be an ideological group that he could claim minority status with. For straight white men, ideological minorities are the only form of minority that they can often claim. In the days before the Internet made such connections easily, Keysor made it possible for folks of a particular ideology to gather arguments and become convicted by shared value literature.
…But Not “Those Minorities”
This call for minority empowerment, however, became complicated when race and gender became factors. In Keysor’s response to the 1972 General Conference, he deplored the theologies made by other minority groups–with a common theme:
“women’s theology, liberation theology, black theology, Third World theology, theologies of human rights…the primary accent is upon man’s ideas and problems instead of God’s truth.”
These other ways of doing theology also spoke out of convictions that God had given to them, but molded them through their ethnic identity or social situation, which Keysor did not share.
Keysor’s opposition to such contextual theology developed into his key phrase: minority mania. In 1974, in an editorial in Good News Magazine titled “Confronting the Cults,” Keysor lays out his opposition to minority groups doing theology informed by their identity (screenshot above):
“One of the most common forms of humanism is minority mania–the preoccupation by the church with minorities which represent only a small fraction of the whole membership…this variety of humanism replaces God as the primary object of love and concern with “sexist” obsession and “racist” obsession over being white, black, yellow, red, or brown-skinned.
The opposition to “minority mania” continues from 1974 to today as the Renewal and Reform Coalition members regularly criticize feminist, latino and black liberation, queer, and other theologies that speak about God out of their ethnicity, gender, and identity instead of in spite of them. While clearly there are significant numbers of ethnic minorities and women who are part of the Reform and Renewal Coalition today, that doesn’t negate the Coalition’s suspicion of those who do theology primarily from those identities.
In conclusion, the Reform and Renewal Coalition is a ideologically driven coalition of like-mindedness operating in The United Methodist Church.
02: Love Your Neighbor
There couldn’t be a starker contrast of the above with the Love Your Neighbor Coalition. The LYN Coalition is a coalition of thirteen partner organizations, and each has agreed to work together around the intersections of common justice issues and shared values. The LYN Coalition has one thing that the Reform and Renewal Coalition does not…tell me if you see what it is:
- Affirmation
- Black Methodists for Church Renewal
- Fossil Free UMC
- Love Prevails
- MARCHA: Metodistas Asociados Representando la Causa Hispano-Americanos
- Methodist Federation for Social Action (MFSA)
- Methodists in New Directions (MIND)
- National Federation of Asian American United Methodists (NFAAUM)
- Native American International Caucus (NAIC)
- Pacific Islanders Caucus of United Methodists (PINCUM)
- Reconciling Ministries Network
- United Methodist Association of Ministers with Disabilities
- Western Methodist Justice Movement (WMJM)
What you can very quickly see is that the Coalition has become exactly what Keysor feared: minorities working together. There’s five groups that advocate for ethnic group concerns, four groups for LGBTQ concerns, and four groups for other general and specific concerns.
What unites these groups is not ideological purity, but rather a mutual appreciation for how their concerns are interlinked with one another, and a desire to support one another’s expert recommendations.
Which looks like our changing world?
The LYN coalition, which includes non-white caucus groups, parallels the changes in American demographics. 2012 was the first year that white (Anglo) was not the dominant demographic of babies in America:
[N]on-Hispanic white Americans are expected to become a minority group over the next three decades. For years, Americans of Asian, black and Hispanic descent have stood poised to topple the demographic hegemony historically held by whites. Based on current rates of growth, whites in the under-5 group are expected to tip to a minority this year or next…in five years, minorities will make up more than half of children under 18. Not long after, the total U.S. white population will begin an inexorable decline in absolute numbers, due to aging baby boomers.
What we see is the LYN Coalition most represents the future of Methodism, of a plurality of perspectives that honor their differences rather than whitewash over them.
Tyranny of the Majority
Rev. Keysor was right about one thing though. He said if The UMC listened to the groups who emphasize the different experiences of genders and ethnicities, this would happen (from the screenshot):
The humanistic cults of minority empowerment turn the church into a battleground for special interest caucuses which emphasize power, prestige, and money instead of the Living Lord.
Keysor’s description of the caucuses proved to be accurate as that’s precisely what Good News became after Keysor’s death. Their page after page of proposed General Conference 2016 legislation are about eliminating the minority perspectives and strengthening the power of their majority perspective.
Thoughts?
While Christians rightly point out how belief in Jesus cuts across societies lines ala “neither Jew nor greek, male nor female” (Galatians 3:28), Christians are also called to not discount differences in innate qualities in the body (Romans 12), in gifts (Ephesians 4), in ways to praise God (Psalm 150), or to exclude the marginalized (Isaiah 56:3).
I support the Love Your Neighbor Coalition because I believe a unity of diverse perspectives leads to a more holistic and just Church than a narrow ideology that whitewashes over differences. I hope you join me in prayer for General Conference where this conflict is made most distinct.
Thoughts? Thanks for reading and your shares on social media.
One of your best, Jeremy. Excellent background research. Picking up for UM Insight. Thanks!
Action like this could end up backfiring.
https://www.rmnetwork.org/newrmn/queer-survival-a-call-to-action-at-general-conference/
This GC looks to be interesting.
From what you’ve quoted here, it seems to me that Keysor’s opposition to minority theologies was based on a false dichotomy. His assertion that minority theologies shift the focus from the sovereignty and will of God to human sinfulness and injustice is just not true. All theology, orthodox, conservative or liberative, starts with humanity’s sinfulness and injustice and works toward the redemptive power of God. Minority theologies open our eyes to a wider array of human sinfulness than we were previously aware of, and they are extremely focused on the power of God, as that is the only corrective to such injustices.
Also, I think I made up the word liberative.
I want to take a moment and thank you for your research and use of citations. A certain other Methodist blogger likes to use all sorts of numbers in his posts, and does not use citations…..ever. Your work is appreciated 🙂
Let us all uphold the UMC Doctrines, History & Heritage and never to change them …..the Church exists to transform and not to conform….
with that logic, there would be no UMC today, and certainly no ordination of women, or open table. Let alone repentance for past (and ongoing) racism and other systemic sins.
Then you are not aware of Methodist history. And the fact that there are other strands of modern Methodism that are flourishing and accepting of women clergy while remaining grounded in scripture. Just look at the AME, Wesleyan Church, Nazarenes, Free Methodists, CoG-Anderson, etc. And open table is practiced by every Methodist denomination in the world, it is part of our heritage. It seems liberalism is a problem of our UMC but not of historically faithful, gospel-centered Methodism in general.
I vote for fidelity to the Gospel and acceptance of celibate LGBTQ who shall abstain from their biblically-condemned sexual acts. Jesus said sin no more, and that’s good enough for me.
I am very aware of Methodist history. Perhaps our issue is what is considered doctrine– open table, women’s ordination, and anti-racism efforts could all be considered changes in doctrine, and the first two certainly weren’t practiced by Mr. Wesley. I seriously doubt membership in any of the denominations you reference is increasing stateside– this decline is across the spectrum and has nothing to do with so-called orthodoxy (since some of the fastest growing Christian groups worldwide are non-Trinitarian Oneness groups).
You’ve opened another issue- there are plenty of conservative Methodist denominations for conservatives to join, but the UMC remains the most progressive stream stream of Methodism in the US, there’s literally no where for progressive Methodists to go.
The United Methodist Campus Ministry Association is also a member organization of the Love Your Neighbor Coalition UMC. http://lyncoalition.org/statement-signers/
I’m not sure why we’re not listed elsewhere.
Hi David!
Julia here, communicator for the Love Your Neighbor Coalition. We’re thrilled that the United Methodist Campus Ministry Association has signed our vision statement! In case other folks are curious, that statement is available here: http://lyncoalition.org/vision-for-umc/
Thank you so much for affirming our dream of an inclusive church. We’ve been blessed by 1673 individual signers, 15 organizational signers, and 2 congregational signers on this statement. People like you and organizations like the United Methodist Campus Ministry Association are helping to build a swell of grassroots energy around this movement. And that’s vital! Having so many signatories builds legitimacy for the cause, which makes it more likely that we’ll be given a voice at the table.
Our 13 partner organizations that Jeremy listed above are in a different category. Instead of just signing on that they agree, they helped to craft this statement. Each partner organization has made a commitment to be help make major strategic decisions by appointing one or two members to our leadership team. Each partner organization has made a financial commitment to LYNC. And each partner organization has agreed to “think coalition-y” in its work: to recognize the intersectionality of our different advocacy areas and to work in cooperation rather than competition.
I hope this helps to clear up some of the confusion. If you have more questions or just want to talk, please reach out on our Facebook page. We read every message!
https://www.facebook.com/LYNCoalition/
I have realized that many, including yourself, see theological diversity as a good thing. As you put it: “I believe a unity of diverse perspectives leads to a more holistic and just Church than a narrow ideology that whitewashes over differences.”
Well, that is one way of setting it up to get the answer you want. But those two statements of yours are not the only options available. This is what I would like to see.
As a church, and not a gathering of groups with opinions, I believe it is crucial that we speak to the world with one voice on matters of theological importance, such as sin and salvation. I love diversity (my family of four is from four different countries) but I abhor theological diversity.
I believe that a church that doesn’t know what God wants or says or demands about sin and salvation is not a church but something else.
That doesn’t mean that a church that speaks with one voice “whitewashes” over the differences. With 33,000 denominations, do we really need theological diveristy within each of them as well? I believe that we as a church need to speak with one voice and that is called theological unity. How can anyone argue that we AS A CHURCH can hold mutually exclusive views and call it “holistic” or “just”?
It is not only impossible but also downright mean considering all the lost souls that we are called to serve and offer salvation. Example: “Well, we who worship here at church A believe that God says X, but if you go down to church B they believe the opposite. We just love each other and pray for each other but when it comes down to it, we belong to the same church yet have no clue as to what God actually says”. What?
Hi Andreas. I don’t spend my time getting to know other denominations as much as I should. There’s little reason to other than to satisfy curiosity: I know they are Christians and that’s enough for me. However, I do spend a lot of time listening to and understanding other Methodists who do not believe as I do. It’s important work and conversations, and we both have the reason to discuss because we are both Methodist. We have a common tie close to our hearts.
So I think theological diversity in the same family or church family is fine because there’s a reason to get to know one another better and you are bettered by the different perspectives.
Quick note: I do spend time in interfaith conversations because the diversity of faith traditions outside Christianity is fascinating!
I commend the author of this research for the citations and state for myself that :- As long as we remain focused on God and His Word, then we never go astray but once we are more focused on what we as humans think as the best way of doing anything; then we lose it. For what God accepts at some point as right is not what our own thinking will find as right at times. He is an awesome God and does things beyond human imagination so we never replace Him. Look at how at one time He tells Hosea to marry a whore and yet He is not saying the woman was doing the right thing….God’s ways are as far away from our thoughts as the sky is from the earth (Is55v8-9) and He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted(Job5:9) We should never try to match him but only to agree with His states and seek His guidance always. If God created both evil and good then who has the mandate to do away with the good or the evil besides the creator himself? Its tricky to say which sin is acceptable and which one is not acceptable for one to remain a church member b’coz Jesus in John 8 is saying who ever has never sinned should start to throw a stone at the woman caught committing adultery…….?