The progressive wing of the United Methodist Church (UMC) refuses to show any accountability. If we allow same-sex marriage and ordination of "self avowed practicing homosexuals" then it's just a matter of time before other important pieces of our theology go away. This is a line-in-the-sand moment for the Church.
Or so the story goes.
Now for a true story.
Glide Memorial UMC in San Francisco is famous (or infamous) as one of the flagship churches of progressive Methodism. It has a well earned reputation of decades of very liberal theology and very significant social action. But now its very existence as a United Methodist Church is in question. Why? Because of this. Bishop Minerva Carcano, who has never been accused of being conservative, has announced that Glide is being held accountable for going beyond what is allowable in the UMC. In both theology and polity the church has violated our principles. As a result they no longer have a pastor and a process has or soon will begin that could result in the end of the church or a complete reordering of it under new leadership. That is what accountability looks like. And while most would label me theologically progressive (which in reality is true in part and false in part), if Bishop Carcano's portrayal is accurate then Glide Memorial is not United Methodist.
Like most United Methodists, I believe in a big tent. Even a big tent, though, has stakes planted that help set the outer limit. Accountability is a necessary part of having any organization generally and a Christian denomination specifically. This true story is proof that there actually is such a thing as accountability on the theological left. A progressive bishop has shut down a progressive congregation in part because it was too progressive.
So to my conservative Wesleyan Covenant Association (WCA) friends I ask, where is your accountability? I know that you would also shut down Glide. That's an easy decision for you. I know you would strip the ordination away from some of my friends and colleagues who are gay like I might want to strip away the ordination of someone who is a fundamentalist and outside the bounds of our theology. My question is where is your accountability for your allies?
I know for an absolute fact that there are pastors in the UMC that have rebaptized students at Confirmation. I've reported one. And nothing happened.
We all know that there are churches and pastors who are withholding apportionments. Which one of those have you criticized?
Did I miss your joining in with the likes of Franklin Graham and the Southern Baptist Convention in rejecting Attorney General Jess Sessions' gross abuse of Scripture in defense of the Trump administration's immigration policy?
When I heard someone say that sacrificing women's ordination may be a necessary sacrifice so that we can win the battle on LGBT ordination where was the outcry?
Tell me again about how the WCA is committed to the United Methodist Church - oh by the way we have an entire structure ready to implement on March 1, 2019 if we don't get our way.
Tell me again about your outrage about our lack of accountability. Except this time point your finger in the other direction. Tell me which of your friends and allies has gone too far the other direction. Instead of a self-serving accountability tell me about the real thing. Then I'll listen. Until then, I'll be grateful for the real leaders who make the hard call. Like Bishop Carcano.
