DownloadJuly 13, 2009 issue
Spirit of courage at Columbus
A denomination that wants to play it safe wouldn’t do what Mennonite Church USA delegates did in Columbus, Ohio. Calling for discussion of human sexuality sounds like stirring up conflict.
And it might. Disagreement on homosexuality is why the resolution came up, although it avoids the term. As one delegate said, “I wish this issue did not exist.”
But it does, and the delegates chose not to pretend otherwise. In the end, they chose a risky and courageous path. They decided MC USA will not sweep its disagreements out of sight. The denomination will trust its members to seek a goal rarely attained: talking about homosexuality in a way that builds up the body of Christ rather than tears it apart.
When we hear a call for dialogue, it is worth considering what dialogue is and what it is not. Dialogue does not mean the church’s positions are on shaky ground. It does not imply any individual lacks clear conviction. Nor is its purpose to change anyone’s mind, although that might happen.
Rather, dialogue ought to be an effort to understand not just what another person believes but the life experience that shapes that belief. It ought to be about learning to know people, not just positions. The goals are relationship and respect.
Convention speaker Shane Claiborne offered good advice when he said disagreeing well is one of the most effective witnesses Christians can show the world.
“One of the things I’ve learned from both liberals and conservatives is that you can have all the answers and still be mean,” he said. “Maybe the two most important camps aren’t left and right but nice and mean.”
If conventiongoers learned anything from the sermons at Columbus, it was that we need the Spirit’s peace to fill our process of discernment. “God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline” (2 Tim. 1:7). Columbus delegates were not timid. Love and self-discipline will be the keys to their resolution’s success.
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