A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose
Tom Lambrecht of the Good News organization and the recent consultant to the church counsel in the Frank Schaefer trial wrote a post today taking on the Love Prevails group (which includes the Rev. Amy DeLong, who Lambrecht prosecuted in 2011). Love Prevails staged a disruption of the Connectional Table meeting earlier this week in Nashville.
Lambrecht wrote:
If it were evangelicals who were advocating the withholding of apportionments and disrupting meetings to try to force our viewpoint on the church, we would be roundly (and rightly) condemned by the church. However, because many of our church’s leaders favor the LGBTQ cause, they are not speaking out against the bullying tactics being employed by groups like Love Prevails. There is a difference between convincing people and intimidating people by force to attempt to change their minds. As long as our church leaders allow this coercion to continue, our church will be held hostage to an ideological agenda that is a distortion of the Gospel.
Click on the link above to read the full post.
When Good News is as concerned about heterosexual sexual morality as they are with prohibiting the monogamous union of two men or two women, one might take their concerns about the Book of Discipline seriously. Funny, but I have never heard of a United Methodist minister facing trial for performing a marriage between an opposite-sex couple that has had premarital or extramarital sex. Were the sexual doctrine of the UMC equally enforced, there would be very very few marriages performed in the church.
"As long as our church leaders allow this coercion to continue, our church will be held hostage to an ideological agenda that is a distortion of the Gospel." Yes, Mr. Lambrecht. That is exactly what I have seen Good News People do to those with whom they disagree — while our bishop was trying to conduct a quiet holy conferencing on the subject. That bishop took early retirement because he was tired of the hassle.
Amen! Somebody needs to take on the petulant children of "Love" Prevails after their disgraceful temper tantrum.
Hmmm… Sounds like the pot calling the kettle black.
During Civil Rights nonviolence was used but sometimes you have to do things to get those in power attention. They were not listening to the congregations and they put the book of rules above the bible. Is that not sin as well? You all have a system problem. A lack of connection between the congregations understanding of the gospel and grace and the application of such in thise kind of situations. It does not matter they were kind. They exclulded a group on purpose and a pastor who was trying to find a way to indlude them in his own… Read more »
Well this is laughable Evangelical groups in the UMC know good and well when the UMC finally starts reflecting Christ in its treatment of LGBT people they will behave in the same manner.
And I know that the Confessing Movement in my conference has threatened leadership financially to get its way – but I guess it's okay if non inclusive people do it.