by Ryan Bell, June 26, 2014 |
Yesterday an appeals committee for the United Methodist Church overturned the ruling against Rev. Frank Schaefer and reinstated him as an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church after he surrendered his credentials at the end of last year. A jury of 13 United Methodist clergy suspended him for 30 days last November after he performed his son's same-sex wedding against the church's Book of Discipline. At the conclusion of the 30 days Schaefer was expected to say he would never perform another same-sex wedding.
Schaefer told the New York Times, "Today there was a very clear and strong signal from the church, and that message is, ‘Change is on the way.’ One day we will celebrate the fact that we have moved beyond this horrible chapter in our church’s life.”1
I couldn't help but wonder about my own case, which in some ways was different than Schaefer's. There were multiple issues for which I was forced to resign, ranging from doctrine to politics to administrative issues, such as being publicly critical of some denominational decisions and not being a "team player" when it came to public evangelism. Read more...
Yesterday an appeals committee for the United Methodist Church overturned the ruling against Rev. Frank Schaefer and reinstated him as an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church after he surrendered his credentials at the end of last year. A jury of 13 United Methodist clergy suspended him for 30 days last November after he performed his son's same-sex wedding against the church's Book of Discipline. At the conclusion of the 30 days Schaefer was expected to say he would never perform another same-sex wedding.
Schaefer told the New York Times, "Today there was a very clear and strong signal from the church, and that message is, ‘Change is on the way.’ One day we will celebrate the fact that we have moved beyond this horrible chapter in our church’s life.”1
I couldn't help but wonder about my own case, which in some ways was different than Schaefer's. There were multiple issues for which I was forced to resign, ranging from doctrine to politics to administrative issues, such as being publicly critical of some denominational decisions and not being a "team player" when it came to public evangelism. Read more...