Getting almost the last word at the Presbytery of Hamilton’s Speaking Truth in Love conference on human sexuality on January 31, Rev. Dr. Clyde Ervine said: “This is about more than sex. This is about: What is God? What is God’s character? What is sin? It affects our doctrine of God. It affects our doctrine of sin. It affects our doctrine of scripture. It affects our doctrine of the church. It begins to mount.”
He’s right, of course, and that might explain why about 300 people were at Chedoke Church, with another 100 or more watching online. Sitting in the sanctuary, mesmerized by the speakers, thoughts similar to what Ervine would express passed through my mind. I was struck by how each person read the Bible, what tools they engaged, how they interacted with tradition and history, how they expressed their relationship with God through Christ. It was good learning.
A lot of doctrinal stuff is unearthed through the issue of sexuality, including how we read the Bible and how we also “read” the world around us. (The fancy names for those are hermeneutics and exegesis.)
I’ve since learned that other presbyteries are using the videos from Hamilton to have their own study days, along with many congregations and presbyteries who are using the study guide prepared by the national church. That’s hundreds, thousands, of people talking about sexuality, and through that actively thinking about doctrinal issues. (With more online engaged in heated, at times bitter, conversations.)
Still, there was one other thought nagging at the back of my brain: Would hundreds, thousands, of people be equally engaged in doctrinal issues if not for the primary issue of sexuality?
Not to negate what Ervine said, or what happened during that day, and not to forget that thousands of us have also been deeply involved in sponsoring refugees, but … do you think we could overflow a parking lot if the conversation was about, let’s say, mission, or the importance of Christ in our lives, or mental, physical, emotional, spiritual health of clergy, or of laity, or …?
Human sexuality is a very important conversation for us to have—and, as a quick aside, we’re having it without listening to the voices of gay and lesbian Presbyterians—but, it is not the only very important conversation in our church right now.
My prayer is we don’t waste this opportunity as we delve into doctrinal issues to realize that as ideas and concepts mount we embrace them all and discern faithfully. My prayer is we come out of this process—and this is a marathon not a sprint—with a richer and deeper sense of what it is we believe, and how we need to act through our faith. I pray we develop a closer relationship with Jesus and share that passion with the world around us.
Sexuality is ultimately about relationships. And that is what we’re working through—how we have a deeper relationship with the communities outside our churches, with each other within the congregation and with Christ in our hearts. If we don’t meet that larger challenge, we will be wasting our time.
