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Listening to the Spirit: A Handbook for Discernment: "What Is the Gospel Message to Our Church as We Relate to Gay and Lesbian Christians?"

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One of the 'hot-button' issues in the church today is homosexuality. Almost every major denomination has had to make some sort of statement regarding the issue at regional, national and international levels within the past few years. This is an issue that often generates more heat than light, as they say, because it touches deeply-held convictions and emotions that go to the core of identity as human beings as well as what it means to be a Christian. If recent history is any guide, it serves to tell us that this issue is far from over, and the discussions, debates, and arguments are a long way from being settled in any definitive and satisfactory manner.

The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is one of the mainline denominations currently struggling to find answers to this issue. Different regions have different policies about acceptance; even within regions, it is often a local matter as to whether a congregation is going to be 'gay-friendly' or adhere to 'traditional values' (there are other labels that might apply, and I must also state having applied these that I do agree that labeling on the whole is generally unhelpful). This book, designed by a committee within the CC(DoC) appointed by General Minister Richard Hamm, seeks to use the process of discernment to approach the issue, rather than more directly-oppositional forms of engagement. The committee was formed from a diverse group of people, including seven women and seven men; it intentionally included three people who were gay or lesbian as well as three people whose idea of homosexuality is that it is a sin.

Discernment can be a long process, and indeed, true discernment is never completely finished. Discernment doesn't force issues or call for votes, but rather waits and listens as people share their stories, their understanding of biblical stories and texts, share worship experiences, and assumes no specific outcome by a particular timetable.

This is a practical guide, designed for use in congregation or regional-sized groups. While it is designed specifically with the CC(DoC) denominational structure in mind, it can be readily adapted to almost any particular framework. There are sample worship liturgies to be used by the groups, Bible studies and recommended questions for consideration, and suggestions for further work. The book divides the process into seven stages, but these are not meant to be applied for a set time period of seven weeks or seven months; certain stages may take longer, and other stages may take less time.

As the chapter on preparation makes clear, there will be times (regardless of what side one finds oneself) where there will be disagreement and discomfort with the process, and perhaps with others engaged in the process. This is to be expected, and should be accepted as part of the 'cost' of doing the important work of discernment.

The text gets high marks from me for referring to scholars in the fields of theology, biblical studies, and ministry such as Luke Timothy Johnson and Walter Wink. The bibliography is a valuable resource. It also gets high marks from me for not having a bias against either side, but rather works to bring all voices to the table for inclusion and understanding.

LISTENING TO THE SPIRIT: A HANDBOOK FOR DISCERNMENT--"WHAT IS THE GOSPEL MESSAGE TO OUR CHURCH AS WE RELATE TO GAY AND LESBIAN CHRISTIANS?" is a book presented as a discernment tool for Disciples of Christ congregations to help them come to a consensus regarding whether congregations should accept and affirm non-celibate persons who identify as being homosexual, bi-sexual, or transgendered. When I purchased the book, I had high hopes that it would truly be a neutral, transparent, and representational resource for helping the church at large discern God's will as it related to the place of lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgendered persons in the church and in our society. Unfortunately, LISTENING TO THE SPIRIT made certain theological assumptions and presented several erroneous statements--regarding the exegetical and text critical interpretations of the Biblical texts--that I felt that the vast majority of lay readers would not and could not transparently and easily identify. In other words, in discussing Biblical and Christian principles, the editors employ rhetorical strategies and cognitive framing techniques that were misleading and/or false. []

[] For example, the original steering committee, which was appointed by the General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the US and Canada at that time, Dr. Richard Hamm, failed to include an equal number of persons from the recovering and the "loving, open, and transforming" communities. In other words, the committee excluded two categories of participants to balance the representation on the full panel or committee. They included three persons who identified themselves as being gay or lesbians, but did not include one person from the "formerly" or "recovering" gays and lesbian communities. In addition, while the full committee included persons from the "open and affirming" and persons from the "closed and condemning" communities, they did not have one person from the "loving, open, and transforming" community. []

[] Many conservative, evangelical, mainline, or moderate churches are "Loving, Open, and Transforming." These conservative, evangelical, mainline, or moderate congregations welcome persons from all walks of life and from all self-defined sexual or gendered communities. All of these groups can be said to be "Open, Welcoming and Transforming," not closed, unwelcoming, or condemning. []

[] In the chapter entitled "What Is Discernment," Dr. Paulsell rightly states that "It is essential that in whatever group [that] uses the process, there is participation by gay and lesbian persons. The process will not have integrity if lesbian and gay voices are not heard (Page 4, Paragraph 2)." Since Dr. Paulsell and the committee failed to included (1) the voices of "former" or "recovering" ex-gays, ex-lesbians, ex-bisexuals, and ex-transgendered persons and (2) the voices of Christians from the "loving, open and transforming" communities, we can say that LISTENING TO THE SPIRIT fails Dr. Paulsell's own integrity test because it was not well balanced and did not represent every position in the church. Instead of just four groups being represented, all six voices or groups should have been heard: 1. the closed and condemning, 2. the undecided, 3. the open and affirming, 4. gays, lesbians and transsexual, 5. the loving, open and transforming, and 6. the ex-gays, lesbians and transgendered. Because the latter two were not invited, the process did not have integrity for exactly the same reasons that Dr. Paulsell put forth. []

[] The second major flaw of LISTENING TO THE SPIRIT as mentioned above is its failure to correctly summarize the results of modern biblical scholarship regarding those passages in the Bible that speak to the issue of homosexual acts. For example, it is stated on page 46, "The truth is, scholars do not know exactly what the terms malakoi and aresenkoitai referenced. Ideological interests in marginalizing homosexual persons have influenced some of these translations as much as have generally accepted principles of Biblical interpretation." []

[] This statement is very odd when one considers that the editors and publishers of the three standard, academic, Greek reference lexicons have no trouble in translating those terms: Walter Bauer's A Greek English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Liddell and Scott's An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon, and Louw & Nida's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. All three lexicons have similar definitions and etymologies of the terms malakoi and aresenkoita. (See 1 Co. 6:9 and 1 Tim. 1:10) Even the authors of major, "liberal" commentary series like The Yale-Anchor Bible, Interpretation Bible Commentary and The New Interpreter's Bible have no problem in translating and commentating on those terms. And finally, the editorial committee for the United Bible Societies' and American Bible Society's joint publication, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, does not make one comment for either 1 Corinthians 6:9 or 1 Timothy 1:10. This latter resource is written as a guide on textual concerns that may cause confusion or difficulties for Bible translators and exegetes. []

[] One can only conclude that either the majority of modern Biblical exegetes, lexicographers, text critics, and linguists are confused, biased, and unenlightened or Dr. Paulsell and his committee have themselves "ideological interests that have influenced some of their translations and interpretations." Given the make up of Dr. Paulsell committee, we argue for the latter. []

[] It is one thing to say that there are minority opinions that question the adequacy of the standard definitions of those terms; it is another to misrepresent what is the consensus of the majority as LISTENING TO THE SPIRIT has done. It is one thing to argue for another kind and type of moral and epistemological authority as being higher than or more reliable than the Bible; it is another to misrepresent the content, context, and rhetoric of the Bible. []

[] This brings us to the third major flaw of the book and the most egregious: the lack of transparency and explicitness in its purpose and presentation. Dr. Paulsen and the majority of the committee support the "Open and Affirming" position and the book was written to help congregations and individuals going through the discernment process to develop an "open and affirming" consensus in one's own local congregation and an "open and affirming" theological orientation in individuals. []

[]Carter G. Woodson Fellow, Northern Illinois University[]

[]Ordain Minister, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)[]

[]Member, Chalice Hymnal Committee, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)[]

[]Sub-Committee Memmber, Inclusive Church Document, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)