LGBT Activists Launch Campaign to “Divest” from, “Disrupt” UMC

on December 12, 2013

At the most recent Council of Bishops meeting, pro-homosexuality activists within the United Methodist Church passed out flyers that promised to “Disrupt” and “Divest [from]} the UMC, and even promised to refuse to pray for the church. Amy DeLong, a lesbian UMC minister who was convicted in a 2011 church trial for performing a same-sex marriage, passed out the flyer along with her friend and fellow activist Julie Todd.

The flyer bears the logo and website information of a group called Love Prevails, which appears to simply consist of DeLong (whose employment appears limited to professional protesting) and a small number of her friends. “Having experienced the liberating truth imparted by the Spirit,” it reads, “we can no longer sit in silent acquiescence before the unjust laws of The United Methodist Church… [W]e hereby declare that until and through General Conference 2016, we will engage in a three-dimensional strategy to abolish the policies of discrimination against LGBT people. We will: Disclose(t), Divest, and Disrupt.”

The flyer goes on to outline what exactly they mean by the each of the three dimensions.

  • Disclose(t): “Some of us have been secretly conducting same-gender unions and weddings. These actions will continue, but our silence is over. We will no longer self-censor.”
  • Divest: “We will divest our prayer, presence, gifts, service and witness from all structures within the church that support the status quo. We will widely publicize our actions and rationale.”
  • Disrupt: “The time for polite persuasion has passed. To ensure discrimination no longer flows uninterrupted, we will protest and disrupt local, nation, and global events… If it is clear that the United Methodist Church is going to continue enshrining discrimination in the Book of Discipline, we will disrupt the 2016 General Conference in Portland, OR.”

Despite the radicalism of the ‘manifesto,’ it is perfectly in line with previous, equally radical LGBT activism within the UMC. The “Disclose(t)” call to perform same-sex marriages seems perfectly in line with the “biblical [dis]obedience” movement within the denomination led in part by retired bishop Melvin Talbert. Perhaps the only remarkable part is that the activists openly admit that they never bothered obeying the Book of Discipline to begin with.

Meanwhile, the “Disrupt” portion is exactly what Amy DeLong did during the 2012 General Conference. At Tampa, DeLong illegally took to the floor of the General Conference, shutting down all debate unless representatives of the Council of Bishops gave into her demands. Later, she threatened to shut down the floor again if it even considered a petition that was backed by pro-life Methodists. DeLong’s actions at the time represented the height of hypocrisy; only she deserved to be heard and speak as long as she wanted, not those she disagreed with. As this latest manifesto makes clear, she and her supporters have no interest in “polite persuasion” or dialogue with the vast majority of Christians – only coercive, threat-backed demands for others to surrender and submit to her apparent infallibility. But despite DeLong’s questionable actions and obvious radicalism, liberal United Methodist organizations such as Reconciling Ministries Network (RMN) and the Methodist Federation for Social Action (MFSA) have held her up as a shining example of the kind of excellent pastors the UMC is losing with its ban on partnered LGBT ministers.

But the “Divest” part is genuinely disturbing in that it calls for divesting from prayers for the UMC. The other items they list (gifts, service, etc.) are theirs to give to whichever church they see fit. But the Bible makes clear that everyone, and that means everyone, deserves our prayer. “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people…” Paul writes in 1 Timothy 2:1. Paul also writes in verse 8 that prayers are to be made “lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling.” There are many disagreements among Christians, but prayer and worship ought to be something that brings us all together.

If there is a bright side to this new front of radical activism, it is that it illustrates the desperation and despair of those who want to radically alter the vision and stance of the United Methodist Church. After eleven successive General Conferences upholding the language declaring the practice of homosexuality incompatible with the faith (and with conservative vote margins growing in recent years), increasingly activists are pulling away the church (“Divesting,” if you will) or resorting to inappropriate measures that will alienate friend and foe alike (“Disrupting). With every over-the-top liberal activist who beclowns themselves, the case for changing UMC doctrine to conform with secular social attitudes weakens.

Click here to view the manifesto, or download it via Scribd, courtesy of Love Prevails.

  1. Comment by eMatters on December 12, 2013 at 1:09 pm

    So non-Christians are going to stop praying for the UMC? Oh noes!

    This is what the UMC gets for letting these fakes stick around so long. DeLong and the rest are vile non-Christians and the false teacher the Bible warned us about. The leadership should have them arrested for their disruptions.

  2. Comment by Steve on December 12, 2013 at 1:53 pm

    I am not a bible scolar, but my baptist pastor tells me that no where in the bible does God, or Jesus condone any gay lifestyle. The bible does not condone the murder of unborn children either. My wife and I left the UMC when we discovered there support of RCRC.

  3. Comment by Robin on December 13, 2013 at 5:00 pm

    Our family left the UMC after learning that the church leadership has been engaging in unholy conversation for decades. Paul would have never advised his church plants to do such a thing. The church has NOT handled rebellion in a Biblical manner. Christ Himself told the disciples to heal the sick and cast out demons. What the UMC has done it tolerate unclean spirits and in many cases appointed rebellious spirits to leadership positions. Is it any wonder why “disrupting” and division abounds. They watered down the Gospel for the sake of numbers! A form of godliness and void of the power. Christ Gospel has the power to heal and change lives.

  4. Comment by gary on December 12, 2013 at 3:39 pm

    It seems very clear to me that DeLong is just a trouble maker. If the UMC is so bad why does she bother with changing it? She could just start her own church and then not have to expend all her energy on changing something – she could start something rather than try to destroy something else. The answer is she is just a trouble maker. This is what you get when you let heretical thought and action into a church – it is a disease that takes alot of effort to get rid of and then heal the body.

  5. Comment by Davie on December 12, 2013 at 10:51 pm

    Gary,

    You forget about the money. Starting your own church requires members who give offering. On the other hand, the UMC can be cannibalized for decades to come, funding one political campaign after another. In fact, if membership drops and congregations close, that will only free up property for sale, increasing available cash.

  6. Comment by Jeremy Long on December 13, 2013 at 10:00 am

    Two ways to gain notoriety as a clergyman:

    1. The long route: start a church and work with the Holy Spirit to make it grow and grow and grow. This involves years of hard work and commitment and setbacks. Not many people have the stomach for it.

    2. The short route: go the Amy DeLong path, be an activist/agitator/martyr/victim (in short, make yourself thoroughly obnoxious), forget God and put yourself at center stage.

    One of these routes is Christian, one isn’t.

  7. Comment by Erin on December 13, 2013 at 5:08 pm

    No where in the Bible is there anything said against homosexuality. I will wait while you look if you insist that something is there but I will be living like Jesus in the meantime, in the service of love.

  8. Comment by Marco Bell on December 13, 2013 at 7:54 pm

    That’s the right path Erin …Love!
    Jeremy long, and others who think being radical is wrong, tend to forget that at one time, Jesus was considered “radical”.
    This is one issue that will have to be settled by severance. I think it is time to allow the Methodist denomination to evolve like other religions have done. Take the Jewish faith, there are Orthodox and Reformed… better yet, employ the power of the people in the pulpit, by taking a vote!
    I know there will be many who say I have left God out of this decision, but I believe God would promote love over bigotry.
    History will decide this issue and others of our time, but as Erin, I will live like Jesus, in the service of LOVE.

  9. Comment by dan bowman on December 13, 2013 at 11:41 pm

    Erin and Marco, clearly the OT states that the homosexual act is wrong, since as you say Jesus was a radical (I thoroughly agree) if He intended to change His followers’ view of now accepting the homosexual act as permissible, He obviously would have stated the change as He did with other things. Please include where Jesus corrects His followers view on the homosexual act?

  10. Comment by Kay Glines on December 15, 2013 at 7:15 pm

    Obviously it would be pointless to direct you to the Bible passages that clearly DO condemn homosexuality. You can try to deconstruct those if you like – and I have heard from extremely twisted interpretations from the pro-gay side – but they are what they are.

    I hear this “live like Jesus” thing all the time from the gay side. Tell me: Which Jesus are you living like? You can’t be referring to the one in the New Testament, because you’ve made it clear that you do not regard the Bible as authoritative. So you must have an imaginary Jesus who, conveniently, pats you on the head and tells you that all sex is good sex.

    You made your choice, and no one can stop you from calling yourself “Christian” if you wish to. Fool yourself, but God is not so gullible.

  11. Comment by Marco Bell on December 15, 2013 at 10:14 pm

    I’m not proporting to say that Jesus was okay with homosexuals. I’m stating that if it weren’t such a religious taboo, why should it be a Social taboo?
    The Bible and many other archaic texts wrote what they ‘knew’ to be the ‘truth’ at that time. We today, know that Homosexuals are no less holy or any more sexual than any heterosexuals. This issue is simply a strict edict from an ancient belief. Let go of these prejudices. Time will prove my point.

  12. Comment by Chad P on December 19, 2013 at 2:26 pm

    I find this post to be a glittering example of what has gone wrong in today’s UMC (and other denominations as well). There are so many fallacies in these few short sentences that it was breath-taking to read it.

    The following comment was made: “I’m stating that if it weren’t such a religious taboo, why should it be a Social taboo?”

    Response: It was a religious taboo, so much so that the behavioral act of homosexuality was condemned each time it was mentioned in both the Old Testament (OT) and New Testament (NT).

    The following comment was made: “The Bible and many other archaic texts wrote what they ‘knew’ to be the ‘truth’ at that time.”

    Response: “What is truth?” This is the very question Pilate asked Christ when deposing him for the Pharisees. The question seems to be one asked by a person who either didn’t believe truth existed, or at least didn’t care. This is where we have arrived in our modern culture and in some corners of the UMC. “Who cares about truth when it conflicts with what I want to believe”, seems to be the motto of some. But what is truth? Truth is what corresponds to reality. Something which is true is true for all people, in all places, at all times. In other words, truth does not change! If something was true 2,000 years ago then it is still true today, and if true today it was true 2,000 years ago. To argue that something was true then but not now is what is known as moral relativism – the idea that morality / truth is what we want it to be, not what it actually is. If the Bible is the inspired word of God, and God is a perfect unchanging Being, then what was written in scripture as truth still remains true today. That fact is simply unavoidable.

    The following comment was made: “We today, know that Homosexuals are no less holy or any more sexual than any heterosexuals. This issue is simply a strict edict from an ancient belief.”

    Response: What does it mean to be holy? Being so simply means to belong to or completely devoted to God. But how do we know how to be holy? Our two primary sources are from special revelation in the form of the Bible and the Holy Spirit. It should be noted that the Holy Spirit guided the writers of scripture in choosing their words. This is the same Holy Spirit who guided the writers to write what they did condemning homosexuality. So are you prepared to make the claim that the Holy Spirit was wrong in guiding the writers of scripture to say what they did about homosexuality, while simultaneously proclaiming homosexuality to be a holy act? I hope you are beginning to see the fallacy of what you are asserting.

  13. Comment by Speechless on January 20, 2014 at 12:29 pm

    I believe you should read the books of 1 & 2 Samuel. Every verse. And if you don’t see a gay marriage taking place between David and Jonathan, then you’re reading a very different translation than any I’ve ever seen.

  14. Comment by John C. Edwards on December 19, 2013 at 11:55 pm

    You are correct! In DeLong’s case, I would compel her to prove the Holy Spirit is behind her by accepting option 1. She will quickly find out (and I suspect already knows in her heart) that she will quickly fail option 1. She is following option 2 because she is unwilling to do as Christ recommended: “shake the dust off your sandals” and move on to the next town.

  15. Comment by John on March 1, 2016 at 6:20 pm

    Your claim that the Bible does not condemn homosexuality is a lie.

  16. Comment by Mark W. Flynn on December 16, 2013 at 10:33 am

    I am a Christian of the Wesleyan branch of the family. I was a clergy delegate to the 2012 General Conference of the United Methodist Church. Father Wesley has taught us that scripture is our highest authority. The scripture has clear teaching on the subject of homosexual practice. As a Wesleyan Christian I do not feel free to overlook what the scripture has to say.

    I am open to having a respectful conversation with anyone who is willing to share in such a respectful conversation. I do not expect that my position will ever change. If it does, however, it will not be because of a prayer strike.

  17. Comment by vpayner on July 26, 2014 at 1:43 am

    Is it wrong to ask your pastor if he handed out his flyers for a church event in front of other pastors and his bishop. is it something wrong with that

  18. Comment by vpayner on July 26, 2014 at 1:46 am

    and the reason i’m asking is because i was told i was wrong for doing that, i should followed proto-call and went to get the flyers and took them from pastor. all he did’nt hand out. i felt like bishop came into a conversation and nobody was talking to him, i ask the pastor a question and i got chopped.

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