The time has come to begin to discuss what seems to me to be the most discussed and least resolved matter facing the church in recent years and continuing today – human sexuality. I am sad to report that I have been part of a number of discussions on this matter where the inclusive language of love has quickly been replaced by the exclusive language of who is right and who is wrong. Many of the divisions in our denomination – Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) – have been very well documnted during recent years – and – it does not make me feel any better to report that we Presbyterians are certainly not the only people struggling with these issues.

Today – in a manner of introduction – I want to turn to a book that has become a very good friend and near-constant companion during these times. The book is Faithful Disagreement: Wrestling with Scripture in the Midst of Church Conflict* by Frances Taylor Gench, Professor of Biblical Interpretation at Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, Virginia. Dr. Gench is an ordained Presbyterian minister and served on the denomination’s Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church. Following is some background information written by Dr. Gench about the work of that task force which I hope will open the door for us to begin to have an inclusive conversation about the issues that have confronted the church in the past, presently confront the church, and which will likely continue to confront the church for years to come.

“In 2001 the 213th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) decided that our deeply conflicted denomination needed a theological task force to wrestle with the issues uniting and dividing us as Presbyterians, praying that with the help of the Holy Spirit we might lead the church in discernment of our Christian identity and of ways that our church might move forward, furthering its peace, unity, and purity. Three of its moderators – Jack Rogers (2001), Syngman Rhee (2000), and Freda Gardner (1999) – were directed to appoint members. So in their infinite wisdom, these three former moderators collared twenty Presbyterians as different from one another as they could possibly be – twenty Presbyterians who under ordinary circumstances never would have dreamed of hanging out together! So much of the diversity within the PC(USA) was reflected on our task force that when he first met with us, Stated Clerk Cliff Kirkpatrick told us that his office had received no complaints about the makeup of the task force, but had been asked repeatedly, ‘How will they ever get along?’ Most of us were wondering the same thing when we first got together. I for one was not at all sure that I wanted to be drafted. But friends and comrades in the pitched battles in which we found ourselves engaged exhorted me to take it on, to get in there and ‘speak the truth.’ So I put on the whole armor of God and flew to Dallas ready to knock heads and ‘speak the truth.’ This was going to be my opportunity to set some very misguided Presbyterians straight.

Over the course of our five years together, we task force members received a great deal of mail, representing the entire spectrum of opinion in our church – much of it exhorting us to ‘speak the truth’ – a lot of that exhortation accompanied by biblical quotation and commentary and threats of hell and eternal damnation. Indeed, one of the most important things I learned from the whole experience was that we have all been so busy ‘speaking the truth’ to each other that nobody has been listening! We aren’t actually having a conversation! We’ve all got truth by the short hairs, everyone else is in denial, and we have to set them straight. I came to recognize an important form that denial often takes in my own life, perhaps in yours as well; the denial that people I disagree with have anything to teach me.

It was a hard lesson to learn, but one for which I am grateful and for which I have twenty diverse Presbyterians, to whom this book is dedicated, to thank – people with whom, as it turned out, I had more in common than I had imagined. Every one of us entered our journey together with trepidation, not at all sure it would be a joyful part of our service to the church. But it turned out to be the most powerful experience of the Holy Spirit I had ever had, as a genuine sense of community formed among this very diverse group. An important part of our work was learning how to lower the decibel level – to speak our truths with love and respect, but also to listen to each other, to engage in genuine conversation, to really try to hear and understand another point of view.

The Bible had much to teach us about that and was indispensable to our engagement. Indeed, daily Bible study together whenever we met played no small role in the genuine sense of community that emerged among us and in our recognition of each other as fellow disciples of Jesus Christ. It was also an essential resource for our discernment on matters uniting and dividing our denomination. Every one of us experienced anew its power to shape and transform us as a community of faith.” (x-xii)

It was my distinct privilege and honor to lead a summer study group through the Introduction and seven chapters of this book a couple of summers ago. Like the denomination’s task force, we also were able to again discover that the language of love is always inclusive – even when we agreed to disagree.

More – much more – to follow. Please join in our community conversation.

* – Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009.