WATCHING THE RELIGIOUS LEFT PRAY

By Terry Mattingly

The Rev. Julian Rush watched as 13 United Methodist pastors in the Pacific Northwest tried one of their own: the Rev. Karen Dammann, who openly lived in a lesbian relationship and disclosed it to her superiors. Their Book of Discipline clearly bans “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” from ministry, declaring gay sex “incompatible with Christian teachings.”

Rush wasn’t surprised by the trial—or the “not guilty” verdict. Two decades earlier, he’d faced a similar ordeal after coming out in 1981.

“What surprised me was how the news reports brought it all back,” said Rush, now 67. “It was spooky, like a flashback… I remembered that feeling of powerlessness and total vulnerability. That’s probably good—we need reminding that things aren’t settled.”

Rush retired with his credentials intact after regional panels twice found “insufficient evidence” to try him—largely because he refused to answer questions about his private life. “My lawyer said, ‘Make them prove it.’ What were they going to do—hire a private investigator?”

Similarly, the Dammann jury exploited a technicality: while the Discipline states that “the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teachings,” it never formally “declares” this as doctrine. Instead, the jury cited another passage affirming “inclusiveness” and opposition to discrimination.

Rush predicts conservative United Methodists will arrive at the April 27 General Conference “with their nostrils flared and breathing fire,” while progressives gain confidence from this high-profile win.

Both sides are drafting resolutions to clarify or enforce the Discipline. Yet, as Rev. James V. Heidinger II of the Good News renewal movement notes: “We don’t need more rules. We just need people willing to abide by or enforce the will of General Conference.”

Rush agrees: the real issue isn’t legal wording—it’s that the denomination houses two irreconcilable worldviews. Traditionalists hold to an “established, infallible, permanent core of doctrine.” Liberals view faith as an evolving process.

“One side knows how to lay down the law; the other knows how to emote,” Rush said.

Yet no one dares press the “schism” button—fearing financial and institutional collapse. “Everyone dances around that button,” he said. “They keep the Discipline vague enough to keep everyone in the tent. You end up with spiritual schizophrenia—but it holds things together.”

Terry Mattingly teaches at Palm Beach Atlantic University and writes a weekly column for Scripps Howard News Service.