The Why and How of Congregational Discernment in LGBTQ+ Inclusion: Models in the Literature

Helen Harris,Gaynor I Yancey

doi:10.3390/rel12010014

Abstract

Through the years, people of faith and their congregations have encountered social issues without easy answers. From racism, women’s rights, and poverty to the current divisions over abortion and human sexuality, the church has wrestled with difficult subjects impacting policy and practice. In the United States of America (USA/US), the question of LGBTQ+ inclusion in churches is an increasingly frequent conversation, point of decision, and sometimes point of division in congregations. As these challenging social issues in a politically polarized USA culture impact the church, there is also a focus in the literature on methods for civil conversation. This article reports on models for conversations that provide guidance for congregations engaging in difficult conversations including that of LGBTQ+ inclusion. In this article, congregations and others are provided with resources and models for discernment. Models covered include those developed by individual Christian leaders, those developed in congregational processes, and those developed for public and educational discourse.

Highlights

Our findings include an array of models, processes, and conversation variables intended to promote civility and problem solving in organizations and in congregations. We have addressed these models with attention to particular potential for application in congregations engaging in discernment processes
We focus on several detailed models for process with their strengths and limitations and recommend possible models for congregations deciding to engage in a discernment process
The authors limit their discussion to congregations and denominations in the USA; they include a variety of approaches used by individuals, congregations, and other organizations to engage in deliberate discernment conversations around challenging and often divisive topics

Summary

Introduction

Received: 30 November 2020 Accepted: 21 December 2020 Published: 24 December 2020. In the USA and other countries, many gay Christians have hidden in the church in confusion, in celibacy, in fear, and in mixed-orientation marriages, risking rejection when they came out while the church risked internal disagreement and painful conversations (Cole and Harris 2017). This is true in USA churches with a traditionalist approach, i.e., those whose policies and practices include the position that same-sex attraction and/or behavior is sin and contrary to the Biblical texts (Gushee 2017).

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion