Another sex problem. . .

The Methodists have been hampered in their road to adopting the full GLBTQ agenda by a contingent of African Methodists who think that the Scriptures still matter.  But some have been frustrated by the slow pace of doors opens to gays and lesbians in a normally rather liberal church body and so they hastened the time table by electing a married lesbian as a bishop -- in contravention of the the rules.  A judicial court of the church rendered the verdict against the bishop but she was defiant in refusing to give up the fight.  "I am a bishop!" she insisted.

From Christianity Today:

Oliveto, 55, speaking at a press conference after the hearing, said: 'My name is Karen Oliveto and I am the Bishop of the Mountain Sky area of the United Methodist Church. I stand here with my colleagues in the Western Jurisdiction, my partners in ministry of the Western Sky area... and my siblings in Christ, the queer clergy caucus of the United Methodist Church.'

She admitted the Church was divided and had come to an impasse.  'As people of faith, we know we cannot give timelines and deadlines to the Holy Spirit.'  She predicted, 'God has and will continue to call faithful United Methodists who happen to be LGBTQI to serve their church. This helps move the conversation away from debating homosxuality as an issue to that of talking with people of the United Methodist Church who are LGBTQI, whose lives bear the fruits of the spirit that enriches the community of faith.'
She stated, 'I am not the first gay bishop and I will not be the last.'

Oliveto remained silent during the hearing, but added that 'the very stones would cry out if we fail to hear her voice' at the press conference.  Oliveto was elected bishop on July 15 and consecrated a day later, although the United Methodist Church technically forbids the ordination of 'self-avowed practising gay people'.

It would seem that the Holy Spirit is having a rocky time transcending what Scripture says and instituting the new path in which love trumps everything else -- even doctrine.  But still the Methodists are in a way anchored by the structure which gives voice to those outside the US for whom the GLBTQ agenda is an offense rather than a new move by the Spirit.  While we commend the Methodists for sticking to their rules, for now, it is clear that for many in Methodism the voice of the Scripture no longer stands for much.  This is true, sadly, not only for Methodists but for many Christians who choose their feelings and reason over the explicit Word of God.  You can read more about her here.

BTW as strange as the picture of her is, even stranger is the affection for GLBTQ people like Oliveto to defend a religion which treats gays and lesbians with even greater disdain than what she accuses traditional Christianity of showing toward the homosexual community.