From the editor: Reconciling Ministries Network is experiencing an unprecedented increase in new engagement on social media... from places like Uganda, Nigeria, the Philippines, and South Africa. Since the beginning of the year, over 40,000 unique individuals have seen content from RMN's facebook pages from Central Conferences. This week, the most popular city where people were actively engaging with RMN's page... Lagos, Nigeria, closely followed by Chicago Illinois, Narirobi Kenya, and Kampala Uganda. All of this activity begs the question, will Methodist African delegates to General Conference always be anti-LGBTQ? To help think about this question, we are re-posting a post from May 2012; an article that deserves another look.
- by Rev. Wes Magruder -
I am a straight, white American male, so I offer the following thoughts haltingly and cautiously.
But I want to address other American United Methodists in this post, especially those who are undeniably grief-stricken about the denomination’s position on LGBTQ folks.
Like you, I am waiting anxiously for the day when the church changes its fundamental understanding of homosexuality and its “incompatibility” with Christian teaching. Like you, I was disappointed that it didn’t happen this year.
I am also aware that, in general, the African delegations are strongly resistant to acceptance of homosexuality. Their voting bloc, which is only going to grow in the future, likely kept anything from changing at General Conference 2012.
I lived in one of the conservative African states for four years, and saw first-hand the oppression and discrimination against gays and lesbians. In particular, I remember the day one of the Cameroon tabloids “outed” a long list of prominent public figures in an attempt to intimidate, harass, and sway elections.
One question that keeps rising is, “Will this change? Will the African church ever change its mind?”
I do have hope that this state of affairs will eventually change. And not because Africa will somehow be “modernized” or “enlightened” by the West. Part of the resistance to acceptance of homosexuality stems from an anti-Western ethos.
For example, a blogger in Uganda writes, “I have asked many Ugandans why there is such strong homophobia in this country. Nearly every answer I get is some variation on ‘it isn’t part of our culture. It was brought here by Europeans, and they are trying to recruit young people to become gay.’”
He goes on to observe that “the irony is that homosexuality existed here long before Europeans had ever set foot on the African continent and it is, in fact, Christianity, a true European import, that has demonized homosexuals.”
Let me suggest that African thought on this issue will change as Africans rediscover their own traditions, and shed more of their colonial, missionary shackles. Take for example, this article by a Nigerian woman who speaks of rediscovering a “third gender group,” the “dan daudu” in northern Nigeria in pre-colonial times. The “dan daudu” appear to be bisexual, but their place in the community was stable and accepted.
She goes on to state that, in some traditional societies, before white people came, homosexuals were “believed to have special divine inspiration, healing power, subsequently they were given a place of honor in society.”
It appears that traditional African societies had a place for homosexual persons until white missionaries came and said, “We have the true religion – you need to become like us! And homosexuality is sin!”
Sadly, this legacy lives on in much of the African church today.
I am convinced that one day it will change, but until then, I believe that we white Americans need to step back and be more reflective. In some sense, we are the ones who imported the hate in the first place.
In the meantime, we can take hope in the words and actions of Bishop John Yambasu, a Sierra Leonean, whose speech at a Love Your Neighbor dinner during General Conference, was a bold and courageous statement in favor of LGBTQ inclusion in the church.
As “Behind the Mask,” the self-proclaimed “Voice of Africa’s LGBTQ Community,” reported, Yambasu said, “Our lives will be judged, not by the affiliations we have, but by how we spent the life that God gave us.”
. . .
Wes Magruder has 16 years of pastoral experience in diverse contexts from the suburban churches of North Texas to the mission fields of Cameroon, West Africa. Wes is a prolific writer and highly sought speaker for his advocacy of social justice issues and interfaith engagement. He serves as the Chair of the Board of Church and Society of the North Texas Conference (United Methodist Church), and is on the Board of Directors of Refugee Services of Texas and Texas Impact. Wes earned a Bachelor of Arts in Radio/TV/Film from California State University, Long Beach. He earned his Masters of Divinity from SMU’s Perkins School of Theology and his Doctorate of Ministry in Homiletics at TCU’s Brite School of Divinity.
