By David E Braden
I was struck by an exchange this morning between Bishop Clay Lee, the Presiding Officer of the church trial of Rev. Amy Delong, and Amy’s counsel, Rev. Scott Campbell:
Bishop Lee: Scott, you’re not from this annual conference, are you?
Rev. Campbell: No, I am not.
Bishop Lee: So you’re an outsider.
Rev. Campbell: Only in the same way you are, Bishop.
Bishop Lee was referring to the fact that Rev. Campbell hails from the New England Annual Conference and is not a clergyperson from the Wisconsin Annual Conference in which the trial is taking place. Bishop Lee is not from Wisconsin either. This exchange took place hardly five minutes into the opening proceedings. There were groans from the audience and people speaking out, “He’s not an outsider, he’s not an outsider.”
So, just who is an “outsider”? What are we supposed to infer when someone calls another person an “outsider” – even in jest?
As Christians, we have been given the Good News that there is nothing in heaven or on earth that can separate us from the love of God, which is in Jesus Christ. In Christ, we are one body and no individual part of the body can say to another, “I have no need of you,” or that you do not belong. No part is “outside” if we are one body.
This trial is not just about Rev. Amy DeLong. It is about whether The United Methodist Church will continue to discriminate and deny the full humanity and sacred worth of our gay and lesbian family members in Christ. This trial is about whether The United Methodist Church will reflect the inclusive gospel of Jesus Christ, who has torn down the barriers of insider and outsider.
David E Braden was born, raised, baptized, and confirmed in the United Methodist Church and grew up in Northbrook, IL. When he left home for college, David also left the Church for three years because he did not feel welcome in the Church as an out gay man. However, after a deeply spiritual pilgrimage in Spain in 2003, David felt called by God back to the Church where he found Holy Covenant UMC in Chicago. He has felt welcome there to live fully as a child of God and is convicted by Christ's call to make disciples for the transformation of the world.
In 2007, David was elected as the first out, gay delegate to serve as an Alternate Lay Delegate to Jurisdictional Conference by the Northern Illinois Annual Conference. He is a graduate of the University of Chicago with his Masters in Social Work, and works at Reconciling Ministries Network as the Director of Development
Reconciling Ministries Network mobilizes United Methodists of all sexual orientations and gender identities to transform our Church and world into the full expression of Christ’s inclusive love.