Seven years ago a few other evangelical pastors and I broke from tradition to create refuge for LGBTQ+ people in our churches. What happened? It was like a prison escape that helped the guards to reinforce security weak spots. My drama took place in Vineyard USA.
Why Bring it Up?
I have personal reasons. The Vineyard LGBT Position Paper was released in 2014 in overt response to my book, A Letter to My Congregation, where I advocated for full inclusion (also known as “affirming”). At the time, I only skimmed the paper, as I was in the throes of dealing with Vineyard’s (eventually successful) effort to dislodge me, given my refusal to enforce its newly minted policies. I got the paper’s gist but couldn’t bear to read it through. What ‘s the point? I thought … for for seven years — until last week. Then I read the thing, start to finish, line by line.
But Why Now, Seven Years Later?
Maybe it was learning that a new and younger national leadership team is in place, as my previous national board member peers have stepped down. Neither the 2014 position paper nor any disclosure of the Vineyard policies is available on the Vineyard website — a sign that Vineyard isn’t especially proud of its paper or policies? (The Evangelical Covenant Church used…
