To the Bishops of the
United Methodist Church
from President Dunnam
March 17, 1998
To: the Bishops of the United Methodist Church
My dear friends:
My heart is heavy. I am grieving for the church.
“The church has spoken,” said Bishop Martinez when the jury announced a
“not guilty” verdict in the Creech trial. Eight jurors thought he was
guilty but it required 9 out of the 13 to convict.
Has the church spoken?
Our church, General Conference after General Conference, has expressed her mind and
will on the issue of the practice of homosexuality. No one can doubt what our
position is, yet a minority of persons continue their onslaught against our unity, and
Rev. Creech is allowed to go undisciplined on a mere technicality of where our last
General Conference placed the prohibition against same sex-marriage in the Discipline.
Clergy across the nation will move now to follow suit and the unity of our church
and the future of the connection are gravely threatened. If the recent dialogue, sponsored
by the General Commission on Christian Unity, reflects the reality of our threatened
unity, then we cannot survive this blatant violation of the mind and will of the church.
To avoid schism we must find a way to hold each other accountable and discipline
those who deliberately violate the clear position of the church.
I am praying that you and other bishops will make clear to the whole church and to the
secular press that while Rev. Creech was found “not guilty,” he has clearly
violated the mind and will of the United Methodist Church. To perform same
sex-marriages is to affirm the practice of homosexuality, and the church has spoken
clearly on that issue.
I do not believe our church can go through two years before another General Conference
with such ongoing blatant disregard for the mind and the will of the church. If the
practice of same-sex marriages is allowed to stand in the public eye as “the mind of
the church,” our beloved denomination will be seriously fractured if not completely
divided. I hope that you will call a session of the Judicial Council to rule on the
legality of this decision immediately. If this does not prove fruitful, if we
have to call a special session of the General Conference to prevent such schismatic
action, let’s do so.
My heart is heavy. I am grieving for the church.
As I travel the connection, I sense we are at the “breaking point” and
if something is not done about this particular situation, we may be pushed “over the
edge.” I appeal to you out of our mutual commitment to United Methodism and to
Christ as the Lord of the Church. We need to hear from our bishops. We need
you to lead us.
I am praying for you and want to support you in any healing and redemptive move
forward.
Joy and peace,
Maxie D. Dunnam
 Maxie D. Dunnam is President of:
Asbury Theological Seminary
204 N. Lexington Ave.
Wilmore, KY 40390
606-858-3581
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