To the people of the Holston Conference:

I send to you grace and peace from God our Father, Jesus our Savior, and the Holy Spirit our guide and power.

I realize that for many in The United Methodist Church today, there is confusion around the Judicial Council’s Decision #1032 ruling made last week. This ruling caused considerable confusion within the Council of Bishops because we saw this in direct conflict with our biblical understanding and with Article IV of our United Methodist constitution. The Pastoral Letter was written by the Bishops as our reaction to this ruling that left us pondering the consequences of the decision by the Judicial Council. I also realize that for some persons it is impossible for them to separate this issue from the current furor concerning homosexuality. It is my contention that this is not just an issue of the church’s stance on homosexuality as outlined in paragraphs 161G, 304.3, 341.6, or 2702.1. I offer the following two points as the real essence of this issue:

1. This issue is about membership and whether or not a pastor has unlimited power regarding the acceptance of persons into membership of The United Methodist Church.

2.  This issue is also about the historical United Methodist and Wesleyan understanding of the work of grace involved in salvation.

Jesus in Matthew 11:28 expressly says, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” The Constitution of The United Methodist Church seeks to confirm this in Article IV that states, “The United Methodist Church is a part of the church universal, which is one Body in Christ. The United Methodist Church acknowledges that all persons are of sacred worth. All persons without regard to race, color, national origin, status, or economic condition, shall be eligible to attend its worship services, participate in its programs, receive the sacraments, upon baptism be admitted as baptized members, and upon taking vows declaring the Christian faith, become professing members in any local church in the connection. In The United Methodist Church no conference or other organizational unit of the Church shall be structured so as to exclude any member or any constituent body of the Church because of race, color, national origin, status or economic conditions.”

The operative word here is ALL. I reiterate that many even as you read this have already made up your minds and are only looking for those statements you can refute, debate, or affirm. But, it is clear to me that sin is sin. If we are willing to allow people to join our churches who we know are not perfect in any area of their lives, then we must not then turn around and discriminate against certain sins. Do we now examine everyone who comes forth to see if sin remains in their lives? I caution us not to go down that road.

The United Methodist Church has affirmed time and time again our understanding of salvation as a three-step process that we identify as:

1.     Prevenient Grace – “This grace prompts our first wish to please God, our first glimmer of understanding concerning God’s will, and our ‘first slight transient conviction’ of having sinned against God.”

2.     Justification and Assurance – “In justification we are, through faith, forgiven our sin and restored to God’s favor.” We must admit all of this is God’s work activated by our faith. In many instances, we have seen this acted out when a person expresses a desire to unite with the church, but that does not necessarily always happen. The 2004 Book of Discipline states under Part II, Section 1, “Our Doctrinal Heritage,” under the subsection Justification and Assurance, “This process of justification and new birth is often referred to as conversion. Such a change may be sudden and dramatic, or gradual and cumulative. It marks a new beginning, yet it is part of an ongoing process.”

3.     Sanctification and Perfection – “We hold that the wonder of God’s acceptance and pardon does not end God’s saving work, which continues to nurture our growth in grace … Sanctifying grace draws us toward the gift of Christian perfection, which Wesley described as a heart ‘habitually filled with the love of God and neighbor’ and as ‘having the mind of Christ and walking as he walked.’ This gracious gift of God’s power and love, the hope and expectation of the faithful, is neither warranted by our efforts nor limited by our frailties.”

In closing I admit that what I ask of you is difficult – if not impossible – for some, but we must remember that grace is not ours to give. Grace comes from the Lord; therefore, it is not ours to withhold.