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Her congregation also must bear with an apparently theologically naïve pastor as well. After the verdict inexplicably fell her way, Dammann commented, "It washed over me that it was over, and I was still in the kingdom. It was an overwhelming feeling." But the trial was over church law and ministry, never over "removing her from the Kingdom." Either Dammann's comment is deliberately deceitful or she doesn't understand the difference between God's gift of salvation and the church's requirements for ministry. In either case, her church is much the poorer.

The Methodist Discipline properly speaks of homosexual persons being of "sacred worth." There is no argument about God's love for any of us, and the extent to which Jesus honors and values us by dying for us. Yet, here is a pastor who doesn't understand the elementary theological difference between having "sacred worth" as an individual in the Kingdom of God, and yet at the same time being fully capable of willful sin and also fully needing to repent and seek forgiveness. What other confused messages does she feed her starving sheep?

Methodist church members elsewhere are further victims. In the entire Northwest, were there not thirteen pastors to be found who knew integrity from deception in order to sit on the jury? If this jury is indicative of Methodist pastoral leadership in the Northwest, how can the UMC ever prosper? (If it isn't representative, who engineered such a skewed jury?) And how many churches will be weakened further by this controversy and a regional structure that has lost its theological mind?

The most tragic victim
The greatest victim, however, is the Rev. Karen Dammann, herself, the self-avowed practicing lesbian minister who was under trial. She now thinks that continuing in "a practice that is incompatible with Christian teaching"—continuing in sin, in other words—is perfectly okay with God. After all, she now has the official license of the United Methodist Church to practice her sin unabated. Her bishop celebrates her lifestyle and calling.

Tragically, no one had the Christian love to tell her through the discipline of the trial that her sin is killing her and separating her from Christ, as long as it remains unconfessed.

And how many other homosexual persons—valuable souls whom God deems of sacred worth—will be similar victims, encouraged by this mob action to continue on in sin, unrestrained by God's loving will, in sin that would damn them?

James D. Berkley is Issues Ministry Director for Presbyterians For Renewal in Bellevue, Washington.

Copyright © 2004 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

More commentary from Berkley is available at The Berkley Blog, where an earlier version of this article first appeared.

Christianity Today's Weblog covered the verdict Monday.

The Methodist renewal group Good News has commentary on the verdict from its president, James V. Heidinger II, along with that of several bishops.

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March (Web-only) 2004, Vol. 48