Wesleyans and Sexual Chaos

Photo by Joshua Fuller on Unsplash

Anticipate a corporate sigh of relief among United Methodists, if and when the proposed “protocol” is affirmed in some shape or form by the General Conference. Each faction, as we go our separate ways, will console itself with being able to get back to what the Bible really says. But have traditionalists truly grasped the depth of what the Bible says about all things sexual? And, regardless of denominational label, are we who are Wesleyan equipped to speak clearly about such matters to a culture so caught up in sexual chaos?

In the early 1980s, I was sitting in Contemporary Cults class with Dr. Melvin Dieter at Asbury Theological Seminary. He made a statement which has always stayed with me: The false teachings of the cults were simply filling a void left by the Church’s failure to teach clearly. His prime example was the lack of sound teaching on eschatology, which left a vacuum for Charles Taze Russell and the others who eventually became known as Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Churches and seminaries have long been silent on the subject of sexuality. Other than proscribing behaviors deemed sinful, there has not been a grounding in a proper theology of sexuality. And the vacuum within our churches is quickly sucking in the ubiquitous cultural mantras regarding gender, identity, and orientation. We’ve built our homes on sand and our youth are being swept away by cultural trends. This seems true across Protestantism.

Sexuality, Education and . . . Evangelism?

The Roman Catholics, however, are decades ahead of us. Responding to the devastation of the Sexual Revolution, Pope John Paul II delivered 129 teachings over a period of five years—a work described by one theologian as “a kind of theological time-bomb set to go off with dramatic consequences . . . perhaps in the 21st century” (George Weigel, in West’s Theology of the Body for Beginners, p. 1).

That very bomb detonated in 2003 as Dr. Christopher West sifted through those teachings and made them accessible. Initially he published a 500-page volume titled Theology of the Body Explained, drawing great academic acclaim. Then West streamlined the teachings further, publishing his very readable Theology of the Body for Beginners. 

An entire ministry has sprung up from this explosion of wisdom. West gathered colleagues to help establish The Theology of the Body Institute, which provides a variety of courses, resources, and retreats. Thousands of people have taken their thirty-hour, five-day course, “Head and Heart”. Presented in a retreat format, each day offers Mass, worship, and individual confession. And again, the focus is all upon Pope John Paul II’s teaching on sexuality. While most people take the initial course for personal enrichment, the credit gained can be used toward graduate or undergraduate degrees.

As if that were not enough, they have two follow up courses which are just as rigorous and transformational. “Into the Deep” covers some of Pope John Paul II’s teachings, published posthumously. Exploring the depths of the Song of Songs, some content was initially considered too intimate to publish. Again, this is both an academic and transformational experience of thirty hours.

And finally, a third course entitled “The New Evangelization” develops the Theology of the Body so that it indeed becomes a Sexual Counter-Revolution. The Institute believes that our world desperately needs to understand the full breadth of God’s design for our sexuality, and they have created a way to be downright evangelistic about it!

Yes, it seems the Roman Catholics have outdone the Wesleyans in developing a new means of evangelizing the world. (You may have just heard John Wesley groan, “Not the papists!”) And they are literally taking it on the road. Dr. West and folk/blues musician Mike Mangione conduct two-and-a-half hour events called Made for More. In a Christian concert atmosphere, they combine music, video, art and lecture to answer some of the basic questions of life, all tied to a theology of sexuality. 

One young colleague, a recent graduate of an orthodox United Methodist seminary, last year read my book Into the Light: Healing Sexuality in Today’s Church. To my surprise, he stated, “I received more teaching on a theology of sexuality from your book than I did from three years of seminary!” I was flattered and dismayed at the same time. We can do better.

Dr. Timothy Tennent’s For the Body: Recovering a Theology of Gender, Sexuality, and the Human Body is a tremendous starting point. His seven “building blocks” potentially provide a foundation for developing future work. But much remains to be done.

Creeds: To Die For 

Isn’t it time for a formal anthropological creed? 

Christological creeds have been an anchor for believers. In the Church’s infancy, “Jesus is Lord” became the creed to die for—and many did! The issue was monotheism. The “inclusivity” of the day demanded that every knee should bow to every deity named, including the name of the emperor. The exclusive claim of Jesus took shape in these three simple words, forming this earliest of creeds. Those words became a theme for worship and a battle cry for allegiance. 

In the second century, new converts were bringing into the church elements from the pagan religions of the day. The Apostles’ Creed was formed as a catechetical tool to be recited at one’s baptism. Contrary to legend, it was not formed by the Apostles, but it did serve as the defining creed to lance that particular heretical infection.  

When the early understanding of the Trinity and, with it, the deity of Christ was under siege by Modalism and Arianism, the best and brightest from the four corners of the Church hammered out the Nicene Creed. It was not a matter settled easily. Heated debate and caustic conflict continued for decades. Tenacious Athanasius rose to the challenge but was forced into exile five times! Nonetheless, the creed was established and became a bedrock for our Christology.

In these days of confusion and chaos over issues of gender, identity and sexuality, is it not time for a new creed to die for? Schools, universities, and other institutions demand recognition of everyone’s right to look inward at the murky mess of their emotions, attractions, and degrees of dysphoria to determine their identity. Would it not be wise to bring together the best and brightest of today’s Church to shape an anthropological creed? Not a detailed statement addressing every nuance of sexual distortion, and posted on a website for people to sign. But a specific and succinct creed which crystallizes what it means to be women and men created in the image of God. And why can’t Wesleyans be at the forefront of such an effort?

This current generation needs clear teaching! The flood of filth pouring forth from their laptops and cell phones must be challenged by a clear creed which crystallizes a theology of the body. It is a much needed catechetical tool for all of us to memorize, embrace and embody—and maybe to die for.

Tsunami Relief

“A sexual tsunami is coming!” Those words were spoken seven years ago by Dr. Patrick Carnes, an internationally recognized psychologist who pioneered the study and treatment of sexual addiction. Carnes warned that in the wake of this tsunami would be an increase in addiction to porn, greater rates of sexual abuse, and distorted perceptions of sexual intimacy.

It is safe to say that the tsunami has slammed our shores and is now sweeping across our land. But what factors have made us so vulnerable to this flood of distortion and dysfunction? 

Carnes maintains the use of video games at tender ages have been the culprit. At that point in their development, the brains of small children are still malleable. The risk/reward dynamic of video games wires their neural pathways toward addiction. When they stumble upon internet porn, they become instantly hooked.

Pastors, counselors and other Christian caregivers need to know how to successfully sort through the chaos and debris of this tsunami, helping young Christians piece their lives together. Will those of us from the Wesleyan tradition respond?

While the Catholics have been the First Responders, certainly we as Wesleyans can make a long-term commitment to the role of being FEMA, offering shelter, hope, healing, and restoration to those whose lives have been entangled in the wreckage.

We are perhaps uniquely equipped. Many within our tradition have an understanding and training in counseling, and the ministry of inner healing prayer. These are critical in the recovery process. Our doctrine of sanctification and the practice of the means of grace can be life-giving for those wanting to shed the shackles of sexual addiction. 

We were a no-show during the Sexual Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s. Will we rise to the current crisis? It all begins with developing a workable theology of sexuality that is robust, easy to communicate, and grace-filled.

Conclusion

Our culture is becoming increasingly hostile toward orthodox Christian teaching on all things sexual. The Church’s silence has created a vacuum which those from a secular worldview are all too ready to fill, as is evident in not a few progressive seminaries. To my knowledge, no denomination from the Wesleyan fold is rising to this challenge. And as the United Methodist Church approaches a likely separation, it is imperative that we lay groundwork for the next generation of believers.

The time is now for gathering the best of minds to develop, at the very least, a course or training model to equip pastors—one that could be adapted by any seminary desiring to implement it. Gifted laity and clergy must be trained in ministry to the sexually broken. And in response to our efforts, may God provide anointed pastors with the backbone to teach what has long been lacking in our sanctuaries.

Mark Ongley is part-time pastor of a United Methodist congregation reaching deeply addicted people. Author of Into the Light: Healing Sexuality in Today’s Church (Seedbed, 2016), and Pure Hearted: Banding Together for Sexual Wholeness (Seedbed, Spring 2021), he has counseled hundreds of people with sexual issues. His blog is Tsunami Surfing: Ministry in the Flood of Sexual Chaos (tsurfing.substack.com).