Sumgmu’s Monthly Message, August 2024

Our Lay Delegate, Diane Hornaday, and I attended the New York Annual Conference in  June. We had six newly ordained pastors this year: five females and one male, four African American s and two Korean Americans. It is interesting that the majority of retirees have been white males during the past 30 years, while none of them are found among the candidates for ordination this year.

The majority in the New York Annual Conference are the European descendent churches, most of which want to have white male pastors. Yet, as said, there have been fewer white male candidates than white male retirees. As a result, more churches have had more female or racial minority pastors than before.

In addition, General Conference delegates eliminated the 52-year-old indication against homosexuality from the Book of Discipline: “The practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching.” As time goes by, we will have more chances to have female pastors, or gay pastors, or cross-cultural appointments. Our church has already experienced this during the past two years. Now, the churches in our Annual Conference have choices: to raise our children to be pastors or to accept female/gay/racial minority pastors as ours.

Unfortunately, the Christian message has become unpopular to modern culture. Our values stand on the side of the secular culture, rather than on the side of the gospel. Protestantism in North America is in crisis. It is time for us to reconsider our sense of value and teach our children with Christian faith. If not, the situation will be worse in the American Protestant Church in ten years or twenty years.

We have been saved by the grace of God, which is the privilege Christians have. What would you pay for it? When I ask the question, I realize that this is not a popular one. However, it is true that we as Christians have responsibilities. Jesus says, “Do not be afraid of people who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, you should fear God who can destroy both your body and your soul in hell” (Matthew 10:28).

Our real danger lies in betraying the truth, because that can kill both body and soul. That is why we Christians are sent into the world, armed with truth and love, to confront the world at the very places where the gospel is being distorted, and to stand up to anyone who opposes or oppresses the message of Jesus Christ. We should stand firm to them, whatever forms they take. Amen.

Sungmu Lee