Remember the United Methodist pastor who decided to strut his stuff as a drag queen on HBO?
Well, that story is now bigger than the original Religion News Service coverage, which I discussed in this GetReligion post: “United Methodist pastor dives into HBO drag-queen culture, drawing joyful RNS applause.”
That pastor is out of a job, a plot twist that drew coverage from both the Associated Press and USA Today. We will come back to those stories later in this post — especially a jaw-dropping display of slanted language in the AP report, of all places.
But this has been an archetypal RNS mainline Protestant story from the get-go and the wire service’s update contains, well, about half of the essential information that readers needed to know.
What’s missing? The same thing as the first time around — any attempt to accurately reflect the views of conservative United Methodists in the pews of this pastor’s church. It was crucial, of course, to interview United Methodists and LGBTQ activists who backed this progressive pastor. At the same time, it would have helped to interview people on the other side of the debate. Maybe?
Here is the overture of the new RNS report: “Pastor who appeared in drag on HBO’s ‘We’re Here’ forced to leave his church.”
When Pastor Craig Duke appeared in drag on the HBO reality show “We’re Here,” he knew that some members of his United Methodist congregation would appreciate the episode and that others wouldn’t even watch it.
He also knew some members of his congregation support the full inclusion of LGBTQ Christians in the church and others don’t, and that would make his performance on the show a “challenging experience.”
But he didn’t think it would cost him his job.
Duke was relieved from his pastoral duties last week at Newburgh United Methodist Church near Evansville, Indiana, after receiving pushback from congregants over his appearance on the show — in which he wore a sky-high pink wig and lip-synched to Ke$ha, declaring, “Welcome to church.”
The story notes that, as a rule, United Methodist pastors move pastors around in the summer. The timing, in this case, was sure to raise eyebrows.
It was also interesting that Duke planned, in the wake of his star-turn on HBO, to lead a six-week Bible study at his church airing his beliefs on human sexuality (and it’s safe to assume he would discuss how fights about moral theology ave rocked the United Methodist Church for decades).
What happened in this case? Back to RNS:
… Another “negative, bullying, attacking email from a church person” arrived Nov. 14 that “flipped the tide” for the pastor, he said. …
In a written statement to Religion News Service, the Indiana Conference confirmed Duke had “stepped away from his duties at the church and entered a time of renewal, reflection, and recovery” after a mixed response to his appearance on the show from congregants. He did not resign and was not fired, it clarified.
UMC leaders also stressed that Duke had not violated any of the doctrines and rules contained in their Book of Disciple, including its passages on sex and marriage. For years, progressives and establishment United Methodists have been trying to edit the Discipline to provide more room for noncelibate LGBTQ clergy. Hold that thought.
The RNS report does note the global angle in this story:
United Methodists remain divided over that language and are expected to consider a proposal to split the denomination at the next meeting of its global decision-making body, the General Conference. That meeting currently is set to begin in August 2022.
Conservatives in Duke’s pews are quoted in this story, but only with second-hand quotes provided by Duke, who said some of the emails “would use the term ‘disgust,’ ‘anger,’ ‘disappointment,’ ‘shame’ of my putting on a dress and being a part of that experience.”
Why not quote people on the other side?
Well, the Associated Press report (“Joining drag queens on TV show costs Indiana pastor his job“) provided some information about that. Apparently, Duke was willing to provide selected quotes from his critics’ emails, but that was all:
“You have thrown NUMC under the bus to elevate a minority of individuals,” said one of the emails. Another, according to Duke, said Satan must be pleased with the discord over LGBTQ rights.
Duke, who declined to identify his chief critics, told The Associated Press that the attacks “felt very personal,” causing him to worry about his mental health.
More from Duke? Of course. He was more than willing to share his views on this clash.
Was that all that was required when covering this complicated story?
It would appear so. Apparently, talking to the ousted pastor was much easier than TALKING to conservative Methodists at the local, regional, national or even global level. Maybe an AP staffer in the region could have made a Sunday visit to that congregation?
After all, HBO visited the church, sort of:
Even before the episode was broadcast, some congregation members complained that Duke hadn’t given them advance notice of his decision to be in the show, which included scenes filmed at the church. In response, Duke wrote to the congregation in August, saying he was sorry that trust in his leadership had been damaged.
Now, here is the paragraph in the AP report that amazed me the most. Note the lack of attribution in this crucial chunk of background material:
Conservative leaders in the UMC have unveiled plans to form a new denomination, the Global Methodist Church, with a doctrine that does not recognize same-sex marriage. The move could hasten the long-expected breakup of the UMC over differing approaches to LGBTQ inclusion, including whether LGBTQ people should be ordained as clergy.
Wait a minute.
Unless I have missed something, the GMC plans to RETAIN the language in the current Book of Discipline, which affirms that the “practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching." On premarital sex, the Discipline requires clergy to maintain “personal habits conducive to bodily health, mental and emotional maturity, integrity in all personal relationships, fidelity in marriage and celibacy in singleness."
So that language is not new. It has been around for years, in part because the booming United Methodist churches of Africa and Asia have not been willing to bow to the wishes of progressives in America.
Suffice it to say, leaders of churches in Africa were not amused when a liberal United Methodist organization said the traditional language in the Discipline represents a “white nationalist strain of Christianity.”
Oh, there was also a USA Today story about Duke’s exit: “An Indiana pastor was 'relieved of duties' after appearing on an HBO drag show.” There’s nothing new there at all, including any information drawn freom interviews with believers on the conservative side of the story.
Again: par for the course.
FIRST IMAGE: Screen shot from the HBO program, featured at the Free Thinker blog at Patheos.