Peace on the Korean Peninsula...

Nope. Not about what you thought, either. I'm not going to comment about the Trump-Un summit, for we really don't know what will come out of that. We're in a "wait and see" posture.

Instead, I'm using the Korean Peninsula as a metaphor for the continued controversy in my denomination, The United Methodist Church. While it is oversimplifying a complex issue to divide it into two "sides"--one FOR inclusion of LGBTQIA+ persons into the life of the church, and one that views them as persons living a "sinful lifestyle," and who must "repent" and eschew this lifestyle--in a way there are parallels.

North Korea has been a nation of "hard lines," and until recently, not open to compromise or debate about its national authority. Its leader, Kim Jong Un, is, in his own way, a fundamentalist whose principles of leadership are ironclad and authoritarian. (Since this is a metaphor, I'm not going to get into some of the facts and accusations regarding the North Korean leader's more heinous activities.) In this leadership style, what counts more are the rules, standards, and "doctrines," and the power to enforce them.

The South Koreans, on the other hand, have a much broader and visionary philosophy about how to run their country. They, too, have rules and standards, but they are used to help focus and apply the prevailing visionary freedom that is at the center of their governance. South Korea is a much more "open" state, and one whose positive vision of its own future has taken it from "start-up" to economic superpower in just a few short decades. (I remember when the Hyundai Excel, selling here for $4,500, was a national joke and when Samsung was a cheap "knockoff" electronics company that mostly sold its wares in K-Mart or Gold Circle.)

These two factions fought a war, into which the United States was drawn, and while the "war" ended with a demilitarized zone in place and the two factions recognized as autonomous nations, the actual state of war wasn't officially ended until the most recent meeting between Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-In.

Is not our own United Methodist Church like these two factions? One "side" seeks to preserve certain doctrines, couched in a mode of biblical interpretation that is far from universally embraced by either bible scholars or individual, "at large" Christians. The rhetoric and affectation that has arisen around the "doctrinal" and "biblical" view of "homosexuality" (LGBTQIA+ issues) seems much stronger than is merited by the issue itself. Would allowing LGBTQIA+ individuals full participation in the church actually destroy the church? Why is this seen as such a"Maginot Line" in the current context of the church? Why this issue? And why now, when science, psychology, and medicine have almost exclusively accepted these persons as being part of the normal "spectrum" of human sexuality, has this faction of the church decided to defend so vociferously a different conclusion? Like North Korea, this "side" has shown very little interest in compromising, and with the current "rules" of the church disqualifying LGBTQIA+ inclusion--apart from the aforementioned repenting and "stopping it" message--the other "side" (those of us who would like to offer all of the services of the church to these persons, and equal opportunity to serve God, likewise)--is simply shut out.

One could explain the church's dilemma on the basis of the "conservative" and "progressive" brains, and how they are, according to neurologists, "wired" differently, and to the need for a healthy community to have both views active in order to maintain equilibrium. Wesley Wildman, a Boston University scholar, supports this latter sociological conclusion in his book, Found in the Middle!. However, the degree of posturing, politicizing, and downright bow shots being exchanged by the church's two "sides" looks a lot more like the Koreas to me.

Now, we have two national leaders--both of whom have had their mental states and diplomatic prowess questioned--who seem to be moving North and South Korea toward some kind of reconciliation. Is that what it takes? Two people--or factions--crazy enough to try something totally "outside the box"? Don't we all certainly hold out hope and pray for this unorthodox peace effort to succeed?

What will it take for the "Korean Peninsula" of The United Methodist Church to make similar headway? What radical proposal might emerge to find a true "Way Forward," and who will be the "unusual" leaders who might step forth to initiate it?

The world is watching Trump, Kim Jong Un and the Korean Peninsula. The religious world is watching The United Methodist Church. May our prayers for both bear fruit and result in a lasting peace! Shalom!