Coming Out as a Leader

By now you have heard all about the "Slee Memo" which exposes the machinations used by the Archbishop of Canterbury to ensure that a celibate gay man would NOT become Bishop of Southwark. If you haven't, trot over to the Lead and read all about it there. It paints a very unflattering picture of the Archbishop, and casts a very poor light on a process wreathed in secrecy. Yelling at people, reducing participants to tears, and arm-twisting in the men's room are hardly examples of effective leadership let alone Christian ethics.

And then, in a fit of legalism, they decide that while they can't eliminate someone simply because he's gay, they can eliminate him because people in the diocese might not approve. So a racist must be placated if a candidate is black? The Church Times reveals there is a "checklist" to be applied to gay candidates that is profoundly offensive. There isn't even a pretense of making this equivalent to sexual history questions asked of straight people, showing yet again that it's not about Biblical standards of sexual morality, but selective and hypocritcal application of such standards to gay people only, while giving straight people a bye. Go over to Grandmere Mimi's blog to learn more.

My take on all this is that the Archbishop long since decided to throw over his principles in an attempt to hold things together. He sees a need to placate the conservatives on gays, and on women. Of course, the conservatives will never be placated (witness our Republicans in Congress who plan to plunge the country into default or decimate the entire government, no middle way about it). And by not being true and honest to his own beliefs, the Archbishop lost the ability to lead. He's not leading. He's reacting. In his efforts to save the CofE and the Anglican Communion, he's basically ensured their demise. The irony is something, isn't it. Rather than helping the C of E "get over it", he's ensured that the Gay Issue remains front and center.

Real leaders do not yell or bully. They do not operate in secrecy and manipulate the circumstances. Real leaders make difficult decisions. Real leaders do not exploit confidential situations, but rather operate as if all were transparent. Real leaders do not fall in love with power, but always remember power is fleeting. And real leaders do not put the institution above human and humane values. Although the issue here is different, the essential corruption of putting the institution over values is the same as the Roman Catholic church covering up abuse.

Slee's memo further states,

The danger, several years down the line, is that there are bishops who unquestionably have been less than candid about their domestic arrangements and who, in a conspiracy of silence, have been appointed to senior positions. It is in the nature of things that this situation cannot endure, and exposure of the reality wold be 'nuclear'.

No kidding!

Like Gene Robinson, Jeffrey John was not the first gay candidate for Bishop. He's simply honest. Those gay bishops should be ashamed of themselves. They are no different than Larry Craig, the toe-tapping Idaho Senator who never missed a vote against gay people while hiding the fact that he's himself gay, or George Rekers, the anti-gay zealot who travels with a rentboy to "lift his luggage."

So now, there's an opportunity for leadership from those bishops. Do they continue to protect their tidy little closet, for the sake of power and influence, as the walls start to crumble? Or do they finally step out of the closet, bearing witness to their service, and help their church through this crisis into an honest future?

Are they leaders, or not?

Gay Bishops : it's time to come out.