Cedar Park Church, BCMB and LGBTQ+: Members of the church speak out

 

 

In early March I contacted some members of Cedar Park to ask their response to the resignations of the three pastors—lead pastor Lee Kosa and associate pastors Darren DeMelo and Megan Simpson—over their disagreement about the nature of the Confession of Faith, especially as it applied to sexuality and marriage, and about the topic of LGBTQ+ welcome and inclusion. (Read the article about the resignations in Anabaptist World.) 

Find their answers below. They requested to be anonymous. 

What reasons did the pastors give for their resignations? 

1. “The short answer is they could not sign on to the request from the BCMB conference that they ‘pledge unequivocal commitment to the Confession, especially the focus on the articles about sexuality and marriage. 

“The longer answer is after Artisan announced it was welcoming and affirming of LGBTQ+ people, BCMB became extra sensitive to this issue. When prodded by Lee for what their ‘ceiling’ was for those identifying as LGBTQ+ in the church, they began to see our church as a new threat. 

“When BCMB secretly received e-mails from a few congregants who wanted a more traditional theology from the pulpit, they quietly began to observe Lee—something they could easily do since during COVID-19 everything is online.” 

2. “They did not feel safe in the BCMB Conference anymore. It was akin to an abusive relationship between Lee and the Conference. Also, they could not re-sign the Confession of Faith. The abusive relationship affected their health. Two are currently under doctors’ care. One is going back to teaching school and another has been told by his doctor to take at least six months off. They are broken.” 

What do you think of Lee? 

1. “He's the brightest, most well read, most engaging speaker and most humble and caring pastor I've ever had. I think that was his downfall. He could not turn away from families struggling with children who were gay. He had to learn about it. He had to reconcile the church's position with the harm that that position created.” 

2. “We can’t say enough good things about him. He loves God, he loves Jesus, and he loves the people in his care. He made himself vulnerable and humble. He was a great listener even if he didn’t agree with you. His preaching abilities are exceptional. He is widely read and articulate. He is a wordsmith. He is not a flashy leader. He comes alive when he preaches. We have been in church our entire lives and have never learned so much or been encouraged to learn more under Lee’s leadership.” 

3. “Lee is a gifted preacher and pastor. His sermons are always based on Scripture. He preaches sermons that open up Scripture in new ways. Lee is a humble leader whose life and teaching seek God’s shalom with God, others, ourselves and creation. 

“He is very community oriented and often attends city council meetings that address housing shortages and climate change initiatives, to name just two examples. 

“He is very aware of life outside of our church and he has an amazing ability to make connections with people from many different walks of life. Lee is a very good listener. I have always felt safe talking with him. When he became our pastor, he quickly realized that CPC is a unique and diverse group and he respected the church’s history. He is a voracious reader and reads many points of view on different topics.” 

4. “When COVID broke out Lee worked hard at creating ways to sustain community. One of the offerings was providing times of contemplative prayer on zoom. It grew from once a week to three and sometimes four times a week. I attended regularly with a small group. 

“These prayer times have been very important for me as I intentionally make space in my day for God’s coming. They have grounded me for each day. I experienced first-hand how my pastors daily sought communion with the Trinity and sincerely prayed for the Spirit’s guidance. These contemplative prayer times continued for two years right up to the time that their employment ended. 

What is the congregation doing re. LGBTQ+? 

1. “When Covid closed the building we held what were guided sessions of discovery for small groups via Zoom. Out of this came a definite call for clarity on inclusion, but also a definite division in the church, so we held ‘listening sessions.’ Well over 100 people attended small sessions of five or six people with few board members or pastors to do the listening. We were simply to listen and avoid comment or judgement. 

“At both the sessions that I attended the whole group were comfortable with beginning an exploration of how we could be more inclusive to the LGBTQ+ community. More importantly, in both sessions a parent, in tears, described that this was the first time they felt comfortable in a church sharing that one of their children was gay. In January of this year, as a congregation we reviewed the BCMB ‘Posture Shift’ materials.” 

2. It seems like the pastors were discouraged about exploring this by the BC Conference. We wanted a well-rounded study with both sides of the issues. At the time BCMB was reeling over the departure of the Artisan. It is possible they were operating out of fear and still are in the same mode. It seems they believe if you begin a study on this topic, it will lead to something like Artisan.” 

3. “We had Listening Groups where everyone had the opportunity to meet in groups of 10 or more with a couple of elders or the pastor and elder and answer some questions about where they were at with regards to the topic of inclusion of sexual minorities. The consensus was that most people wanted to study the topic as a church body.” 

4. “We completed four sessions of the conference supported Posture Shift, both by zoom and in person with breakout groups. The last session was completed in January 2022. There was a plan to study the book edited by Preston Sprinkle called Homosexuality, The Bible and The Church. This study was planned for February and March but never materialized. 

“A list of books and articles representing various viewpoints was curated and made available for all.” 

5. “There is a desire for conversation around LGBTQ+ inclusion that was voiced by many congregants in a series of church-wide (in zoom groups) meetings we had around our values as a congregation. 

“Hearing these voices, the pastors and board held listening sessions in small group contexts (no discussion or cross talk, simply listening to one another) to discern how to have this conversation going forward. The next two things were a library table of resources on the topic and the Posture Shift video series, which is recommended by the MB conference, and which was well attended. No further study has happened. 

Why is LGBTQ+ an important topic for your church? 

1. “In hindsight it’s possible now to look at the time about 10 years ago when one of the members of the youth group came out as gay. Six families in the church have gay children ranging in age from 30 to 60. Other church members have relatives who are gay.” 

2. “Just before the churches shut down due to the pandemic, two women who are LGBTQ+ started to attend. Another member came out as bisexual. We asked BCMB for direction; they never responded.” 

3. The topic is absolutely important. It's a matter of spiritual survival and maybe physical survival for LGBTQ+ folk in our families and friendship circles, and for the queer folk who have come through the Cedar Park door. 

“I don't want to sound overly pious, but I believe this conviction about intentional welcome is something the Spirit stirred up in our congregation for a variety of reasons—all of them involving beloved people—at this very time and that we needed to pursue it.”

What was your reaction to the demand by BCMB for the March 6th meeting? (Where they said to be at the church at 6:45 PM and someone needed to meet them there to open the door.)

1. Tone deaf! About 350 people show up at a church business meeting where all three pastors resigned and then we receive a letter four days later full of legalese demanding that we open the church doors for the BCMB executive and organize another meeting in three days. They don't care about us. I get it. They have to ‘protect’ the conference. It's their job.” 

2. “BCMB has been heavy handed in all its dealings with Cedar Park. There is a complete lack of trust.  The letter arrived at 10 a.m. on Thursday demanding a meeting for the following Sunday at 7 p.m. The evening time was determined by BCMB, which is not our usual meeting time of 3:30 p.m. They wanted the doors unlocked when they arrived. There was no time to send out the letter with our usual system. 

Anything to add? 

1. “My hope is that, after Artisan and now Cedar Park, that questions about LGBTQ+ welcome and affirmation will begin to be asked more often and the MB church will no longer damn to hell the 22 million people who  identify as LGBTQ+ in North America.