Council of Elders Meeting Report in Clearwater Florida

United Church of God, an International Association
Council of Elders Meeting Report

Tuesday, December 11, 2001 - Clearwater, Florida

Tuesday, Dennis Luker, Melvin Rhodes, and Dr. Joseph Nicolosi spoke on the causes and cures of homosexuality, and the role of the Church and the ministry in providing help. The Council then discussed the roles and expectations of the church president, and the procedure to be used in choosing the president at the February/March 2002 meetings in Cincinnati.

Homosexuality ö Causes, Cures, and Help

Chairman Roy Holladay asked Dennis Luker, pastor in Seattle, Washington, and former Council member, to moderate the morningâs presentation. Mr. Luker gave a brief background of his study on the subject of homosexuality and his experience in helping those who battle against it. He first became involved 20 years ago after giving a sermon that prompted a church member to seek Mr. Lukerâs help in overcoming homosexuality. Mr. Luker has since written several articles, received scores of letters, and counseled some church members who struggle against homosexuality.

Melvin Rhodes, editorial staff member and pastor in Lansing, Michigan, also spoke briefly. He began his study in this area after discussions with a non-Church member relative convinced him to strive for greater understanding in order to help those who wanted to change. Through a Church member, he was introduced to todayâs third presenter, Dr. Joseph Nicolosi.

Dr. Nicolosi is a licensed psychologist, and founder and Executive Director of NARTH, The National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality, based in Encino, California. He has presented his material in numerous television and radio interviews. In addition to his counseling practice, he strives, through NARTH, to provide scientific and psychological support to groups such as the United Church of God that wish to help individuals struggling against homosexuality.

Dr. Nicolosi began by stating that homosexuality is not primarily a sexual problem, but a gender identity problem. He stated that all human beings are heterosexual ö thatâs the way we are made. As a result, what weâre really dealing with are heterosexual beings with homosexual problems. In his experience of providing therapy, he consistently encounters clients who hold feelings of emptiness, loneliness, and even abandonment, not to mention many other pathologies connected with the gay lifestyle. He listed four myths that the gay activist community would like to have universally accepted:

    ð 10% of the population is homosexual (according to Dr. Nicolosi, it is between 1.5% and 2%)
    ð Some people are ãborn homosexualä (a false biological argument)
    ð ãOnce gay, always gayä (the mistaken notion that change is not possible)
    ð Homosexuality is normal (the ãalternate lifestyleä claim).

ãThese are all myths,ä Dr. Nicolosi reiterated. But the gay activist community desperately wants them to be accepted as fact, and has had great success in convincing many in the media to portray homosexuality in this light. None of this means, according to Dr. Nicolosi, that one needs to be homophobic if a person disagrees with homosexual orientation. There is a difference between tolerance and approval. Withholding approval of homosexual practices does not equate to homophobia or hatred.

Dr. Nicolosi briefly clarified the difference between the terms ãgayä and ãhomosexual.ä ãGayä is a social and political choice. ãHomosexualä describes a sexual preference. Dr. Nicolosi shares the perspective of the United Church of God in trying to provide help for homosexuals who do not choose the gay lifestyle ö who want to turn from this sinful way of life.

Since his counseling deals primarily with male homosexuals, Dr. Nicolosi referred to that model in his presentation (the lesbian experience is usually somewhat different, but with certain similarities). Basically, he explained the causes of male homosexuality in terms of distorted or incomplete gender identity development. Dr. Nicolosi stressed the frequency of what he called the ãclassic triadic relationshipä ö absent or ineffective father, domineering mother, young boy growing up observing the pattern. The family pattern, according to him, is critically important. Dr. Nicolosi calls his counseling ãreparative therapy,ä indicating a rebuilding and restructuring of a life. This is important, because three factors come into play in the treatment:
ð It is identifiable in childhood
ð It is treatable
ð The condition is ãmal-adaptiveä ö i.e., it simply doesnât work.

An extensive question and answer session followed Dr. Nicolosiâs presentation. A synopsis of some of the questions and answers:

Q: How can we help families, as they raise their children?
A: Help boys feel like boys, and girls feel like girls. Our societyâs ãgender blendingä tendencies are especially dangerous for those ãon the edge.ä

Q: How does the counseling profession view you?
A: Most psychotherapists are homosexual affirming. It is a matter of education ö little is presented in their training about this.

Q: Will the percentage of homosexuals in the population increase?
A: If we do nothing about it, yes. Environmental factors, like societal acceptance, do affect it.

Q: You have stressed the Freudian, identity-based pathway to homosexuality. In Gilderâs book Sexual Suicide he claims that gay activists engage in recruiting to enlarge their numbers. Could you comment?
A: They would deny that they attempt to recruit, but the fact is that they do. The Internet is one avenue; there are others. That is certainly a factor. Another fact is that homosexual men are twice as likely as heterosexual men are to molest youth.

Q: If you see a family at risk, is there a type of intervention advice you recommend?
A: Yes ö ãMom, back off; and Dad, get involved.ä If Mom and Dad work as a team, you can frequently see results within four to six months. If someone waits to get into therapy as an adult, it can take much longer.

Q: What is the success rate of your therapy?
A: About the same as most psychotherapy ö 1/3, 1/3, 1/3. That is, one-third show no significant change, one-third show significant improvement, one-third are cured. In this case, ãcureä would mean reducing the homosexual thoughts to an occasional distraction or annoyance. The typical length of counseling is two years, once per week.

Mr. Luker took the floor once more to ask the Council to give some direction as to how the Church and the ministry can help those who seek its assistance in this area. Currently, Mr. Rhodes is managing editor for a newsletter titled Anchor, which seeks to help those who wish to change. After some discussion, it was established that Council members will further review the material mailed to them earlier by Mr. Luker (some had not received it before departing for these meetings). The Council requested the Education Committee to develop a plan for presenting this material to the ministry. The plan would then be presented to the Council for further discussion. Mr. Luker will work with Don Ward, as chairman of the Education Committee, as to how any resolution for specific education will be handled. This session was videotaped and could be distributed to the pastors as part of the process.

Presidentâs Role and Expectations

Gary Antion moderated three related discussions. The first dealt with expectations of the office of president. This material is intended to provide continuity of leadership so that the Church can fulfill its operational goals. What he presented was intended as a kind of ãchecklist of best practicesä in selecting senior management. The main points discussed were:

    ð Succession planning objectives
    ð Succession planning responsibilities
    ð Establishing a mandate for the president to give administrative focus and achievement
    ð Measuring performance.

Mr. Antion asked the Council to go over the material before the next round of face-to-face meetings set to begin February 27, 2002 in Cincinnati. Council members expressed their willingness to make critiques and suggestions, which Mr. Antion requested by January 31.

The Council unanimously passed a resolution incorporating a procedure suggested by Mr. Antion regarding technicalities of the balloting for the office of president, which will be conducted in Cincinnati late in February.

Last in open session, the Council deliberated on establishing exactly what the presidentâs role is in areas outside the United States. As Leon Walker pointed out, this has been an area of concern, with a lack of clarity, since the inception of the United Church of God. All are agreed on working within the scope of the Rules of Association, and the individual national sets of bylaws. The suggestion was made to have a meeting to discuss this with international representatives prior to the General Conference of Elders meetings this coming May. While the legal guidelines will certainly need to be followed, the Council also noted that the Church is much more than a legal corporation ö it is the spiritual Body of Christ. The consensus was that more work is needed. As Mr. Holladay noted, if there is no effort to clarify this, the Church will perennially be dealing with this issue. As in the other areas of his presentation, Mr. Antion asked for input in advance of the February meetings so that the Ethics, Roles, and Rules Committee may study the input and bring the topic back to the Council for its determination.

The Council closed its day with an executive session, wrapping up several personnel issues.
 

 

-Doug Johnson

© 2001 United Church of God, an International Association [1]