In 2010, I led an effort within The United Methodist Church to develop curricular guidelines for teaching professional sexual ethics for ministry. The guidelines were adopted by the UMC in 2012 and renewed in 2024. Every candidate for licensing, commissioning, and ordination as clergy should be held accountable for this learning. Now, fifteen years later, I was recently asked, “What difference has this made?”
In April 2010, the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women in the UMC convened a full-day seminar of seminary faculty, administrators, and consultants, with the participation of the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, to examine the issue of ministerial preparedness and sexual misconduct and to develop recommendations for addressing this need. We came up with a detailed proposal. The goals, competencies, and content areas that should be part of every minister’s educational preparation were slightly edited and readopted as Resolution #3353 in 2024:
Goals—Future ministerial leaders are to:
- understand healthy interpersonal boundaries as integral to enabling the trust necessary for ministry;
- recognize sexual ethics in ministry as an issue of appropriate use of power and avoidance of abuse rather than exclusively an issue of “sexual morality”;
- understand the appropriate use of power as it relates to consent;
- understand the importance of professional ethics, including one’s own denominational policies and expectations;
- learn the role of judicatories in prevention and response to clergy sexual misconduct;
- become knowledgeable about human sexuality, one’s own sexual self, and how to deal with sexual feelings that may arise for congregants and vice versa;
- appreciate how sexual integrity contributes to spiritual wholeness and that this is vital to ministerial formation and personal health;
- become conversant with scriptural and theological resources for all of the above.
Competencies—Ministerial candidates are to:
- practice healthy life-choices and work/life balance;
- be sexually self-aware;
- become comfortable talking about issues of sexuality;
- develop skills to provide pastoral care and worship leadership on sexuality issues;
- be committed to sexual justice in the congregation and in society at large.
Content Areas—Students will study:
- theology of power, privilege, and abuse (including topics such as: fiduciary duty of ministry; professional ethics paradigm; conflicts of interest; healthy boundaries; predators vs. wanderers);
- human sexuality (including topics such as: dating, intimacy, and work/life balance; pregnancy, birth control, and abortion; pornography and objectification of persons; shame and abuse; consent and vulnerability; genetic, cultural, and physiological aspects of gender and sexuality);
- sexual misconduct in ministry (including topics such as: boundary violations; judicatory processes of justice-making; secrecy; inappropriate uses of social networking and communication technologies);
- pastoral care (including topics such as: working with victims of sexual violence and abuse; transference; dual relationships; confidentiality and stewardship of information; referrals);
- best practices of ministry (including topics such as: cybersafety; healthy communications, clergy self-care; lifelong sexuality education; ministering with sex offenders).
What difference do you think these curricular guidelines have made?
Ministerial leaders: How would you rate your own knowledge and competency in the areas above?
Laity: How would you rate your ministerial leaders’ knowledge and competency in the areas above?
Theological educators: Which parts of these curriculuar guidelines do you teach? What resources do you assign for learning?
District superintendents and bishops: Have you noticed any reduction in complaints of sexual misconduct by clergy?
Members of boards of ordained ministry and district committees on ministry: Have you noticed any changes in culture, ethos, or attitudes regarding professional sexual ethics for ministry when interviewing candidates for ministry?
Question: Why does the UMC’s 2024–2028 Board of Ordained Ministry Handbook include no discussion of ethics for ministry? The previous edition included a chapter on ethics. Do we no longer need to talk about ethics?