You all must be THRILLED to be keeping those who seek God away from HIM. I wonder what HE thinks of this? I wonder if you even care?

Morality indeed, Heterosexuals. Morality indeed.

Does the Methodist church also forbid others who are involved in other sexual sins (adultery, pre-marital sexual relationships, most types of divorce) membership? I hope so as it would only be appropriate. Otherwise, focusing on one form of sexual sin would be pretty discriminating. I know little about the Methodists though so I honestly am curious as to what their policy is.
That said, I do agree with the choice they made especially witnessing how far down the Episcopal Church has gone in liberalism.

Is one who refuses to change his or her life for Christ truly seeking God? Certainly they shouldn't be barred or shunned from the church, but it isn't too much to expect one who wants to be a member to be obedient to what that church believes is necessary for a proper Christian.

Wow! I can't believe that the same church that I grew up in has taken such a segregated position against humanity.
This, from a church that still runs advertisements claiming "Open doors, open arms, open hearts" (or something like that). Now we can be certain, that Methodists don't have open minds.
I can only be saddened that the US church has decided to join the regressive and segregated attitude that is still entrenched in Africa, (and in some primordial minds here in the US).
Mark Tooley has heralded the way for the Lynch mob to see this defeat of humanity. Just when you think we had come out of the Dark Ages, and elected a black President, some Olde World attitudes emerge to set us all back into the days of contrived communities that pretend to care about people.
It's painful to watch this great denomination drive such a prejudiced agenda upon a sincere sector of "our society".
God is LOVE. It's that simple, Love, not judgement from some archaic relic or document written by men. I'm hopeful that LOVE will survive, but I'm not sure the United Methodist Church will. But then I can't worry about those who choose ignorance over love.

It is easy to follow the current zeitgeist and claim to be prophetic and open and gain media favor. It is more difficult to embrace obedience to Scripture and 2000 years of lived Christian experience. The current hyper-individualism, the attempt destroy Christian wisdom concerning marriage and family by running it through the shreder of manufactured individual rights is an attempt to create a post christian religion tailored to our individual wants. May God strengthen the Methodists who are seeking to be faithful.

God is indeed love, and God loves all persons including self-avowed homosexuals, as is stated in the UMC Discipline. All persons are welcomed into the fellowship of a local church, and that will never change. This issue however is about membership. A discussion of how Methodists view membership is long overdue and I hope this sparks a thorough discussion that would hopefully result in clarification and codification.

God is indeed love, and God loves all persons including self-avowed homosexuals, as is stated in the UMC Discipline.>

But God's Word says homosexuality is sin. So how do you reconcile that?

The Bible does not condemn it, as it didn't exist then,>

Homosexuality is condemned by God in Lev 18 and 20, and Jesus affirmed the Law in Mat 5:17-18, and Mk 10.

Once one verse is compromised, whose to say the rest of the Bible cannot be compromised? Inerrancy is mandatory to be a Christian.

Let's see..."open minds...open hearts...open doors." As a gay man who is actively involved in his Methodist church in Wisconsin...a member of the lay leadership...I find it incredibly hypocritical that we see the words about openness...and yet, open does not really mean open. Now does it. As someone stated on here...is there now a litmus test for membership...like "living in sin," pre-marital sex, adultery...and so forth? You get the message.

"If the Bible was innerant, it would be God." Not so. The Bible is innerant in all that it affirms. However, understanding the Word of God (not merely reading, referring to and writing from the words of God) requires applying of it in one's life and much studying of it in context. You don't seek to understand and then you will do, you seek to do and then you will understand. The ultimate purpose is to have a closer walk and relationship with the Author, the Living Word.

All manner of sexual expression is subject to sinful temptations and acts. God, who loves us greatly, never leaves us in the jaws thereof. He tells us what is right and best, and moves us in that direction with the help of the Holy Spirit, if we let Him. The design of male and female (physical, mental, emotional, etc.) and God's purposeful plan for heterosexual marriage are manifestly obvious to anyone seeking to be unbiased and objective. This is the ideal.

The reality is that sin has corrupted all of humanity, including it's institutions which are comprised of sin affected individuals. The answer for all aberrant sexuality is for us to be accepting of (which means loving) our fellow sinners while not affirming them in their sinfulness (which is unloving). All who accept God's only provision for the forgiveness of sin (Christ crucified and risen) and are seeking to forsake practice of sin in thought, word and deed (sanctification) are already 'members' of the body of Christ, whether or not a given pastor or denomination is willing to receive them as a fellow 'member'. To refuse church 'membership' and full participation therein to anyone who is truly repentant of sin and born-again is an affront to Christ himself and His command that we "love one another".

Lastly, the Episcopalians have not only welcomed gays, but affirmed them while they are unrepentantly following sinful lifestyles. Now they're rising up in the ranks of their clergy. The Methodists, on the other hand, are unwelcoming of gays and with legalistic membership requirements are effectively saying to part of the body "we have no need of you". Thankfully, in Christ Jesus there is healing and forgiveness for everyone's sin and hopefully everyone will repent and return to the clear teachings and practice of God's Word and to knowing and being like God, who is love.

I am thankful that the UM church (democratically mind you)has felt the movement of God to uphold scriptural standards. I find it irritating that those who want to change the Discipline, like blaming the church when it through the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the will of the people decides to say "no" to the winds of culture! The UM church has again and again said "no." If pro-gay lobbists want a church to belong to, there are three choices now: UCC, Episcopal, and the ELCA! (Of course they are apostate/heretical churches now) I totally agree on the issues of divorce, marriage and other sins that were raised; to be sure they need to be confronted as well as homosexuality. Methodism was built upon the premise of holiness of heart and life! Lets get back to what the early Methodist societies were about!

It seems to me the following scripture, Romans 1: 24-27, shows the biblical view of homosexuality:
24Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

26Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

There is nothing preventing a homosexual from joining the United Methodist Church. Indeed, there are many who are members. And many United Methodist Churches that actively reach out to include gays and lesbians from full participation in the life of a local church. The amendment, along with others, was defeated, I think, for rather complex political reasons. It is more a sign of the continuing controversy between liberals, moderates and conservatives on a number of issues. The defeat, along with the defeat of other amendments, has more to our distrust over the distribution or redistribution of power within this international church.

The article above and most of the comments show very little familiarity with the United Methodist Church and its complex but democratic governing at the international level.

I work for the United Methodist Church. The Church I work for supports homosexuality and refuses to call it a sin. I'm glad that the governing body of the Church still stands on the word of God. Like it or not a sin is a sin and no matter what it is, if you are living in open sin you shouldn't be allowed to join the Church. Everyone sins and there's no questioning that, but we should never codone it. We are to strive to be Christ like and if we sit back and just say, this is the way I am, or the way I was born, we are refusing to repent and we all know what Gods word says about that. We should still love everyone and treat them with respect, but we shouldn't let people living in open sin be leaders of our church.