World Vision: Why We're Hiring Gay Christians in Same-Sex Marriages
(UPDATED) President Richard Stearns says change is a symbol of Christian ‘unity’ not ‘compromise.’
Image: Courtesy of World Vision U.S.
President Richard Stearns
[Update: Added comments from board members and Russell Moore.]
World Vision's American branch will no longer require its more than
1,100 employees to restrict their sexual activity to marriage between
one man and one woman.
Abstinence outside of marriage remains a rule. But a policy change
announced Monday [March 24] will now permit gay Christians in legal
same-sex marriages to be employed at one of America's largest Christian charities.
In an exclusive interview, World Vision U.S. president Richard Stearns explained to Christianity Today
the rationale behind changing this "condition of employment," whether
financial or legal pressures were involved, and whether other Christian
organizations with faith-based hiring rules should follow World Vision's
lead.
Stearns asserts that the "very narrow policy change" should be viewed
by others as "symbolic not of compromise but of [Christian] unity." He
even hopes it will inspire unity elsewhere among Christians.
[Editor's note: All subsequent references to "World Vision" refer to
its U.S. branch only, not its international umbrella organization.]
In short, World Vision hopes to dodge the division currently "tearing
churches apart" over same-sex relationships by solidifying its long-held
philosophy as a parachurch organization: to defer to churches and
denominations on theological issues, so that it can focus on uniting
Christians around serving the poor.
Given that more churches and states
are now permitting same-sex marriages (including World Vision's home
state of Washington), the issue will join divorce/remarriage, baptism,
and female pastors among the theological issues that the massive relief
and development organization sits out on the sidelines.
World Vision's board was not unanimous, acknowledged Stearns, but was "overwhelmingly in favor" of the change.
"Changing the employee conduct policy to allow someone in a same-sex
marriage who is a professed believer in Jesus Christ to work for us
makes our policy more consistent with our practice on other divisive
issues," he said. "It also allows us to treat all of our employees the
same way: abstinence outside of marriage, and fidelity within marriage."
Stearns took pains to emphasize what World Vision is not communicating by the policy change.
"It's easy to read a lot more into this decision than is really there,"
he said. "This is not an endorsement of same-sex marriage. We have
decided we are not going to get into that debate. Nor is this a
rejection of traditional marriage, which we affirm and support."
"We're not caving to some kind of pressure. We're not on some slippery
slope. There is no lawsuit threatening us. There is no employee group
lobbying us," said Stearns. "This is not us compromising. It is us
deferring to the authority of churches and denominations on theological
issues. We're an operational arm of the global church, we're not a
theological arm of the church.
"This is simply a decision about whether or not you are eligible for
employment at World Vision U.S. based on this single issue, and nothing
more."
Yet the decision is still likely to be regarded as noteworthy by other
evangelical ministries. Aside from World Vision's influential size—it
took in more than a billion dollars in revenue last year, serves an
estimated 100 million people in 100 countries, and ranks among America's top 10 charities overall—World Vision also recently fought for the right of Christian organizations to hire and fire based on faith statements all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court—and won. It also opposed
a 2012 attempt by USAID to "strongly encourage" faith-based contractors
to stop discriminating against gays and lesbians in order to receive
federal funds.
In other words, other Christian organizations look to World Vision for
leadership on defending faith hiring practices. Stearns acknowledges
this, but wants observers to understand why World Vision is voluntarily
changing its own policy.
Stearns said World Vision has never asked about sexual orientation when
interviewing job candidates. Instead, the organization screens
employees for their Christian faith, asking if they can affirm the
Apostles' Creed or World Vision's Trinitarian statement of faith.
Yet World Vision has long had a Christian conduct policy for employees
that "holds a very high bar for all manner of conduct," said Stearns.
Regarding sexuality activity, World Vision has required abstinence for
all single employees, and fidelity for all married employees.
However, World Vision now has staff from more than 50 denominations—a
handful of which have sanctioned same-sex marriages or unions in recent
years, including the United Church of Christ, The Episcopal Church, the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the Presbyterian Church
(USA). Meanwhile, same-sex marriage is now legal in 17 states plus the
District of Columbia, and federal judges have struck down bans in five
other states (Utah, Texas, Oklahoma, Virginia, and—most recently—Michigan) as well as required Kentucky to recognize such marriages performed in other states. (All six rulings are stayed until the appeals process is complete.)
Stearns said World Vision's board has faced a new question in recent
years: "What do we do about someone who applies for a job at World
Vision who is in a legal same-sex marriage that may have been sanctioned
and performed by their church? Do we deny them employment?
"Under our old conduct policy, that would have been a violation," said
Stearns. "The new policy will not exclude someone from employment if
they are in a legal same-sex marriage."
Stearns said the new policy reflects World Vision's parachurch and multi-denominational nature.
"Denominations disagree on many, many things: on divorce and
remarriage, modes of baptism, women in leadership roles in the church,
beliefs on evolution, etc.," he said. "So our practice has always been
to defer to the authority and autonomy of local churches and
denominational bodies on matters of doctrine that go beyond the
Apostles' Creed and our statement of faith. We unite around our
[Trinitarian beliefs], and we have always deferred to the local church
on these other matters."
The reason the prohibition existed in the first place? "It's kind of a
historical issue," said Stearns. "Same-sex marriage has only been a huge
issue in the church in the last decade or so. There used to be much
more unity among churches on this issue, and that's changed."
And the change has been painful to watch. "It's been heartbreaking to
watch this issue rip through the church," he said. "It's tearing
churches apart, tearing denominations apart, tearing Christian colleges
apart, and even tearing families apart. Our board felt we cannot jump
into the fight on one side or another on this issue. We've got to focus
on our mission. We are determined to find unity in our diversity."
