Heidinger expects more battles, though. During the council's hearing, Creech and his supporters made emotional pleas, arguing that the prohibition was merely advisory. It appears in the Social Principles section of the Book of Discipline, the Methodist book of rules. And Creech said the Social Principles historically have been considered advisory. Creech's attorney, Mike McLellan of Omaha, argued that enforcing the ban would mean church leaders would be forced to invade the privacy of individuals.
Integrity means following a code.
The strength of the United Methodist Church is that we have a code that binds us together. Blake and Solomon represented the South Central Jurisdiction College of Bishops, which had requested the ruling. Also, they cited the democratic nature of the general conference to make laws. The ruling puts pressure on church liberals, such as Bishop Melvin Talbert of San Francisco. No action will be taken against ministers who have performed same-sex ceremonies in the past, Talbert notes.