Southern Baptist Seminary President Lambastes United Methodist Church Over Drag Queen Leader

On Wednesday, a Baptist preacher condemned a Methodist church.

Amid an episode of his The Briefing podcast, Al Mohler — a pastor and president of Louisville, Kentucky’s Southern Baptist Theological Seminary — had strong words for Hope United Methodist Church.

At issue: the Illinois congregation’s support of Isaac Simmons.

As noted by The Daily Wire, Hope United has placed Isaac in a position of church leadership.

They’ve also promoted him as a candidate for ordination.

A couple of notables: Isaac is openly gay. Isaac is a drag queen.

In fact, the Methodist man’s been known to dress in drag for his messages.

Serving as remote learning coordinator under two female pastors, Isaac has pointed to coming out of the closet as an important part of his Christian journey.

He says the process led to the discovery of “a deep love for theological discussion and spiritual formation.”

Even so, Al’s unimpressed.

He called the church’s endorsement of Isaac as a candidate for ministry “an intentional refutation and revolt against the very order of creation that God has given us, and a direct violation of the clear teachings of Scripture concerning the fact that those whom God has made as men should identify as men.”

He considers it a downright revolt:

“This is open revolt. And, of course, you’re going to see a division between those who are appalled by it, deeply troubled by it, deeply concerned by it and opposed to it on the one hand, and those who celebrate it and say that it’s arrived far too late on the other hand.”

This isn’t the first time headlines have seen a clash between a minister and the practice of drag.

As covered by RedState’s Jeff Charles, in December 2019, Pastor Afshin Yaghtin was arrested while attempting to enter a public library in Spokane, Washington.

His mission: to pray for children during Drag Queen Story Hour.

And it’s not the first time United Methodists have revved their engine as Most Progressive Church: Also in ’19, Durham, North Carolina’s Calvary United Methodist Church hosted its “Drag Me to Church” event.

The “family-friendly drag show and silent auction” raised money for iNSIDEoUT18, the church’s LGBT youth group.

Back to theologian Al, he sees a definitive path for the UMC:

“By the time any kind of church or church body reaches this point, it has already basically embraced doctrinal annihilation.”

He predicts a fork in the road for faith:

“There is virtually nothing left of the historic Christian tradition. … [T]hose two different religions cannot possibly continue to exist in one church or in one denomination. … Once conservatives are out of the picture in the United Methodist Church, this is only the start of where things will go in the future.”

If I had to guess, I’d say he’s probably right that things will evolve from here — and not along conservative lines.

Meanwhile, in a YouTube video, Isaac can be seen delivering a sermon as “Ms. Penny Cost.”

During his talk, he offers the crucifixion “through a lens of queerness, through a lens of drag, even.”

“There is holiness in queerness,” he says.