Sexy Methodism?

"I’m too sexy to be 60" are not the words you expect to be emblazoned across a mug belonging to the new General Secretary of the Methodist Church, yet it sits proudly on the paper ridden desk of the Reverend David Deeks, who takes office this week. The man who has caused controversy in the past with his liberal pronouncements on Section 28 and the morning after pill, was not the populist choice. However he has been deemed the most able to lead the Church through changing times.

The post of General Secretary is a new post for the Methodists, and is a significant departure from its tradition of corporate leadership. The tradition of an annual newly elected President, via the governing body of conference has always ensured that no one person has been able to make too strong a mark on the fourth largest church in Britain. However it has also hindered focussed long term strategic planning within the church.

Deeks describes his role as "drawing together in a coherent way a wide range of leadership roles in the church and to giving a lead to think strategically where the church is going." He is mindful of the suspicion that there is of him as an individual and also of the role. "Clearly I have got to work hard at building confidence in the church that this role is going to make a positive difference to the well being and focused activity in the church. People have got to trust me and what I am about and be confident that I have the best interests of the church and its mission in the modern world at heart." Deeks is also aware that the General Sercretaryship is bound to affect the Methodist Presidency and that "it is a matter that we must explore with the greatest delicacy." He is adamant that he will not manage the President but they will work alongside each other to lead the church into the future.

It is no secret that the British Methodist Church has been haemorrhaging members and along with them, donations, so it is at a tricky time that Deeks, a life long Methodist takes the helm. "[A] priority would be to help people to face as realistically as they can, the very fragile and difficult situation as an institution in British society." He is certainly able to face the stark reality and is willing to consider a drastically different form of church, believing if people are prepared to change then there is hope for the future. Nevertheless he does admit that the Church’s contribution to society may not be that which "our forbears imagined."

Accordingly it appears that Methodists have to face severe change in order to survive "The historic superstructure needs to be scaled down, there are too many buildings of the wrong kind in the wrong places which are now a dreadful burden to us in terms of upkeep and maintenance." Deeks also acknowledges that "the role of the minister needs looking at afresh, so that it is better focussed". However the most significant change may be the ethos, for he believes that "the biggest shift that is going to take place in the church is the corporate life of the church to the dispersed life of the church. How do Christians behave and learn and speak with confidence in their everyday work, families and local communities? That’s what's going to matter. Less of please come to my church it’s an interesting place to be, more of how does the church equip me to live well in the world?"

In the light of the impending schism in the Church of England, any leader of a church must be concerned about unity, not least when that leader is a liberal and the church contains believers of all persuasions. However Deeks sees this as a positive challenge "Ideally a Christian church should be a cross section of humanity. The project is to work out how to live together in tolerable peace and harmony with all our differences and frankly our contradictions. The reason that this is hugely important is that this is the best contribution we can ever make to the human family"

The immensely shy and introverted Reverend, becomes distinctly animated when it comes to sexuality. "Historically religious questions and questions about sexuality have been very, very close neighbours. Nothing compares with the language of sexuality in unveiling the deepest features of our identity. It touches such depths people are infinitely fascinated about it and terrified about the elements of sexuality that they can’t control or label correctly. [This makes] people almost neurotically keen to try and manage this great resource of uncontrollable surging energy, blowing like a great tornado through the human personality." He concludes his mini polemic by expressing the need of the church to work more imaginatively on its sexual theology: "What we’re about as a church is to be critically open to perspectives from wider society as well as keeping alive the fundamental tenets of relationships that we have learned from the tradition."

As a man who set out as a physicist, Deeks does not read the bible literally and finds any insistence that he should do so somewhat difficult. "The bible’s full of examples of genocide, some of them claiming to be the very action of God. It’s intolerable! People should never be allowed to read that sort of stuff. It’s damaging to their spiritual health" he says with a great laugh and eyes twinkling. It is because of this attitude he does not feel besieged by a world demanding change from the church. "A church that’s committed to just dealings is not going to be phased by equality and diversity directives or such like. God is able to speak to us through the perspectives of society as well as the traditions of the church. We should be gracious enough to recognise very sharp, interesting ethical perspectives from wider society."

If the church is to listen to society, Deeks believes that the church has the right and responsibility to speak out against injustice in the world. "We have to do that. The most startling and spiritually devastating observation we have to make is that the vast majority of human beings live in abject poverty. It’s got to change. We have a duty to say to governments and international organisations "this will not do, this is an affront to us day in day out. We will work with any organisation that’s got good ideas about how to make a difference in that area, whether its health, education, economic or trading arrangements or whatever they maybe."

However Deeks is pragmatic with regard to the Church's influence on the world. Naming poverty, Muslim – Western relations and the need for more effective and just international institutions as the most pressing challenges for the world to face, he admits that the church cannot change an awful lot. "The trouble is they are very large, abstract difficult issues that are too big to grapple with for many people. Mrs Bloggs just being more gracious about asylum seekers or raising the question about the needs about seriously poor people in the world is not going to change things but it’s not without its significance. Just making some fractional difference to the world is hope. There will be some professional people who have to concentrate on how to have a more effective UN or a better world bank and we should encourage and sustain them in that."

He certainly seems to have the vision and humility to lead the Methodists into a future of not only survival but vitality. However whether David Deeks is too sexy for the Methodist Church remains to be seen.