As Protestant denominations are fracturing over whether to ordain gays and lesbians, this work looks at The United Methodist Churchs conversations about the issue, in light of Methodisms historic contests over the leadership of African Americans and women, to see what can be learned from these earlier periods of change. Using the uniform context of the Methodist General Conference, where denominational policy is set, the book analyzes transcripts of floor debates in key years of these struggles, letting those who argued for and against the changes speak for themselves.

Those arguments are...