Queering Wesley, Queering the Church

A Book Review

By: Brandon Brown

In the conclusion to this accessible yet academic work on reading Wesley through a queer lens, Osinski mentions that John Wesley was not a systematic theologian. This is acknowledged among Wesleyan scholars for Wesley himself was often enigmatic. As Osinski writes, "Theology and spirituality and the material stuff of life itself are far too messy and sticky and downright weird for any of it to be domesticated into a forthright, airtight structure." (p 129) This is evidenced in the multiplicity of expression of Wesleyan theology present today. So Osinski is not writing this work within a vacuum nor outside the big tent of Wesleyan thought.

The book begins with a valuable introduction including the defining of terms. This is helpful for anyone who has not encountered the academic definitions or uses of terms such as queer or queering as nouns and verbs. To understand those and many other terms and concepts is to lay the foundation for reading and understanding the purpose of Osiniski's thesis and explanations. Within the introduction, Osinski draws on the depth of both Wesleyan and Nazarene theologians of the past and present when explaining the reasoning for the book and the method of her arguments.

At the outset it must be acknowledged that not all readers will agree with the conclusions nor arguments of the book, yet they are well reasoned and draw on a solid foundation of Wesleyan thought and scholarship regardless. Even as I find myself not agreeing with every conclusion, they are challenging and valuable to anyone concerned about understanding the voices of LGBTQ+ Christians who also find themselves within a Wesleyan context. This is especially true for the minister or pastor. The truth is that our culture is rapidly moving deeper into a postmodern reality and most likely a coming post-gender experience for emerging generations. This is not a statement to embrace that but to understand the realities of experience. With that in mind the meat of this book is found in the ten chapters which read ten of John Wesley's sermons through a queer lens.

Osinski shows a thorough understanding of the traditional Wesleyan reading and theology of the sermons and that is the focus of her argument from a queer reading. Many may be surprised by the often typical and traditional Wesleyan explanation. This should not be a surprise because Osinski is a Wesleyan and received education within Wesleyan institutions. That base serves the reader well as the queer reading is introduced and explained. In some cases the queer reading appears to be the typical straight reading of the sermon. But such is the eclectic nature of Wesleyan theology and Wesley himself.

I have not agreed with everything but the arguments are cogent and the scholarship is sound. This is a valuable and challenging book for anyone seeking to better understand the experience of LGBTQ+ individuals within a Wesleyan context. Osinski mentions that there is not much in terms of scholarship nor practical work in this area and that she hopes this book will ignite further research and work in this area.