This site is the personal web site of J. Benjamin Roe (see below). Here's why it's changed:
My church, The United Methodist Church, is in a period of upheaval following a couple of tough "General Conference," which is a gathering of delegates from all over the world who decide the work of the denomination, and the rules. For over 50 years, the denomination has been debating whether "homosexuality" is "compatible with Christian teaching." My position is clear in my writings (which can be accessed here). I put "homosexuality" in quotes because it is an out-moded term which no longer matches the science of sex, sexual differentiation, gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation. See this bibliography which lists resources which show how this is outmoded in the terms of John Wesley's four sources for theological and ethical consideration.
The General Conference of 2019, meeting in Saint Louis, Missouri, U.S.A. in February, 2019, voted to retain the original 1972 language and restrictions against Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual persons (trans and intersex have not been addressed--yet), their same-gender marriages, and ministers. And then added punitive penalties for disobedience to the requirement for discrimination. Following that General Conference, many in the denomination, including in the U.S. and Europe, voiced their commitment to continue to welcome all people, including LGBTQIA+ persons, to full participation in the United Methodist Church. The other part of this web site attempts to document that "rebellion" and the attempts to finally resolve the impasse which became abundantly clear at the 2016 General Conference.
So the main focus of this personal site will shift for the time being to that General Conference and its aftermath, the (re)forming of The United Methodist Church--with some occasional mention of splinter denominations growing out of this conflict.
I am J. Benjamin Roe, Ben for short. I am a graduate of Nebraska Wesleyan Univesity (1969 B.A., religion), and Claremont School of Theology (1975 D.Min., ethics), a former United Methodist minister (Nebraska Conference 1970-1996), and have been at various times an administrative assistant, applications programmer and trainer for a Unix product and a Windows/SQL product, communications staffer, and website constructor and maintainer, now retired. This site has many of my writings, information about my life and careers, my family and my interests. I named my site "Tuxwheels" because I'm a Linux user ("Tux" is the penguin mascot of Gnu/Linux), mobile in a wheelchair, after years in a 3-wheel scooter (post-polio). If you are interested to know more about me, you can read my writings, visit my Facebook page, or
But now please pray for us United Methodists as we go through some very difficult times. -- Ben