USAToday.com – By Daniel Burke, Religion News Service
Baltimore – The Rev. Drew Phoenix is many things to many people.
To St. John’s of Baltimore City, he’s the fun-loving pastor who counsels them, takes their kids hiking, explains Scripture, and plunges into worthy causes.
To conservative Methodists, Phoenix embodies another front in the “culture wars,” a rebel who has defied God and nature and should be removed from ministry.
To mainstream society, Phoenix is an enigma who transcends traditional sexual boundaries, provoking uncomfortable questions about the interplay between body, mind and soul.