The debate over Robinson was eye-opening. The more conservative congregants were so upset over the election of a gay man as bishop that they set up an e-mail forum to discuss next steps.

I joined it to understand their concerns. I learned that you can't have a disagreement with an evangelical Christian, especially on religious issues. Their interpretation of the Bible is too rigorous.

One day, on the forum, when it became clear that the conservatives were going to flee St. Mark's, I suggested that while that course of action might have some appeal, Jesus courted people who disagreed with Him. I suggested that they remain with St. Mark's so they could act in a way that 1) reflected Jesus' teachings and 2) fight for their cause.

I might just as well have suggested that we start praying to the devil. I was resoundingly rebuked because to stand near a sinner, as the evangelicals saw those who approved of Robinson's elevation to bishop, was to be touched by sin.

I felt squeezed by both sides. I understood the evangelicals' concerns about a gay man becoming bishop and, at the same time, I wasn't all that impressed with Robinson and his supporters. Neither side was intellectually honest.

Robinson was a priest in good standing. Had he remained a priest, St. Mark's evangelicals and less conservative congregants would be sitting side-by-side in the pews on any given Sunday.

But Robinson's supporters seemed only concerned about advancing their political agenda. The thrust of their argument was that it was high time that the Episcopal Church have a gay bishop so yet another glass ceiling could be broken on behalf of gay civil rights.

Rather than bringing the denomination to some new plateau of understanding, this issue continues to plague the Episcopal Church. There remain some dioceses that want nothing to do with the Episcopal Church because of Robinson's elevation.

There is a problem with accepting homosexuals into the clergy. In 1998, the bishops of the Anglican churches across the world, including the Episcopal Church, gathered for the Lambeth Conference, a meeting where the leaders decide, every 10 years, what their faith believes.

During this conference, the bishops decided that homosexual practice is "incompatible with Scripture." They also decided against "legitimizing or blessing same sex unions" and "ordaining those involved in same gender unions." Given that decision, Robinson's sexuality and lifestyle are out of step with church doctrine.

The crux of the problem is Gene Robinson. When he entered the clergy, Robinson took a vow, written in the Book of Common Prayer, which guides all Anglican faithful through a variety of spiritual and liturgical events, including the ordination of priests, to "be loyal to the doctrine, discipline, and worship of Christ as this church has received them." He also vowed that he believed "the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God" and "to conform to the doctrine, discipline, and worship of the Episcopal Church."

This requires all Episcopal clergy to live by a higher code of ethics. It requires also that they put the church's interests above their own.

Indeed, Christ is a study in selfless leadership. He was always more concerned about His flock than He was about Himself.

Robinson could have demonstrated this kind of behavior when he was elected.

Instead of taking up his new role, he could have said that now was not the time for him to be elevated to bishop. Such action would have placed him in a positive light and, at the same time, acknowledged that his elevation had the very real potential to break apart the Church - which it's nearly done.

Instead, Robinson demonstrated that he's selfish, conceited and far more committed to his own advancement than he is about the church and its people.

Given how much havoc he's inflicted, Robinson should not only resign as a bishop but also step down from the clergy. This is the only way the Episcopal Church will heal from the many wounds it's suffered because of him.

By continuing as bishop, Robinson shows that he's more interested in his own welfare than he is about that of the church. The Rt. Rev. Robinson is many things - but he's no selfless leader.

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--Douglas R. Page is a parishioner of St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Glen Ellyn, Ill.