As I concluded yesterday, sending an e-mail is easy. Living out the implications of having homosexuals in your church is not. Not only will you be judged by Christians, you will face some difficult situations. For instance…
One Sunday I walked in and saw a gay couple working at our “Welcome Table” in the lobby. I thought, “Ooooh, that’s not good.” We met and explained that they are welcome to attend our church, but could not volunteer at the “Welcome Table.” It gave the impression that they represented our church, but as two people who continued to live out a homosexual lifestyle, they do not. It’s not because they’re not perfect; none of us are perfect. But, in my opinion, the fact that they continued to live together and had not made the choice to abstain meant that they should not serve in that kind of position. I would have said the same to an unmarried heterosexual couple who lived together and were having sex. So these guys heard all that, and I expected, “Forget you, we’re out of here!” But they said, “Okay. Where can we serve?” And every Sunday since they show up at 8:00 a.m. for set-up. Why? Because although they heard painful truth, at our church they have always experienced overwhelming love.
I’ve also sat across a table in the food court of the mall and explained to an actively gay man that he could not go on a mission trip. There would be some mission trips he could participate in, but because of the nature of the trip he was interested in, I just thought it would be best for him not to go. In fact, I thought it wouldn’t be fair to him to be involved. He was disappointed. It was painful, but I had to speak the truth. And he continues to attend our church, because he knows he’s loved.
In his book, “What’s So Amazing About Grace?” Philip Yancey illustrates both the truth and the love on this issue. He tells the story of Mel White, who used to be a prominent Christian author, but then admitted to the world that he was gay, and left his wife, kids, and ministry to embrace a homosexual lifestyle. A network news show did a piece on Mel White. They interviewed his parents, who were conservative Christians and disagreed with Mel’s decision. The interviewer said, “You know what other Christians are saying about your son. They say he’s an abomination. What do you think about that?” With a quivering voice his mom answered, “He may be an abomination, but he’s still our pride and joy.”
That’s what I would say about the gay people in our church. It’s also what God would say about me. I am an abomination. But I am also God’s pride and joy. My life has been changed by the radical, perplexing grace of God. The homosexual people in our communities will have their lives transformed when they experience the radical, perplexing grace of God. But they will only experience it if we speak the truth, and do so in overwhelming love.
- featured on newchurches.com
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
“Not That There’s Anything Wrong With It” (3 of 4)
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9 comments:
Not that I agree with what I am about to say but how do you guys answer the more liberal argument that what if we find out tomorrow that there is a genetic cause for homosexuality(now some may choose to live like that ) but I'm saying if tomorrow a homosexual could go to a doctor and take some kind of dna test and it would say yes you have this condition....would that change anything? I mean a person with autism can not truly help the way they are and God doesn't say well stop acting autistic to that person.
How do we approach that liberal view in a loving way?
Vince, do you make a distinction between homosexuals being welcomed to come to the church but not being allowed to join as members? Or even heterosexual unmarried couples who are living together. Are any of these couples who are choosing to live lifestyles outside of God's plan allowed to join as members?
The same could be said for alcoholism. There is research out there that points toward the idea that alcoholism is hereditary.
Paul spoke of a thorn in his side, though never tells us what it is. Some believe it was a health ailment. I have to wonder if it was a personal struggle. Whatever it was, it helped him to realize how much more he needed Jesus.
Whether homosexuality and alcoholism are genetic or not is really not an issue when you look at what the Bible says. I think the issue is how we choose to communicate that truth. Will it be with love and grace? I sure hope so!
Hey Bryan: That's a good question. Honestly, we haven't had to deal with that question. We don't make a big deal of membership and haven't had any homosexuals (that I'm aware of) ask to be members. So I haven't really thought this one out, but off the top of my head: Yes, I would make a distinction between welcoming someone to attend versus welcoming them as a member...
Quote from the other anonymous "Whether homosexuality and alcoholism are genetic or not is really not an issue when you look at what the Bible says." I would say yes I have to agree but also that's easy for me to say because I don't struggle with something that owns me to my core. I don't think telling a person who really believes they were born a certain way that the Bible says "no" will make them just say ok I will repent.
Hey Vince since you have had some encounters within the church with homosexuals and they have stayed which is great why don't you have one of them quest blog at the end of this series about how they felt when you talked to them, and how they feel within the church. It would be neat to hear from someone who lives it don't you think?
That's a great suggestion... Let me think about it. I'm not sure how someone would feel about being asked to do that. Would it be a cool chance to share, or would it make you feel "exposed" or what? Hmmm, I'll have to think about it.
good stuff. Thanks for writing it.
I felt the need to post in responce to anonymous 1. Autism is not called a sin in the Bible (unless I missed it), but homosexual behavior is so I don't think you can compare the two.
A better comparison is the Alcoholic. I am in recovery myself, but if I were an active alcoholic serving at the Welcome Table of our Church I would hope that someone would love me enough to tell me I couldn't serve there. I also hope they would help lead me away from a sin that most consider genetic or hereditary these days.
I can no more stop being an Alcoholic on my own, but with Gods help I am able to discontinue choosing to pick up a drink.
I remember calling Vince on the phone before I started attending Forefront and asking him if I could come to Church because I was a recovering alcoholic. It is sad that we think we have to even ASK if we can come to Church because of sin in our lives, but thank you God for Forefront that accepted me with open arms just like Jesus does!
Yeah good stuff the autism reference was not a direct comparison though and it was more of a question. There is a very liberal mindset in the church at large saying that we need to rethink what the bible says/means on the issue of homosexuals and I was asking how we approach that conversation when we are faced with it. I think the liberal view in some respects is harder to deal with than say the individual homosexual themselves. The liberal view often points to church history and says well we got so and so wrong then what if we have this wrong now. You know the whole always reforming mentality.
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