Friday, August 24, 2007
Incongruity at Its Finest
Talk about a double standard. At its recent biennial meeting, the Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America reminded everyone that it officially opposes homosexuality and doesn't allow gays or lesbians to be ministers. Then it turned around and passed a resolution telling its bishops not to discipline or dismiss clergy if they're gay or lesbian.
According to the New York Times, the assembly—the American Lutheran church's largest—agreed to postpone any action on this issue until 2009, when it will discuss "a social statement" on human sexuality that's currently in the works. Yet bishops within the denomination who oppose homosexuality in the ministry have already indicated they don't intend to adhere to the recent direction. And while the resolution displays the assembly's current bent, it certainly doesn't prevent them from taking such action.
I don't think I'm alone when I say this is beyond disturbing. It's also a tiring issue. I'm frustrated that certain segments of the church have cracked the door open and allowed both the gay agenda and political correctness to gnaw away at its doctrinal foundation. At the same time, I'm reminded of a point I heard last night while watching the third part of CNN's "God's Warriors." Though argued for centuries by a wide array of believers, it was reiterated this time by pastor Greg Boyd of Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, Minn. Homosexuality in the church—or anywhere, for that matter—is sin. So are gluttony, envy and strife, just to name a few (see Gal. 5:19-21). In fact, the latter receive much more attention in the Bible than homosexuality does.
A non-believer with no knowledge of the Bible would never know this, though. That's because we as the church spend so much time debating what to do with the "majors." As Boyd said, we've created a sin gradient by which certain ones are greater than others. Is it any wonder the secular media picks us apart for such hot-button debates? I imagine if we stuck closer to Jesus' words in Matthew 7:1-3, we may not convey such a sense of polarity (or foolishness, for that matter). That's not a cover-up for gay clergy—the Bible is explicit on what it has to say about homosexuality. It is, however, a truth directly from the mouth of our Savior that we would do well not to forget as we rank our sins and sinners.
YOUR TURN: In your opinion, what should the church's approach be toward clergy who have recently come out of the closet yet are still in ministry? Have you encountered this at your own church or in your hometown? Why do you think the American church focuses so much on the sin of homosexuality but ignores others?
According to the New York Times, the assembly—the American Lutheran church's largest—agreed to postpone any action on this issue until 2009, when it will discuss "a social statement" on human sexuality that's currently in the works. Yet bishops within the denomination who oppose homosexuality in the ministry have already indicated they don't intend to adhere to the recent direction. And while the resolution displays the assembly's current bent, it certainly doesn't prevent them from taking such action.
I don't think I'm alone when I say this is beyond disturbing. It's also a tiring issue. I'm frustrated that certain segments of the church have cracked the door open and allowed both the gay agenda and political correctness to gnaw away at its doctrinal foundation. At the same time, I'm reminded of a point I heard last night while watching the third part of CNN's "God's Warriors." Though argued for centuries by a wide array of believers, it was reiterated this time by pastor Greg Boyd of Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, Minn. Homosexuality in the church—or anywhere, for that matter—is sin. So are gluttony, envy and strife, just to name a few (see Gal. 5:19-21). In fact, the latter receive much more attention in the Bible than homosexuality does.
A non-believer with no knowledge of the Bible would never know this, though. That's because we as the church spend so much time debating what to do with the "majors." As Boyd said, we've created a sin gradient by which certain ones are greater than others. Is it any wonder the secular media picks us apart for such hot-button debates? I imagine if we stuck closer to Jesus' words in Matthew 7:1-3, we may not convey such a sense of polarity (or foolishness, for that matter). That's not a cover-up for gay clergy—the Bible is explicit on what it has to say about homosexuality. It is, however, a truth directly from the mouth of our Savior that we would do well not to forget as we rank our sins and sinners.
YOUR TURN: In your opinion, what should the church's approach be toward clergy who have recently come out of the closet yet are still in ministry? Have you encountered this at your own church or in your hometown? Why do you think the American church focuses so much on the sin of homosexuality but ignores others?
