February 21, 2005
Dear Ken,
Thanks for your note about the matter that the Senate is addressing this year. I have to tell you that my heart aches over this whole matter. I am a conservative Christian and I do believe that homosexual behavior is sin. I know people who choose to live a homosexual lifestyle and I grieve over this. Yet I have steadfastly tried to love them in Christ's name with the hope that one day they will come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and savior and that He will work on them to bring them into line with his scriptures. Part of the reason I am not so condemning is that I know that I am a sinner living under the banner of grace too. My sin is not the same as theirs but I struggle to be faithful every day and sometimes, I just give up and feel hopeless. My sin is gluttony. (If you have ever been to a church conference you will note that there are an awful lot of us Christians who are losing that battle and living in the church.) The truth is that homosexual behavior is just one more sin that we struggle with as children of God, no worse or no better than any other sin. Unfortunately, the devil has managed to get us thinking that one sin is worse than an another and that we can begin to condemn and exclude some who do this or that while looking past others who sin in "more socially acceptable" ways. I do not buy this. Jesus died on the cross for all of us and I will not let the devil blind me into thinking that some people are worse than others because of a particular sin. Having said this, I confess that I am more intolerant of people who drive around with Darwin stickers on their cars because they have outright rejected Christ, than I am of anyone living in sin whether it be alcoholism, drug addiction, divorce or living together outside of marriage. When I see Jesus relating to people in the scriptures, he is always reaching out to get to know them. He rejects no one because of their sin. He embraces them, accepts them and then begins to encourage them in the way of faith. I think that is the role of the church too. So although my congregation is not accepting of people who choose to live in homosexual relationships, I can see a place in the kingdom for those churches who do nurture and embrace them. I say thank God for that. I know congregations on the frontlines of ministry in the city who minister to the addicted and homeless people. Thank God for that. I know churches that minister to the divorced and single parents. God bless them for that. To me the most important thing for a church to be doing is to be preaching Christ. That should be the only criteria for disfellowshipping churches in my mind. I have a hard time with the Unitarian Universalists for that reason and am glad I do not have to embrace them as paret of our family of churches.
I say all this to give you my background and where I fall in this issue. Now to your letter. When you talk about the Jerusalem Council and mention that issues of polity and tradition are secondary to the issue of homosexuality, I disagree with you. As I read Paul's epistles, he always put the good of the church ahead of any one issue. As a matter of fact, that is why he writes most of his letters. The people were arguing and debating over issues like this and he told them to look to Christ and to be united.
You also suggest that the ABCUSA does not have a position on this other than we should love one another. We should love one another because together the ABCUSA has done a tremendous job of evangelizing the world through our mission programs. We have been the face of God around the world and very effective in making his love real. Unfortunately when we fight among ourselves and some withhold financial support, our mission is seriously crippled. But having said this, the ABCUSA has said that we believe homosexual behavior is incompatible with scripture. It is on record. Churches like mine embrace this. It is clear. It is concise. We also declared that "all" issues of human sexuality should be lifted up for discussion so that understanding can be achieved. I like this because it forces us to discuss issues like this and issues like unwed mothers, and remarriage, and pornography and figure out ways to minister and deal with people who struggle with their sexuality. It is the best of both worlds.
In the end, each local congregation has to make up its mind on how it will deal with these things. You suggest that this is not the way to do it, but as a Baptist, I believe that it is the best way when you believe that God calls the local church together to do his will and the larger body is only a vehicle to build bridges develop greater ministry possibilities. The Protestant reformation brought to light the fact that each of us can read the Bible and understand it and we do not need a bishop or pope to interpret it for us. I love that.
Finally, I think the only thing that is not up for debate in Biblical interpretation is the centrality of Christ. The Bible is our ultimate authority on that. You are right that other issues have come and gone and so will this issue of homosexual practice. As long as we focus on Christ, we cannot stray far from the truth. My parents taught me that I should watch what they do and not what they say. The same is true for Jesus. When I look at Jesus, he is more loving, more accepting, more inviting than anyone I have ever known. Nothing could get in the way of him when he wanted to reach out for someone. Not being caught in the act of adultery, not being married five times and living in sin at the present, not being a greedy, merciless man, not being a ruthless killer and anarchist... nothing. He never condoned their behaviors but he accepted the people and loved them first and then told them he wanted them to change.
When it comes to what we are doing at the Senate, we have the opportunity to send a message to the rest of the denomination. We have the opportunity to show the love of Christ over against the message the culture wants us to send. The culture wants us to appear unloving and intolerant and that would suit the devil just fine. I say we need to look at the individuals involved and ask, not are they living in sin, but do they love Jesus Christ? Because if we look at those living in sin, then I would have to leave and dare I say it, so would you and everyone else.
I know there are some in the gay rights movement who do not love Christ and seek to work against the church, but anyone who would come to Senate to help encourage and build up the leadership of the church is not among that group. So I think this is a non issue for us at this point.
I know we could go on and on, but you invited response and here is mine.
Cal Lord
Senator from Connecticut
February 27, 2005
Dear Cal,
Thank you for your letter. It is the kind of heart felt thoughtful expression I was hoping for. I will not try to comment on all the points you raise, but will respond to some in the hope we will get back together.
First, there is a difference between acceptance and approval. As Jesus did, we accept every person in the reality of his identity. We are always sizing each other up and making judgments that may or not prove to be true. Wisdom tells us to bracket our judgments until we check them out. Some things we approve and some not. I accept the parents of my grandchildren but I have not always approved the way they raise them. Funny you should mention, but one son in law is a Unitarian Universalist whom we love and accept as a part of the family, but we pray daily that he may come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior. Jesus did not approve that the women had five husbands, and he told the woman caught in the act of adultery to "Go, sin no more." The demands I hear from the gay direction is that they want our approval which I cannot give.
Next, from A.A. practice comes the concept of being an enabler. They call this person a co-dependent who in the name of compassion tries to protect the alcoholic and in covering up is actually giving him permission to keep on. This has broad application, and we as pastors are particularly vulnerable since we want to protect and love people. Since you believe gay practices are wrong, don't become an enabler.
You are a compassionate person and rightly see compassion in Jesus throughout his ministry. Let's be careful not to put one label on Jesus, because he breaks every mould we squeeze him in to. Jesus with the Rich Young Man "looked on him and loved him," but he still said, "One thing you lack. . ." and he went away sad. (Mark 10:17-22) In Luke 9:57-62 Jesus rejected three would be disciples. In the feeding of the 5,000 in Mark 6:34 Jesus saw the crowd as sheep without a shepherd and had compassion on them and fed them. But in Johns account, (ch. 6) he rejected them because they wanted the wrong thing and their withdrawal represented the turning point in John's gospel. While The Road Less Travelled by Scott Peck is not scripture, I see Jesus in his description of love. (page 111)
"Love is not simply giving, it is judicious giving and judicious withholding as well. It is judicious praising and judicious criticizing. It is judicious arguing, struggling, confronting, urging, pushing and pulling in addition to comforting. It is leadership. The word "judicious" means requiring judgment, and judgment requires more than instinct; it requires thoughtful and often painful decision-making."
Further, as you describe, we are all sinners in various ways and in need of God's grace. The difference between your gluttony with the other sins you name and homosexual practices is that you confess your gluttony as a sin. You do not demand that we approve it. If you made that demand then we would single it out for our attention as we would with any of the other six deadly sins.
Finally, you say that we should look at the individuals involved and ask, not are they living in sin, but do they love Jesus Christ? John 14:15,21; 15:10; 1 John 5:3 all say that we show our love for Jesus by obeying his commandments. Isn't that exactly what you say your parents taught you, to watch what people do and not what they say? Jesus said the same thing.
Please know that I feel the tension that you describe. It's the same kind I felt when I served on a jury and had to make a decision. It wasn't easy.
In Christ,
Ken Savage
Senator from PSW