LOVE boldly. RISK offense.

I read something that was completely heartbreaking today.  Before you continue, read it for yourself.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/27/clint-mccance-anti-gay-facebook_n_774656.html 

Now that you've read that, if you do nothing else, please read the last paragraph of this post and respond.  There is a call to action that is vitally important.

What is my response?  Words fail me.  There is a part of me that wants to go into a novel length tirade about this.  But mostly, I just want to cry.  And hug some people I love.  And tell them not to listen to voices like this.  I read something tonight that seemed to apply so perfectly to this very sad article.  It's from an amazing workbook of a small group I used to attend.  It said "Judgments put people in a place where you don't have to trust them, and thus they can't hurt you...grace is when you see, and have a relationship with others' hearts..." (meaning that even if you disagree with their actions, you give grace and love rather than judgement). 

While we could easily take this inspirational and encouraging quote and apply it to the person who spoke these hateful things, ranting about how judgemental he is being, I somehow think that would make us just a little bit like him.  That's the uglyness of when people sin against us - it brings out the sin inside of us.  So I'd rather not sit around and badmouth him, though it would be painfully easy to do that.  Sadly, I suspect that anyone who can speak such hateful things is more than likely a victim to their own pain.

Instead, I want to say, "I'm Sorry."  I am so sorry!  (I wish you could see me right now as the tears are welling up in my eyes, so you would know my sincerity).  To my gay friends reading this right now, and to all of you in the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi, transgender) community who may or may not know me, I am deeply, truly, painfully sorry for the way that the Church and the way that "God's people" have treated you.  I am so regretful for the picture that is being painted to you.  That is not the Jesus I know.  That is not the God I serve.  On behalf of Christians everywhere, I apologize for the pain that people like this have caused you.  It is wrong.  It is wrong.  It is wrong.  And I am so sorry.

Please forgive us.  Please give us a chance to show you a God who loves you, if you have not met him yet.  He is real.

Psalm 103:6,8
The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.  The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.


Christians, especially straight Christians, I call on you now to speak words of life, love and encouragement to our brothers and sisters in the LGBT community.  Too often they hear voices like the one in that article.  Will you please join with me today in testifying that the God we serve is not full of hate, but full of love?  This community needs to hear that there are voices of God's people around them who love and care.  Let's make sure that voices like Clint McCance are not the only ones they remember.  Much love to you all!  Much, much, much love...deep and everlasting!

If there's one thing I've learned over the past three years it has been the value of embracing the moments I am offended, the moments when I am pushed beyond my comfort zone, when I am completely out of my element. Those have been the defining moments. It's during these times spent in overwhelmingly uncomfortable situations when our fight or flight kicks in. This is sort of funny when you think about it, that we fight for survival in non-life threatening situations. We are so afraid that someone or something will take away from us the thing that we can't bear to lose - the safety of our beliefs, our rights, our worldview. So we fight. We fight for our viewpoint, we fight for our beliefs, we fight for our politics, and somewhere in the middle of it all, we start fighting each other. Or, we run. We dig our heads in the sand, cover our ears, pretend we don't see the pain around us and close our minds. And somewhere in the mix, we close our hearts as well.

This hurts me. This hurts you. This hurts us. This hurts God.

So I propose a different response. What if, instead of fighting or flighting, we stood still for a moment and embraced the tension of our disagreement? What if in these moments we put our hands over our mouths and took time to listen to those who think and believe differently than we might? Might we learn from it? Might we grow? Might we love more? Might we love better? If only, if only, we would seek to listen first.

This is the vision for this blog. I believe there needs to be a place for us to love boldly, and to risk that we might be offended in the process. The result will be growth - internally, in our relationships with others, and in our ability to love.

Let's talk. Let's listen to each other. About homosexuality. About faith. About our stories. About our pain. About our love for God.

Let's pursue. Let's chase after the things that will open our hearts to one another. Education. Growth. Community. Love. Change.

I make you only one promise:

I will offend you. It's inevitable in such an emotionally charged debate. My hope is to show love. My hope is to be fair. My hope is to push you towards truth. My hope is you will live with me in the tension of our disagreements. My hope is that we can believe in each others' hearts. My hope is that we can give each other grace.

This is a community of love and support, a forum for showing God's love (when so often we, as a Church, have failed to do that), a safe place to discuss spirituality and sexual orientation, and a forum for sharing our stories with one another.

For now, let's look forward to loving one another in a new way - the way God intended. I would be honored by your presence with me on this journey. Will you join me?