So, this week. Let’s take a closer look at the Sermon on the Mount. Now, this may not be the area that we spend the entire summer in. In fact, I doubt it will be. Overall, I am trying to take what I hear from you, add in what God is speaking to my heart and see where he wants to lead us. So, I would say that none of us in this group fully knows where it is all going.

Let’s look at Matthew 5.13.
13 “Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness?

Now, when I read this, and this version is from the Message, I think a couple of things. I love the very start of this passage, “Let me tell you why you are here…” It is just very simple and straitforward. The stuff that we often wish was more frequent in the Bible. Jesus would have been sitting on the big hill, looking at those who had come to hear him, and probably they would have been pressing in close to hear.

And he says, “Let me tell you why you are here.” Obviously he wasn’t talking about why they were there listening to him, he was speaking about why they are on earth.

He is speaking to us as well. So, we would do well to slow down for a minute, lean in a bit, and listen to the answer that God the Son, Jesus, is about to give to the statement he just made.

We are here to be salt. The seasoning that brings out the God flavors of the earth. We are to take the things that God has done and continues to do, and make them more easily seen, more easily noticed.

Jesus gives two very basic statements. He offers to tell them why they are here, what their purpose is. Then he gives them a very simple explanation. We are to bring up and discuss the fingerprints that God has left and continues to leave, all over the world, in our lives, everywhere.

Clarity about our purpose. To make God more fully known, both to those who are followers of his and to those who are not. We are to talk about what God is up to.

If God is in charge, then he has the right to ask that of us. The question is, are we doing it? Are we talking about what we have seen God do? Do we talk about God to those who agree with us about him, but never to those who don’t?

There is certainly much more we could discuss about this short passage. In fact, I think the Sermon on the Mount has layers to it that we will spend our entire lives exploring. I suspect even after that, when we stand with God in heaven and he shows us the fullness of what he was up to, we will still be amazed by how little of it we actually got.

But let’s not worry about that for now. For now, let’s let it be very simple. Jesus said we are here to make God more well known. That we are here to allow the “God-flavors” of this earth to be more detectable.

Let’s make what we do be very simple as well.

Let’s memorize that set of scripture. You can take the first two sentences or you can tackle the three verse section. Whichever you prefer.

This week, at least once, but as often as possible, be the salt that you are. Talk about what God is doing, what he has done in your life. Do that however you feel led to, if you would like some help with that, email me and let me know.

Comment back in and tell us what happened. This way, the rest of us can be encouraged by what you have done. Also, many others are reading this as well. So, by sharing what you shared, you are continuing to be salt. However, if you feel it would be best to keep it private, you can either email our list serve or me personally. But lets share some stories. Even if nothing seems to happen.

Pray that those around you would be the salt they are, or would sense God’s flavoring of the world through you. Pray that the rest of us would do the same and pray that [nlcf] would be a place where that could happen on a broad scale.

I cannot wait to hear back and know I am praying for you all!

Peace, Jim

“One day as he saw the crowds gathering, Jesus went up on the mountainside and sat down.  His disciples gathered around him, and he began to teach them.”  Matt 5.1,2

In words that follow, just 112 of them, he shows us just how innacuractely we can look at our world.

Those 112 words, called the beatitudes (Matt 5.3-10) were so named because the Latin word we derive blessing from is beatus.  While not very lengthly, they give us some of the most straightforward descriptions of who is blessed in the Kingdom of Heaven.  Eight phrases that show us how God says things should be.  Other biblical writers use the term Kingdom of God, but Matthew, as he was tasked to write to the Jews, wouldn’t have used God’s name like that, hence, Kingdom of Heaven.

So, this week, let’s mediate on the Beatitudes.  I would suggest this;  take two each day and meditate on them.  Ask yourself some questions: does this describe how I feel?  Do I believe that those phrases are more accurate of what truly is a blessing than what the world around me says is one?  Where is my thinking off? You might also want to consider using a different translation that what you are accustomed to using.  The slightly different phrasing might help you to engage the verses in a fresh way.  Crosswalk has a great list of translations you can choose from… and an interesting interview of a guy I know.

A couple of easy pitfalls to avoid.  When Matthew writes blessed, he doesn’t necessarily mean material blessing.  Blessing from God certainly includes that, but it involves so much more.  We are blessed when we are adopted into God’s family, when we are aware of his presence, when we are more able to see our world, as well as God’s kingdom, more clearly.  Cool?

So…  take this week and each day, focus on two.  Write them where you will see them, (I will put them up on my googlecal.) Take a bit of time, even as little as ten to fifteen minutes daily and reflect on those questions I listed above.  You may find that God leads you to others, if that is what happens, dump mine and follow God’s lead.

Then pray.

At least once this week, take about 30-ish minutes and pray for your heart to more clearly reflect God’s explanation of beatus.  Pray for those around you, wherever you are to understand it as well, pray for [nlcf] overall to do the same.  Finally, pray that when you return to [nlcf], that God would show you how to be beatus to those you will be around.  If you can do that with others that are in your area, please do.

If you are in the Blacksburg area, how about we meet Monday, June 14th, at Jackson St.  Say 7am?  Can everyone here make it? If you are at LT, in the 757, Richmond, Northern VA or elsewhere, email around and see if you can link up as well.  If not, either becuase you cannot find a time or you are in Portland , maybe ask some people around you or you and God do this alone.

Last thing… at least once before next Tuesday, comment in about what God shows you through this week.  I will be praying that he speaks to us all.

So…

1. read the first part of the Sermon on the Mount – Matthew 5.3-10
2. reflect on two phrases each day and ask yourself the questions
3. pray once this week for 30-ish mins
4. comment in so we can hear what you are learning and be encouraged by it as well.

So… let’s go get em!

Peace, Jim

The first three centuries of the early church’s life saw this trend continue. There were several seasons in those first three hundred years in which those that followed Jesus were hunted, arrested, and potentially taken to the arenas to be killed as entertainment. Obviously, this caused a continued diaspora. Those who were scattered faced the challenges of beginning life again. New jobs, new clusters of friends, new patterns of life. Those who remained behind, faced their own challenges. For them, little had overtly changed, but still much had. They may have lived in the same places, they might have kept their own jobs, but things were different. Many of their relationships had been fractured by the diaspora, their traditions and customs; their rhythms, had to change as well.

When James, started his letter, his greeting was to the diaspora. Peter’s first letter was started the same way.

What happened as a result of this regular spreading and returning, spreading and returning, is those who left, by desire or under coercion, took their understanding of God with them. Those who left after Jesus’ death and resurrection, took their awareness of that.

We are just now beginning a season of spreading in [nlcf]. Obviously we don’t face the dangers that many who have come before us faced, indeed many of us who are leaving or staying are doing so out of our own will. But many of us are now in different places, some are now there for good. For those of us that remain, Blacksburg is a different place. Even if we don’t live in Blacksburg, we can notice the change.

What is interesting is that the letters that were most clearly intended to be distributed to those impacted by the diaspora were very focused on how you live your faith in light of whose you are, not where you are. When you read Peter’s first letter or James’ you hear it again and again; because of your connection with Christ, live a particular way. Whether it is Peter’s concern that you remember the purpose of the difficulty we are all going through and keep it in perspective or his challenge to always be ready to explain why your hope isn’t tied to the difficulty you are going through, or James’s focus that we push away the worldly desire to sit back and watch the suffering of others – especially the defenseless. They remind us that we have been cleansed, we have been forgiven, that we serve a God who is generous and loving.

And that God is calling us to do the same to those around us.

This summer, [nlcf] has been dispersed, we are the diaspora, if you will. Regardless of where you are. We know that the temptation will be great to pursue our own comfort over living out of the covenant that God has made with us. That we can get ourselves settled, get into a rhythm, and not make our relationship with God and those around us a central part of how we go through our day.

Jesus gave us our example. He came from heaven and accomplished his mission. He lived and showed us how to live. He died with the collective weight of all our sins on him. He came back to life because even death isn’t strong enough to keep him under its control.  He walked around and taught his disciples and others to adopt his mission and to keep it after he left. He told them he would send the Holy Spirit to be with them as they lived a life focused on the same mission that Jesus was focused on.

Matthew records Jesus’ call to us this way, “… I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matt 28.18-20
Jesus had lived his earthly mission and now he was telling those who were with him to do the same. Not do more than their part, but do their part. Live out the relationship they have with the Father, through the example and sacrifice of the Son, empowered by the Spirit. This is the mission they had. It is the mission we now have as well.

This summer, we need to live that mission together. Let’s call ourselves the Diaspora and let’s live like those who have been dispersed, that have been sent. Each week, we will focus on reflecting on something together, praying for something together, doing something and sharing our stories.
This isn’t intended to be a huge, time commitment type of deal. Sometimes we might ask you to cluster together if you can. I might challenge you to meet up in the next several days, with at least two or three other people that are part of the Diaspora, if you are near any, and pray for God’s will to be done among those you live around and then to ask him to allow you to be a part of seeing that happen.  Other times we will do other things together, still others will be focused on reflecting on who we are…

The main thing is that we are reflecting on who we really are as sons and daughters of God, praying for God to shape us and to use us to see the mission Jesus was so focused on advance in our lives. To do things together to see that happen and then to share our stories. We will need to be talking about what God is doing to encourage and challenge one another, and it helps us to stay focused on our mission as well.

Sometimes I might ask one of you to guide our reflections, prayer and challenges for a week. It can be nice to hear from others as we grow together.

First steps…
If you are in, comment back here and tell us that you are. You may have heard me share about this group if you come to [nlcf] or listen to the talks on the web. You may have just come across this on my blog or have been referred to it. You may also feel free to invite others to join our little club.  No problem.   The only thing I ask is that if you say you are in, you mean it. That isn’t to say that all of us won’t drop the ball over the course of the summer, but I feel like we can only fully realize what God would have us be this summer, if we are all dedicated to being in.  I don’t care if six people say they are in or sixty. But tell us who you are, where you are living now and what you are doing there.

Second, if you haven’t seen it before, go to iamsecond and watch any two of the testimony videos sometime over the remainder of this week. This is something I want to do each week to remind myself how much God is doing to draw people to himself, and how important our role is in that.

So… comment back and tell us you are in. Take a look at two iamsecond vids. By my next post on this we will have some scripture that we will be collectively reading to guide our reflections. Many of you already have scripture reading you are doing. My goal isn’t to stop that, just to have something that we are marinating in together.

Until then, don’t just focus on where you are, but remember whose you are.
Peace, Jim

And I am about to break another.

The first rule of blogging is that if you want your blog readership to grow, then post consistently. Obviously you want to post high quality content, but you need to do that regularly. Over the past couple of weeks I have just been too busy to post much at all.

The second is that it is best to stay in your own lane. What that essentially means is you are most helpful to the blogospere if you select a couple of subjects that you care about and have some experience in, and stick with those. Unless your blog is intended to be about everything, then scaling it back to a few things can be good.

I say all this because I am about to step into a new blogging area. Don’t know if I will be regularly swimming in this particular pool or if this is just a brief dip. Either way, here goes…

I have been under a fair bit of pressure lately. Not exorbitant, but not light either. I am the husband of a wife that I dearly love and truly enjoy spending time with, and the father of three kids. Noah is thirteen, Seth is eleven and Emma will be ten this summer. Between math, sentence diagramming (thanks Jenna for guiding us through that one,) puberty, soccer, basketball, piano, girls saying mean things about you… It gets busy fast.

Then there is my ministry with [nlcf]. As we enter a different season as a church, several of the things that we will be doing are things that I will be heavily involved in. I love working with this church! I truly do, but one of the hardest things I do each week is figure out what I won’t do that week so that I can live a life of balance.

Then there is Should We Fire God?. I will be honest with you, doing what needs to be done and what I would like to do for the book could easily be a full time job all by itself.

I manage Seth’s soccer team, try to exercise, get enough sleep, have some growing friendships and have a meaningful and growing relationship with my Messiah.

It is a lot to do. Please hear this, I am not complaining and I am not saying any of his so that anyone reading this will feel sorry for me. Everything that makes my life intense during this season is borne out of a blessing I am enjoying. So… let’s be clear with that.

All this run up really just leads me to the reason I am blogging tonight instead of sleeping (or watching Glee.) The speed and pressure of life can sometimes make it easy to pass over moments where I have the opportunity to connect with someone. Tonight I almost missed one with Seth.

Tracy mentioned to me that he seemed more upset than usual and so I stopped what I was doing and went up and talked with him about it. After we dealt with the issue that had made him frustrated, he just kept going and I was privileged to be along for the ride. I got to hear his frustration with a kid in his class, his fears about talking to his coach regarding some things he doesn’t understand, the new type of clothes he likes (Aeropostale), how he is as long as the mattress when we extends his arms, how nervous he is about starting middle school next fall, and why he never gets in trouble doing his morning work.

We didn’t talk about much in great depth, but we talked about him. I loved it, probably that twenty or thirty minute conversation was a highpoint of my day. And I almost missed the chance – had he not been in such a bad mood and had Tracy not been paying attention I probably would have.
The scriptures tell us that children are a blessing from the Lord. Yes, they are a responsibility and yes that responsibility is very heavy at times. Tonight, I just sat in my sons’ room and enjoyed the blessing. I was blessed to hear about his emerging life and I was blessed to be reminded that I can be two feet away from someone and completely miss what is going on in their world.

Here’s to hoping it doesn’t take an abnormally bad mood for us all to have those moments in the future, eh?

Peace,
Jim

Our school lost.  But that isn’t important.  What is important is that the concert consisted of the Jets lip-syncing two songs and then leaving!  My point?  That is how the Westboro demonstration felt.

Please understand, I am grateful that we only had five or six protestors show up.  I am also grateful that the counter-protests at the site stayed very calm and were mostly light-hearted.  Take a look at some of the pics I have stolen from my good friend Franklin…

So, even though the Westboro turnout was low (unfortunately because several protesters shifted plans and were headed to West Virginia to protest at the site of the mine collapse), it was still upsetting.  One of the most upsetting parts was seeing the kids from Westboro holding such terrible protest signs.  Please join me in praying for the children that were a part of the Westboro protest group.  I cannot even imagine what expereinces like they are having must be shaping them.  Always having people yell back and ridicule you must only further serve to drive them deeper into the false theology and world of Westboro Baptist Church.  I am truly afraid for them.

If you are interested and able, I did a short interview with WDBJ-7 (our regional CBS affiliate).  Should be on tonight at six or 6:30.  If I can get a copy of the story I will post it here.  I primarily spoke about how they are misrepresenting the bible for their own purposes.  How they are simply now a protest organization and should be seen as such.  That I believe they no longer (if ever) deeply seek the Lord, willing to do whatever he wants them to do.  I think they find a tragedy, make a sign and then hit the road.

And so, a tough start to what for many will be a tough week begins.  Please pray for all those affected by the shootings, both here in the New River Valley and beyond.   This week, more than most, we need God’s hand to give us peace.

Jim

There are also people in [nlcf] that will be frustrated by Matt’s belief that homosexuality isn’t something that lines up with God’s plan for us, and as such, he is working to shift to a heterosexual orientation. They would see that plan as unwise and the issue of his sexuality to be a neutral one. And they will share that frustration with Matt as well.

Those of you that have been following the thread about my friend who struggles with his homosexuality… this is the friend. Those that have been reading the blog will notice I changed the title of this thread. Both Matt and (I believe) Curtis made the point I should change it. So…viola…

I thought Matt spoke about his life in a very open, honest and thoughtful way.

I asked if I could share his story.

He graciously agreed.

Matt? Take it away…

Partially because I am a people guy. I really like them. I believe that each person I meet is a very important and individual creation of God. That makes each of them far more important than they or I can imagine. So…I am a big fan.

But I also am in ministry. I am a pastor of an amazing and flawed church everyone calls [nlcf]. Granted, it isn’t a very traditional church and I may not be the most traditional pastor, but one thing that being a pastor predicatably brings is you talk with a lot of people.

I mean A LOT of people.

This is not a problem, because I am a fan, remember?

One of the things I talk with a lot of people about, whether they are followers of Jesus or not, is God. Again, predictable. When I talk with people about God obviously there is a range of things we discuss, but one thing comes up more than most.

The list.

Now almost no one uses that term, but that is what it is. It is the list of the things that make getting closer to God harder. The times that we tried to trust him and it didn’t work out, the times that we asked for something and it didn’t happen. Various relationships that might have fallen apart even though we desperately didn’t want them to. The people in our family or beyond them, that suffer from debilitating illness or have lost the fight to that illness. Jobs that have been lost or cannot be found. Unfairness that seems to be everywhere. So often, those that don’t deserve to win do, and those that could really have used that win, don’t.

Here is what can happen. I say can because it doesn’t happen all the time to everyone, but in my experience it does happen to almost all of us at some point. What can happen is that we take those times where we feel that God didn’t step in as he should and we add many of them to our list. The times God has not been predictable or has not handled things the way we would want him to. We take them, remember them…and when the times comes to really step out in trust with God again, we don’t.

In fact, that is one of the best tests for the presence of the list. Think of the last time you thought God might be calling you to do something scary. Serve someone you were uncomfortable with, risk and give something away and make do with less yourself. Go somewhere, do something. (If you cannot remember the last time that has happened-take a month or so, and ask God each day to help you see a risk you can take for him, it will happen). Now think of what you think when that thought came up (great sentence, eh?).

What did you do in that moment? Go for it or hold back? Personally I have done both. The times I hold back, I usually am thinking “God, I just don’t know what you are going to do if I do this.” We doubt, and we don’t risk anymore. We start to see ourselves as people who don’t do that sort of thing. The problem is, we were made to do exactly that sort of thing.

So… how about we start the year a little differently? Sure, we can make our resolutions about losing weight, getting our finances in order (my wife and I are doing that one), but let’s do something about our lists too. What do you say?

How about this? I’ll show you my list if you show me yours. Nothing too deep if you aren’t ready, but let’s share a bit. What do you hold against God? What has frustrated you about him? What makes you hold back?

Some of you might just want to vent a bit, get it out. If that is what you want, let us know, and we will let you vent. If you have questions that you would like input on, ask for that as well and we will try to answer what we can. I say we because I hope this will be a collaborative discussion.

In a few days I will post mine… but don’t wait for me. Have at it…

so, there have been a lot of postings on the blog since i have last meaningfully posted myself. in my last post, i said that i would answer stephen’s questions of why is this an issue at all? very fair question and a good one to look at.

what have done is posted the link to a series [nlcf] did, probably 7ish years ago. it is called, the hate people. the premise is that often the church (or at least the evangelical portion of it) has been characterized by a fairly small subset of attention grabbing individuals. they believe what they say and are allowed to say it. and they get the lion’s share of the microphone time.

and they often do not at all represent what i think. or what many of my friends think.

so we posed the question, are Christians the hate people? we seem to be known for what we are against, what we picket, what we protest. is that a clear representation of Christ’s heart for our generation?

we asked the questions: does God hate those who worship other religions, homosexuals, the environment and women? all issues that we felt were very intense, and ones where i (and many others) would say our views are misunderstood or misrepresented.

i include the talk i did on the issue of homosexuality with a few caveats. the first; remember, i did this talk six or seven years ago. you will notice that i use you know quite a bit, i also really seemed to like the phrase, these things. you will hear it. alot. sorry. essentially, as a communicator i was still reasonably new, so you will see some of that. also related to that, i have a misstatement about the old testament. i essentially said it did not apply any longer. i was referring to how some components don’t, you will see that when you hear the comment. it just came out wrong.

secondly; some of the terms i used then would be different now. partially that is because i have some greater clarity on how some of those terms can strike people, and some of that is from the fact that preferences about some of those terms have changed over the years.

thirdly, as my life with God continues, i continue to grow and evolve in my understanding of who He is and how He feels about humanity and the universe we inhabit. so to say that my views are exactly what they were when this talk was given, would be to assume that i haven’t grown or changed at all. i will say that some of my views have changed, but enough are similar enough, that this talk still describes my views well.

finally, my friend chris backert handled two of the talks. he and i were very close then and are still today, but i make no claims as to whether or not he holds all of the views he shared exactly as they were shared then.

as for the myriad of questions and accusations or indications of frustration at what i am doing or not doing/thinking or not thinking/representing or not representing, by supporting my friend… i will look at those again over the next few days and decide if i feel that i need to reply to any of them. i am aware of some peoples’ perceptions of me based on my views. i am not sure anything i say will convince anyone differently and will hope that those who know me the best will see Christ the most clearly in me. while many of them were either frustrating or hurtful to read, discussion like this one will bring those out. it is what it is, eh?

peace.

Please help spread the word, too. Could you blog about it? Post a link on your Facebook wall? Mention it in your Facebook status? Tweet about it if you’re on Twitter? If you know someone who prefers hearing books to reading them and who might find solace in what Matt has written, could you point them to the audiobook? You can even give the book to someone through iTunes. Look for the “Gift This Audiobook” link.

Thanks for helping get out the word!

Here is an article that catalystspace published a few weeks ago. It was an honor that they would want to publish an account that I had written about a very powerful and shaping experience in [nlcf]’s life… It is a bit long, sorry, I don’t know what to do with that!

Ready to Weigh In
After you have been misquoted for a while, don’t you just get to the point where you want to weigh in? Homosexuality is one of those issues where I feel like my personal views as an apprentice of Jesus Christ are often misquoted. People like me don’t tend to write editorials or hold sandwich signs during Gay Rights Day. I stand back and watch as the louder voices on each side of the issue get the press coverage. It seems like all that I get is misunderstood, mischaracterized, and maligned. And there is a growing group of people like me.

During a Fall Semester, the church I help pastor, New Life Christian Fellowship or [nlcf] at Virginia Tech, decided it was time to get our opinion on the table. When I read about the woman caught in adultery, or how Jesus approached Zaccheaus, or even how he was seen as a friend of sinners, I wondered how he would have dealt with the issue. I neither wish to give up my personal pursuit of holiness and Christ-likeness as I understand the Holy Scriptures call me to; nor do I wish to give up my newfound mercy that I am still learning to wield.

We wrestle with the culture, feeling called to adapt to their message of “acceptance.” We are criticized that we have narrow understanding, and are limited by our own cultural bubble. It brings to the question, “Do our kingdom values not trump culture?” And, “Are we ready to face the mockery from many by exerting our boldness to represent what genuine godliness looks like?” These are very tough issues.

“Most of the time it is easy to determine where our culture departs from kingdom values…However, sometimes the hardest part is trying to determine what our kingdom values are.”
- William Webb, Slaves, Women and Homosexuals

Deciding on this issue seems to come down to either denying civil rights or condoning clear sin.

Our Approach and Our Challenges
Ready to weigh in, our church mailed out powerful invitation mailers to all the apartments in town to come to our “Hate People” series. This would be a dialogue about the accusations against the Christian faith that many have held throughout history. Instead of being known by love, Christians have often been known best as being the hate people. We wanted to weigh in on our misquoted views about God hating people who follow other religions, homosexuals, the environment and women.

“Hate is something we notice. The pictures of it grab our eyes and the stories about it stick in our minds. We don’t like haters. Throughout history the church has been seen as a hateful place, sometimes fairly, sometimes not. Some might even call us “The Hate People.” Maybe we [the church] are just like you have always thought. But what if we aren’t.” – Premise for the Series

In our pursuit, it became clear that much of the evangelical community and the gay community are pretty distinct, rarely even communicating. We wanted to connect with leaders from the gay community in order to try to understand their perspective better. We learned quickly from meeting with a new friend of mine, Jason (name changed), that we can easily and unnecessarily step on toes.

A Kinder, Gentler Tone
Jason shared with me about the difficulty of being a gay teenager. He agreed with statistics I shared about the physical and verbal abuse they face, saying every one of his friends was abused.

He explained to me how the gay community feels misunderstood by the media, just as conservatives do. They feel that people unfairly limit them to their sexual identity. Jason asked me to consider what it might be like to try to go to a church to find out about God only to hear the pastor open up in a tirade about you and hear a whole chorus of “Amen”s from all over the room.

It just made me wonder – can our words be more gentle while not relinquishing our convictions?

The Other Side
I asked him to describe how he – and perhaps the gay community – views the Christian community. He admitted that they have their Christian jokes just like those in the Christian community have gay jokes. He would see us overall as uninformed, overly traditional, holding on to the irrelevant moral high ground for no reason other than we heard that is how we ought to believe. And maybe the hardest thing, we think we understand something that clearly we do not, and we don’t care to learn more. He said overall he found church to be irrelevant in his pursuit of God and seemed to care little about pursuing him.

Now some of his views were skewed and unfair. He made generalizations that could reflect his own misinterpretation of us. He understood little of us and had little desire to understand more. The idea that I could feel that his sexual orientation was wrong and yet not look down on him for it seemed almost foreign.

The reality is that this issue is not new. The Christian community is largely uncomfortable around the gay community and the gay community finds us largely irrelevant in their pursuit of God.

Quite an accomplishment.

Is God pleased with what we have done?

Einstein is noted as saying, “Insanity is doing the same thing you have always done and expecting a different result.” So we set out to try a different approach. Our leadership spent time preparing and seeking God on this issue we felt led to discuss. We wrestled with some tough questions:

Can we show the complexity of this issue and how divisive it can be, point to areas of misunderstanding, while honoring the scriptures that we believe to say homosexuality is not God’s plan? Can we disagree congenially? Is there any room at all for discussion, for connections to be made?

Our sense of God’s leading in this is that if we did things a bit differently, maybe it could work.

“Do You Hate Me?”
Leading up to the event, we found out that the gay community leadership were going to scout out what we would say in the morning gathering, and then show up en-masse in the evening. They would be wearing t-shirts saying, “Do you hate me?” It was the first time I have been really nervous in quite a while before speaking publicly. They came that evening and sat right in the front section. We started with a performance of a speech from the Larime Project, the play written about Matthew Shepard’s murder. It was a scene, where Fred Phelps, the highly publicized pastor was yelling about God hating homosexuals. We asked if this is how the gay community sees the church, to set up that the stereotypes run both ways.

“Do you hate me?”

I stood up and answered for the sins of the Christian community. How we often misunderstand them, can be afraid of them, and how we can make fun of them. Then, to the question posed by the shirts: “Do we hate you?” we answered, “No.” But we were honest that as followers of Christ, and as a leadership team of [nlcf], we do feel that homosexuality is wrong based on the Scriptures. Then we ventured to talk about why it is so much more complicated than just highlighting some Old Testament passages and ignoring others.

Different Perspectives
During the time I spoke, I addressed the issue that people in the room would have different opinions. I wanted to point out that disagreement did not have to be harmful, but could be a place from which to strive to understand each other better.

For discussing the scriptures, I shared our church’s views, and used a format for discussion based on the Webb text I quoted earlier. While some may not agree with all the points made, Webb’s discussion of the gay issue and of the redemptive or progressive hermeneutic is excellent.

I shared that every believer should consider how God would have us reflect His nature in our response to homosexuality. His focus is very much on our hearts.

The Pledge
At the end we closed with a pledge proposal. We acknowledged that both sides have been unnecessarily cruel and ignorant of the other. I first addressed the Christian community, asking them to agree that for ten years they would not allow someone in their midst to make a gay joke, a demeaning generalization. That they might commit to showing Christ-like love to the gay community, protecting them and not allowing harassment; to stand up for the right to be treated with kindness even if we disagree with their views on the gay lifestyle.

I then asked the gay community to reciprocate. As a Christian, I have been made fun of, had my intelligence strongly questioned and have been unfairly categorized myself. This harassment happened because I have chosen to follow and be committed to Jesus Christ. So I asked if they would protect me. I asked if they would put a stop to the Christian jokes and characterizations.

Results
Afterwards, many of the members of the gay community hung around for quite a while and we interacted. The leader of the gay community said that she was shocked, having never experienced someone disagreeing with her and yet publicly stating they would defend her against unfair treatment. She told us that she would refer people exploring their spirituality to our church. I was invited to speak on a panel about morality and culture as a representative of the Christian faith.

Unfortunately, we have had a number of our members leave as a result of our approach. We learned to do even more discussion with our leaders to explain why this issue needs to be discussed and about our approach.

But most of our leaders and members have said they are so glad that [nlcf] deals with these issues. We found it galvanized the faith of many. Several members of the gay community began attending our church or others in the area. Many members of our church who were hiding their struggle with their sexuality have had the courage to declare that struggle and begin to allow God’s love and power and the church’s help to begin to walk through and away from it.

And now Jason comes to a bible study. He doesn’t agree with a lot of it. But it’s a start.

Jim Pace has never been okay with simplistic answers to tough issues. That questioning has led him to come to new and often surprising answers to faith questions. Those conclusions were put on the national spotlight following the Va. Tech shootings on April 16th 2007. An alumnus and pastor of a church of approximately one thousand that hundreds of students attend, (three of the victims had attended) Jim became a key voice for God’s take on the shootings and the horrific aftermath.

Jim is a sought after speaker to regional and national audiences about everything from how should we approach God in the midst of our suffering, to life issues, to church leadership. He assisted in starting Ecclesia Network, which is a network of innovative churches and church starts that are looking at how to be authentic followers of Jesus in our culture today. He is also the Lead Navigator of New Life Christian Fellowship.