wonders and reflections in God's presence

(this was originally published by me on the Eklektos blog)

It’s official. According to an article today in The Baptist Press, Faith Harbour has been “disaffiliated” with the Southern Baptist of Texas Convention because of its relationship with Eklektos.

The article states:

Biles recounted that the committee hoped to clarify Faith Harbour’s stance toward a church it is helping sponsor and allowing to meet in its facilities, which bills itself on its website as welcoming and affirming of homosexual, bisexual and trangendered people.

Additionally, the new church, Eklektos, has a female senior pastor. Biles said the committee and Faith Harbour pastor Randy Haney were unable to resolve their differences over Faith Harbour’s involvement with Eklektos.

Aside from the fact that Eklektos is not a “church” in any official capacity, and I am not the Senior Pastor, it’s a shame that the political climate of the SBTC is such that merely associating with a ministry outreach that does not condemn homosexuals is so threatening. Does Jesus condemn homosexuals? No, Jesus goes out of his way to associate with people the church of his day condemned, and he offered them love.

I realize that many people differ on the Biblical interpretation of Scripture surrounding issues of homosexuality. My hope is that Eklektos will minister within that controversy and seek Christ in the midst of it. I acknowledge that even the most faithful Christians can disagree over whether homosexuality is sinful — Randy and I differ on that issue — but this ministry is here to reach people who are typically ostracized and hurt by the Church, and to offer them a loving and non-judgemental community in which to seek Christ and grow in discipleship. Even if we all agreed that homosexuality was a sin, should a church require gay and lesbians to be celibate or “convert” to heterosexuality? No. Not anymore than the church should require divorced people to reconcile, wealthy people to divest their money from companies that promote unrepentant consumerism, or gluttonous people to go on diets.

Randy, I know you have suffered greatly for beng a friend to me and to Eklektos. I am sorry that the state of the church is such that men and women are still persecuted for following Christ’s example. Your witness is greatly appreciated.

Comments?

(from my xanga)

It’s not that I don’t like Christmas. I love Christmas! Even the secular stuff … my favorite is seeing the lights on the houses … I remember getting bundled up in my pajamas as a kid, packing into the car with a jug of hot chocolate … and we’d go out for the evening looking at the lights on the houses. Please don’t hear me as a “bah humbug” sort of person. I like singing Christmas carols the day after Thanksgiving.

But I want to raise awareness about the fact that most of what we do around Christmas is NOT really related to the birth of Christ … it’s a cultural celebration of goodness and mystery (at its best) and consumerism (at its worst).

I feel the same way about most of the religious/political controversies these days. They are more cultural issues than Christ issues. A few years ago the paper called to ask me my opinion on prayer at football games … they were surprised by my answer and didn’t publish much of what I said (they already had the story written and were just looking for quotes that fit their thesis). I am not in favor of it … partly because I don’t care for football (sorry, I’ll never be a real Texan) … but, really, it’s because I think prayer is being used for the wrong reasons in that context. It often comes down to “pray so God is on our side”. And it seems trivialized to me. Do we really mean, Christ enter into our playing so that all players treat each other with compassion and kindness, generosity and sacrifice … of course not. How is the prayer at football games really Christian? It’s the same with prayer in school, the Bible or ten commandments at the courthouse. We’re fighting the wrong battle. These things are merely facades which keep us thinking we are a Christian nation. And that’s why they are such hot political issues. As long as we keep thinking we’re a Christian nation, the church loses its prophetic voice in society.

This is why it is so vitally important that we continue to fight for the separation of church and state; that we fight for all marginalized voices to be given the right to be heard and respected. Christ speaks through those marginalized voices.

This was all written in response to Anne’s post … canceling worship on Christmas Day because it happens to fall on a Sunday … that is the epitome of the Church acclimating to culture and giving up its power and influence on one of the most holy days of the Christian calendar.

Yesterday at jury duty a young woman, after find out that I was a pastor, asked what I thought of all the “holiday” vs. “christmas” stuff. If I thought that a Christmas tree was really a Christian symbol I might be more upset about it being called a “holiday” tree. Most of what we call Christmas these days is more a celebration of the secular consumer holiday. And much of what we call Christian tradition was an acclamation of the older pagan holiday rituals surrounding the winter solstice. Consider this from the Encyclopedia Britannica Online:

“One of the best-known festivals of ancient Rome was the Saturnalia, a winter festival celebrated on December 17–24. Because it was a time of wild merrymaking and domestic celebrations, businesses, schools, and law courts were closed so that the public could feast, dance, gamble, and generally enjoy itself to the fullest. December 25—the birthday of Mithra, the Iranian god of light, and a day devoted to the invincible sun, as well as the day after the Saturnalia—was adopted by the church as Christmas, the nativity of Christ, to counteract the effects of these festivals.”

My opinion is that most of what American culture portrays as Christmas is much more like Saturnalia than it is a real “Christian” holy day. The Christian Christmas, for instance, doesn’t really begin until December 25th. Then the celebration continues for 12 days until Epiphany with the coming of the wise men. The four weeks before Christmas are a time of fasting and prayer, devotion, confession, and service, not parties, lights, cards, and cookies. When we celebrate the Christmas season beginning on the day after Thanksgiving … we are celebrating a secular holiday. Therefore, it doesn’t matter if we call it a Christmas tree or a Holiday tree. What really matters is whether we are living and celebrating the Coming of Christ in our lives and into the world.

Thanks for putting up with my Sermon for the day.