Out and Open...and What Now?

If you haven't heard by now, last week Ray Boltz announced he was a homosexual. Yes, "Thank You" Ray Boltz said he was gay and has been for his whole entire life. You can read more about it here.

There have been several bloggers give their two cents about it, like this one. Personally, I'm amazed at some of the comments left on others' blogs about this topic. It certainly appears as if We, The Church, are quite divided on this issue. So I figured I might as well weigh-in too. Here's some of my thoughts, and as always, feel free to chime-in with yours too.

1) I want to first say that I have many friends who are gay, and everything I am about to say I have said to their face with all the love of Christ I had in me at the time of our conversation.
2) Homosexuality is a lifestyle of choice, not birth. God doesn't make someone gay as much as He would make someone a child-molester or murderer. These behaviors are all choices made by the individual, and as such carry consequences.
3) Homosexuality is clearly defined in Scripture as contrary to God's will. Therefore, it is without question or debate sin. See this, this, and this.
4) Just as homosexuality is a sin, so are heterosexual perversions, i.e. adultery, prostitution, etc. GOD HATES ALL SEXUAL SIN.
5) Homosexuality can be overcome, with the power of God, through faith in Jesus Christ.
6) The overcoming may take time, if not a lifetime for some. The point is, they may need a helping hand to keep them strong and motivated during their battles.
7) We, The Church, should support any and all who are battling this sin nature.
8) Oftentimes however, The Church does a very poor job of doing this (#7) - which breaks the very heart of God.

The problem I have with the Homosexual Agenda is this: they are attempting to force upon us an acceptance for their behavior. Once they are "out", they are proud of their lifestyle. They show no remorse for their actions, because they don't think it's wrong or sinful. If someone disagrees with them, that person is a "hater" or "intolerant." My friends, we can not be afraid to stand up for the Truth. However, we can't beat them over the head with it either. Don't be discouraged or afraid to speak the Truth in love. Because, after all, that's all anyone wants in this life - to be loved - even homosexuals.

Thoughts?

If something is child-proof, then why can't I open it?

A funny thing just happened to me. One of my patients came in to pick up his prescription for an eye drop. He asked me to administer his drops for him, and I happily obliged. The trouble was, I couldn't hardly open the dang dropper bottle because it was "child-proofed" with a plastic wrapper around the cap. I struggled, and struggled, and pulled, and did everything short of jumping up and down on it to get that darn wrapper off!

Then it hit me like a bolt of lightning.

For some non-believers, this is exactly what church, God, and the Bible is like to them. We Christians have "child-proofed" the Gospel. They want to get it, they know they need it, but can't get past the "packaging." Here's what I mean:

• Marathon-length church services.
• Worship music that's dated, stale, and just down-right awful. Don't get me wrong, I like a good old hymn once and a while, but there's a reason you can't find a radio station in your town that plays hymns all day long. Think about it.
• Unwritten "dress-codes" at church.
• Christian speak. "Thanks be to Jesus who is our sanctification and justification by the election of God's redemptive predestination!" (Not trying to be sacreligious here, just saying.)
• "Us" vs. "Them" mentality. Come to us, we aren't coming to you.

Do you see any "child-proofing" at your church? If so, let me remind you of this verse and this one. Now, what are you going to do about it?

Quotes.3

Here's one that really gets me pumped up:

Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity. - Horace Mann

If you've been following my blogs this week, yesterday's may've seemed a little critical. I admit I after reading it the tone sure sounded critical to me. That wasn't my intention, however. I was trying to be motivational, and it came up a bit short of that aim (at least, I felt). Horace, on the other hand, hit a homerun with his statement.

I want The Church to take this quote to heart. Who's The Church? You and I. We are The Church. Lately, I've become discontent with my content. I'm too content - physically, spiritually, at work, and at home. I've been running, reading, praying, loving, serving, evaluating, eating better, and striving for excellence at work more than ever. I want Christ to be exalted in every way in my body, my words, my actions, my thoughts, and most importantly my life.

What about you? If you were to die today, what victory for humanity would you be "ashamed" you didn't achieve? What victories are you winning?

Quotes.2

Here's one from perhaps one of the smartest man in the 20th century.

Try not to become a man of success but rather to become a man of value. - Albert Einstein

For me, not to seem like Debbie Downer, but the modern Church seems more bent on success than values. How can I say that? For instance:

• The divorce rate amongst conservative Christians are higher than those outside the Church.
• 37% of born-again Christians believe if a person is good enough they can earn their way into Heaven.
• 26% of born-agains believe "that while Jesus lived on the earth He committed sins, like other people" compared to 41% of all adults.
• Nearly all born-again Christians say their religious faith is extrememly important to them, however only 9% of all born-agains tithe 10% of their income.

From these examples, it's easy to see why the world looks elsewhere besides Christ. From observing Christians, they see we don't value marraige, God's Word (i.e., Eph. 2:8-9), Christ's character, and Christians certainly don't put their money where their mouth is. Why? Because we are more interested in numbers, programs, buildings, etc....all the things that don't last. Instead, we should be focusing on the character of the Church, and instilling Christ-centered values in those who attend weekly.

What are your thoughts?

Quotes

Thought this week I'd use some quotes from "famous" people to stimulate some thoughts and discussions. Here's the first one:

"Just in terms of allocation of time resources, religion is not very efficient. There's a lot more I could be doing on a Sunday morning." - Bill Gates

What I think what Mr. Gates is trying to say is "My time is valuable, and church takes up too much of it on Sunday mornings."

Do you agree? Are church services too long? Not long enough? How does your church demonstrate it values each attendee's time?