That probably sounds like an oxymoron to you.

The sad thing is that if you attached your life onto the word Christian…it would be an oxymoron too.

Gossip Christian. Selfish Christian. Stingy Christian. Sexually Immoral Christian. Friday Night Drunk Christian. Prideful Christian. Disconnected Dad Christian. Jealous Christian. Bitter Christian. Comfortable Christian. Casual Christian.

We all better hope one can be gay and be a Christian. If not, we would all be in HUGE trouble. It makes me pause and literally thank God for the Gospel.

By claiming to be a Christian, you are not just saying that you believe in the saving work of Jesus Christ, but also claiming to follow Him as Lord. That means a holy lifestyle and repentance of sin are major priorities of obedience for you. To neglect/ignore these would be to have a faith that is worthless (James 2), and one could conclude…not Christian. We will never measure up to these requirements (thus the need for the perfect life of Jesus and the Cross), but this is the sign of a Christ follower.

So, if you are involved in any sexual activity outside of marriage you are in need of repentance. God created and defines marriage as being between a man and a woman. Therefore, sexual activity outside of God’s definition of marriage is sin.

The Christian who claims to have gay feelings, should be pursuing a celibate lifestyle and not be involved romantically or intimately with another person who in not their spouse. As a Christian, this person should also not argue and protest the definition of marriage since he/she is claiming to be a follower of the Lord and His Word.

Can you be born gay? I have no clue. I believe in the fall of Genesis chapter 3 and I have no idea where that could take us. I do know that our job as Christians is not to go on a crusade of fixing people’s sexual orientation (as if it is anywhere close to that easy). Our job is to preach Christ crucified to those who do not believe and to lead those who are believers in following Christ…even the areas that we don’t like.

The Bible is our authority. It is not feelings, emotions, or opinions. It is not even personal experiences.

If someone is serious about the belief in Christ they claim to have…they will pray for a desire to follow His Word. Regardless of how difficult and painful the process could be.

Those who are heterosexual and Christian are no different when it comes to the issue of sexual sin. The plank in our eye is very easy to notice when we condemn homosexuals while looking at porn, lusting at work, ending marriages, and hooking up with a different person every month.

We all must pursue the way of Christ together and support each other in the process.

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Some more thoughts on the discussion Christians must be having:  as believers, how do we respond to the strong pro-gay movement we are seeing in our country ? This topic brings out emotions, name-calling, and passion more than any other issue we have seen in my generation’s lifetime. I want to be someone who thinks and acts as a Christian when it comes to this.

Today I want to look at the topic of gay marriage and how believers should address this issue. Please know that outside of believing that God’s Word is the standard for all things and that Christ changes lives…I am NOT an expert on this discussion.

Here is what I know:

1. God designed/created marriage and as a result, is the One who defines it. The Supreme Court could rule that anyone can get married to whoever they please at 3:30pm today and that still would not mean a darn thing to me. The court can recognize a marriage, so can a certificate, census, place of employment, etc. God defines marriage as being a lifelong commitment between one man and one woman. I do not lose sleep over the gay marriage issue because…well, its not marriage. Of course, my heart breaks when I see a nation choose a way that is not God’s, but it should not shock me when they do.

2. Christians have little credibility in a discussion about marriage due to a divorce rate that is no different than an unbelieving world. How can someone claim to be passionate about “protecting marriage” when Churches deal with divorce about as well as they deal with over-eating? Christians must also discuss any sex outside of marriage and not single out homosexual activity when half their Church is going home with random dudes they met a club.

3. We must continue to proclaim God’s plan for marriage while also realizing that a secular society is not going to do things God’s way. Why should they? They will be judged for their sins. Hearts must change before policy.

Here is what I think is the biggest threat to the Christian community when it comes to the homosexual movement: FREEDOM.

Some may see my view as extreme, but what is at stake is not the “protection of marriage.” Marriage has already been defined by God. It does not matter what Perez Hilton, Miss California, The President, Southern Baptists, The View, The Today’s Show, our Church, or any of us think about marriage. God defines it. The last time I checked…I am not powerful enough to change that. Where it does matter what we all think about marriage is that we will all be held accountable to how we respond to God’s Word.

My concern is that the day will come when Christians will not be able to defend their view of God’s design for marriage.

America is not very far from Christian organizations getting into legal trouble for failing to hire gay applicants. Think I am extreme? E-Harmony had to add a homosexual category to their dating service. As a Pastor, will they day come when I am held accountable for “hate-speech” when I read what the Bible says about sex outside of marriage? Will I be fined or given a civil citation for refusing to perform a wedding for a homosexual couple? Will I have the liberty to preach on Romans 1 which clearly calls gay activity “unnatural?”

We are not far away from this.

So, while states passing laws allowing for two men to marry does not make me lose sleep…I often wonder just how tolerant this secular society claims to be. Will they allow me to refuse to acknowledge it as marriage? Are they “open minded” enough to not label me as a “hateful” even though I disagree?

While my 3 year old is going to grow up in a society that views homosexuality as normal…that does not mean he has to think it is.

We must continue to preach the whole counsel of God. We must preach what He says about marriage, divorce, and sex. We must also warn a lost world about the reality of sin and God’s judgement…while also remembering that people who do not know Christ should not, cannot, and will not, act like they do. This makes it very complicated.

Most importantly, I want to be more passionate about pointing people to Jesus than I am electing a congressman who shares my view.

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One of the most difficult conversations for a Pastor to have is anything that has to do with Washington D.C. Unless I am chatting over lunch with good friends…I avoid it.

Pastors (and Christians in general) will usually be labeled “too political.” You will also get the “he is just a right-winger,” “has an agenda,” etc. Often those accusations are legit and create a larger gap between us and those we are trying to reach…not for a vote, but for Christ.

When do you get to the point where as a believer your opinion has to move beyond politics and become an issue of Christian responsibility? I have a major distaste in my mouth for all things GOP and do not think politics is anywhere near the answer to our problems. I also think the democratic party has become so radical that it is difficult to justify for any Christian. I do not think “Change” comes to Washington or through Washington, the Courts, Protests, or whatever. I believe Change comes from the saving regeneration of the Holy Spirit made possible by the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ.

As a Christian (keep in mind the word Christian and not conservative), there are times where you have to throw all ideology out the window and think with a worldview that is biblical. We have to discuss the things that are much more spiritual than political.

Yesterday, our President said that we will be a champion for homosexuals. A champion?

This is such a difficult issue for young evangelicals. Unlike the generations before us, we have friends who are gay. We see our “gay friends” as no different than our heterosexual ones. Our view of homosexuals is not the crazyness we see protesting with face-paint in a gay-pride parade, but rather our friend we talk with at work everyday.

As a Christian, how does one respond to Obama’s promise to be a Champion? Not a champion for the unborn, hungry, or elderly…but for a lifestyle that Scripture clearly speaks against.

This is so tough! Why? People who are not Christians should not and will not act like they are. Why should they? Can they? This person does not need to “get straight.” They need the Gospel…not an orientation fix. There are lots of straight people in Hell. I could care-less if someone who is not a believer, is gay. They have much bigger issues.

A Christian who is gay is a completely different story and should be ministered to with the love of the very Jesus he/she (and you) claim to believe in. As a lifestyle that goes to the emotional level of being who they legitimately believe they were made to be…this is a long, long, process that we cannot even begin to comprehend (talk about this later). These really are two VERY different circumstances.

I think the topic/reality of homosexuality will be (might be already) the #1 perceptional divide between the Church and society as we move deeper into the 21st century.

As Gabe Lyons and Dave Kinnaman wrote in 2007 regarding the perception that Christians are “anti-homosexual,” we cannot underestimate how a morally relativistic generation, along with sophisticated media and political strategies, have created a tinder box for Christians’ reputations in this regard.

Over the next few days I am going to write about how we can still love our friends who happen to be gay, while not being their “Champion” in the process. Christians often come across as arrogant, uncaring, jerks when engaging any conversation with or about homosexuals. An iron fist of political policy is how many want to operate in Christian circles. I am not sure that is what Christ would have done and I wrestle with this issue daily. I hope we can have some good conversations about the reality of our current culture and society.

This is not political.

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My good buddy Jonathan has a blog post today that should get us all thinking. You can read that here.

John Piper has a quick quote about his “love for the Gospel,” that you should take the time to read here.

Finally, Tommy gives Jesus some props in the kitchen. Here.

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To use an old sports saying: I left it all on the field tonight. In other words, I am whipped. Exodus does that to me.

Preaching on the greatness of God gets me fired up.

Tonya nailed Sugarland’s Already Gone tonight. Dang.

I love seeing so many new faces each Sunday night. My prayer is that they will take the next step in the life of the Well and get involved in a community group.

I could listen to James Parsons talk about the Well’s vision all night. He is one of our founding members and not only gets it…he lives what we are all about. I will never forget when he said a little over a year ago that “if you don’t like our vision there is a door with your name on it.” Classic.

August 23rd is coming quick. What an amazing praise to the Lord for allowing us to launch a second service the week after our 2 year anniversary celebration. I am blown away at what He has allowed us to do. I am also well aware that He could take His hand off our Church in a second. We must continue to care about those who do not know Him, pray, seek His face, repent of sin, and speak His truth.

Well peeps, please try and make our 11:05 launch team meeting at 6:30 Monday night. We need you!

Greater Things…

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