Hello again, and thank you for stopping by. I wanted, today, to address a positive issue and highlight a church that I think other churches should aim to emulate. I came across an article about Central United Methodist Church in Toledo, Ohio that is working to unite people, showing acceptance and helping others to feel like they are included in the church. They are working to undo the perception many have of Christianity being judgmental and condemning. They are working to be more like Jesus, bringing love to people, especially those who are more often than not shown hatred from the Church.
What is it this church has done: it has placed a billboard beside the road that reads, "Being Gay is a Gift from God."
This is a far cry from the way many churches treat homosexuals, condemning them as sinners and asking them to leave the church if they won't seek "treatment," as if homosexuality is a disease. One person, in response to this billboard, even said (as if this makes him a saint), "I am not against gays worshiping in our church, just against them holding leadership positions and teaching that being gay is okay with god." I do not recall Paul saying that one could not be gay and be a leader in the Church. Jesus certainly never even addressed homosexuality. So I am not sure why someone from the LGBT community would be allowed to worship in the church, but would not be allowed to take on a leadership role.
In fact, when we read Scripture, we realize that it was the Pharisees going around and being the sin police that had Jesus in such an uproar against them. Read Matthew 23 for a real understanding of what Jesus was upset about. It had to do with the Pharisees missing the point of the law. The law was meant to bring about love and mercy (v 23), not hatred and condemnation which is what the Pharisees were using it for. Jesus was fighting the Pharisees for doing the very same things the Church does today: picking out specific laws and judging people for breaking them.
What Jesus did was an amazing thing though. By being with people who "broke the law" he made them innocent, without ever needing to effect a change in them. But this assumes the point of my argument is that the "sin" of homosexuality needs to be cleansed. The more I read Scripture the more I realize that it is not clear about what "homosexuality" being a sin means.
What I do know is that Jesus took those who were perceived as sinners, and he took those who were not perceived as sinners, and he showed love and acceptance to them all. Most of all, he took those who were perceived as sinners by the religious elite and showed that they (the religious elite) were wrong, showing instead that it was the so-called "sinners" who made the best religious leaders. Jesus took a man who denied him and made him the rock on which the Church was built. Jesus took two tax collectors and made them leaders in the Church (if you have read previous blogs or the Bible, you will know that tax collectors were perceived as worse sinners than homosexuals are perceived today). Jesus took prostitutes and made them leaders in the Church. Jesus even took a murderer of other Christians and made him a leader in the Church. If he can do that, I think it is an easy task to take a homosexual and make them a leader in the Church.
Jesus was really good at reversing things. He said, "those who are first will be last, and those who are last will be first." He said, "those who try and save their life will lose it, but those who are willing to sacrifice their life, will gain it." He said, "in order to lead we must become servants." Jesus also turned "sin" on its head by showing people that they are wrong to judge others for what they perceive as sins.
Let us start emulating Central United Methodist Church, as it truly is doing the work of Christ by bringing his love and acceptance to those who need it the most.
Blessings,
-Brandon
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