Christmas

It's just 1 week to Christmas, which we're spending with my family this year.  I'm almost finished Christmas shopping, I did almost all of it online!  I'm waiting for one delivery, and I'm collecting a gift tomorrow.  After that I just need to get something for my partner, and I'm trying to work out what he would like.  What do you get someone who isn't overly materialistic?  He already has everything he wants, and we already have too much "stuff"!


All of this got me thinking about how we went about getting gifts sorted.  We set a budget, and divided it up.  And we noticed a pattern - office "secret Santa" got £5.  Nephews and nieces got £20-£30.  Parents got £40-£50.  My partner... don't know yet!


There seems to be a scale of significance in how much we spent.  The more significant the person, the more we spend.  The Secret Santa is one of those annual "must do" things, so the budget is minimal.  Parents get more, nephews and nieces are in between, because they're growing up (and whatever we buy will be out of fashion in six months anyway!).


But Christmas is not really about materialism - or it shouldn't be!  It's about another gift.  2,000 years ago God gave us himself.  What does that tell us about how significant we are to him?  


So, what can give in return?  Romans 12:1 in The Message sums it up:

So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. 

And if you'd like a good Christmas song, here's one of my favourites: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2McgKkUChA


This will be my last post of the year, so Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year.

Image: Google Images

World AIDS Day

Jesus,


You know each person affected by HIV/AIDS.  You love each one, whether someone with a diagnosis or their friends and loved ones.  Jesus you are the great healer, please bring your healing and love to these people.  


In many places people with HIV are treated like lepers, but you reached out to lepers, you embraced them.  May each one know your love.  


Please be with the scientists and doctors trying to find a cure.  May those who control medication allow it to get where it is needed, not just to where people can pay.


Jesus we look forward to your new world, where sickness and suffering will be no more.  That is our greatest hope.


Amen

Update!

I've updated a few things on my blog.  I've been asked about being gay and Christian, so I created a new page with my thoughts on this.   I added a few things to my story, and clarified a few sentences which I think needed it.  I also moved links to a new page tab and added a contact option.


As always, suggestions and constructive comments are welcome.


Image: Google Images

Masks

Grace, mercy, and peace, which come from God the Father and from Jesus Christ—the Son of the Father—will continue to be with us who live in truth and love.

-2 John 1:3

Today is Halloween, when people dress up and put on masks and get to pretend to be someone they are not!  But this is not just something that people do at Halloween.  We do it every day.

How many times have you said "I'm fine" when someone asks - when really you are anything but fine!  

People have a habit of thinking about how they want others to see them, and we act this out.  We become so good at it, and we work hard to keep up the pretence   Just like someone wearing a mask, we present our carefully crafted image to friends and families.

There is a word for this - hypocrite.  The word refers to someone with multiple faces.  In ancient times actors wore masks with with different expressions, and the term is linked with that.

I believe Jesus calls us to live in radical honesty, authentic living, and to drop our masks.

Rev. Troy Perry, the founder of Metropolitan Community Churches once said, "my closet burned down a long time ago.  I set it on fire - Amen!"  We all have our closets.  They contain lots of secrets - sexual, alcohol, drugs, porn, anger, pain, abuse or anything else you can think of.  Jesus calls us to set our closets on fire!  It's not easy, but it is worth it!

Our closets trap us.  While we hide our real selves in our closets, we live a double life.  Burning down our closets liberates us.  No more secrets, no more pretending, no more lies, just authentic living in truth and love!  When someone has no secrets, what "dirt" could someone dig up on them?  When you are yourself, people can accept you as you are - just as God does. 

There's a great song by Casting Crowns called "Stained Glass Masquerade".  The lyrics include the following amazing words:

...I tuck it all away, like everything's okay.  

If I make them all believe it, maybe I'll believe it too.

So with a painted grin, I play the part again, 

so everyone will see me the way that I see them.

Is there anyone who's been there, are there any hands to raise?
Am I the only one who's traded in the altar for a stage?

The performance is convincing, and we know every line by heart.
Only when no one is watching can we really fall apart.

But would it set me free if I dared to let you see,
The truth behind the person that you imagine me to be?
Would your arms be open, or would you walk away?
Would the love of Jesus be enough to make you stay?

I think that says so much.

Image: Google Images

Give to God what belongs to God

Jesus said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”  (Matthew 22:21)

Jesus' famous statement was in response to a question - a question religious leaders were using to trap him.  Was it right to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?  If Jesus said "yes", he'd alienate many (most?) of his followers.  If he said "no" then Rome had grounds to arrest him.


Instead, Jesus - as quick as ever - asked for a coin.  Then he asked a question. Whose image was on the coin?  Caesar's they replied.  And Jesus said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”  We are reminded that material things are ultimately futile.  But the idea of "image" goes way beyond coins!


If a coin bears Caesar's image, what bears God's image?  The answer is of course you and me.  Way back in Genesis 1 the Bible tells us God made us in His image.  Unlike a coin which is manufactured uniformly, we are diverse beings.  Yet all of us are made in the image of God.


So, we should all give to God what is God's.  As one worship song says, "so I'll stand with arms high and heart abandoned, in awe of the one who gave it all.  I'll stand, my soul Lord to you surrendered, all I am is yours".  Amen!


Image: Google Images

New Online Group

In previous posts I have said I think it's important to read the Bible.  But it also helps to be able to discuss it too.


Ideally you should try and join a Bible Study group at your Church.  But if that's not possible for you right now, I've created a new group on youversion.com 


I'm still learning how to use this site, but the fact that it combines groups with being able to read the Bible in a variety of translations seems appealing to me!  If anyone is interested in joining it's at http://youversion.com/groups/lgbchristians 


Image from Google Images

The Hope Of The Gospel - Alasdair Black

Paul in Colossians exhorts us not to give up on the hope of the gospel. It is easy to give up hope especially when we feel everything is going against us. I remember as a child singing 'Jesus bids us shine' with the words:

Like a little candle
Burning in the night.
In this world of darkness
So let us shine-
You in your small corner,
And I in mine.

The image has always stayed with me - of a child with a candle in a corner surrounded by darkness, hoping Jesus comes back before the darkness gets him or her! But is this really what the hope of the gospel looks like?  Celtic missionaries used to have a very different way of looking at the world. The unseen world that surrounded us was full, not of darkness or foreboding spirits, but the light and glory of God. We were enveloped by the presence and power of the angelic and the saints. In the midst of whatever we were going through the all encompassing light of God surrounded us and dispelled the reality of the darkness.

It is a similar vision that governs Paul's words in Colossians. Paul is affirming a truth that is often forgotten today. The gospel is not dependent on whether I believe in it or not; or whether our society thinks it's true. No, the gospel is a declaration of what has already occurred. It proclaims the difference that the coming of Christ has made to the whole of the created order. It is a declaration of events that have occurred in time and space that have changed the nature of all things. Often in our pluralistic and relativistic age we think all religious truth is simply a matter of what I choose to believe, but Paul wants us to know the gospel is a declaration of how God has transformed the world through the coming of Christ. It is about something that has happened that affects us all whether we choose to believe in it or not.

The first part of the passage is probably a creedal statement used by the early church. It shows us that from the inception of Christianity Jesus is affirmed, not as 'a god', but as the creator God - 'by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ' (16-17). Paul wants us to be in no doubt that when Jesus the Creator became part of creation, 'the invisible God' became visible. He uses a phrase 'the first born of all creation' to describe this state of affairs. The phrase is not saying that Jesus is created, but that he is the head of all creation - its author and sustainer. In the same way, Christ is the head of the church.  

But Paul also wants to affirm that the coming of Christ has tangibly changed everything. The gospel is not some ethereal timeless spiritual truth that some people might find helpful; it is declaring an event that has ramifications for us all. God's relationship to the world and to each one of us has changed through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Death is no longer the end and the world is no longer a place full of darkness and alienation. Christ has brought reconciliation, healing and forgiveness. Although it may seem the darkness is winning and power of Christ is waning, Paul exhorts us: 'don't give up the hope of the gospel'. The Christ event has changed everything. The reality of that transformation does not depend on how we feel or how we are doing or even whether we believe in it. It rests on what Christ has done - his birth, death and resurrection. This reality impacts everyone. Let's not lose sight of what Jesus has done, but let others know of the transforming power of God that is at work in the world.

Source: The Hope Of The Gospel - Alasdair Black Senior Pastor, Stirling Baptist Church

How should we view the Bible?

Many people wonder, what exactly is the Bible?  Is it the Word of God or does it merely contain the word of God?  What does it mean to say that the Bible is inspired?


I think Christians are right to get into these kinds of discussions, but not to the point where they divide congregations and denominations.  Here's my take on the issue.


Imagine you are on a journey with friends, it's a really hot day and you see a billboard ahead.  It says "Ice cream - 1 mile ahead".  You could investigate the poster.  You could study the fonts, colours, message, images, size, what it tells you about the author and ice cream.  But the poster is not the point, is it?  If you never get beyond the poster, and follow the directions you'll miss out on the ice cream!  


When Jesus was here there were a group of people who studied the Bible in great detail.  The Bible was their focus.  He said to them, "You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life." (John 5:39-40)


Please don't misunderstand me, I do think that studying the Bible is important!  We have to know our Bibles - that's how we discern truth from falsehood.  But we have to get past the Bible to Jesus - the one who gives us life.  He is the goal.  The Bible shows the way to get there!


Image: Google Images

Celibacy

When I was a young Christian I had been taught that gay men ought to be celibate.  There was nothing wrong with being gay or lesbian, but being intimate with another man (or woman) was always sinful.  Many Christians assume that this is a very compassionate view to take.


This view stands in contrast to the position that just being homosexual is sin.  Men and women who buy into that spend vast amounts of time and money on "reparative therapy" to become heterosexual.  I was once subjected to that by a counselor - and it gave me such hope!  Why?


These two views have very different outcomes.  In one I am condemned to life alone, if not condemned for who I am.  The other offers hope that change is possible (as Exodus International is fond of saying).  The obvious problem is that if sexuality is even partly rooted in biology, then it is not possible to change from homosexual to heterosexual.  This makes the Exodus position untenable.  It seems change is possible... to fake.


But someone might ask, can't God cure me?  Of course he can!  I do believe that it is even possible that some gay men have been cured by God - maybe the self loathing and hate was too much for them.  Our God is loving and compassionate.  But the question of cure assumes that there is something to be cured of!  If sexuality is innate then no sexual orientation is sinful - although any deviation from heterosexuality is of course a result of the fall.  But then so is being deaf or blind, and no one argues that being deaf is sinful!


So, if being gay is not a sin - there is only one question to ask.  Is it okay for two gay men who love each other, and commit to each other for life, to live as a married couple, and to express their love in sex?


For this we must turn to the Bible for answers.  There we see no condemnation of gay sex within the context of a loving relationship.  Instead we see that we are to live out our faith in love (Galatians 5:6).  It is better to marry than to burn with lust (1 Corinthians 7:9).  


It took me years to come over to the view I now hold.  I used to passionately defend the view that gay men must be celibate.  But the Holy Spirit is always teaching us new things.


Christians around the world are changing their minds on this issue.  Churches which once would not have thought twice about excommunicating a gay man now ordain partnered gay men.  You see, Christians have been wrong on many things in the past.  Slavery.  Women.  Geocentric-ism.  It's not that the Bible has changed - but the Holy Spirit has shown us that we didn't understand what He meant!


I believe that today, God is doing the same with homosexuality.  


Image: Google Images

New Look!

I've been thinking my blog needs a fresher look for a while now.  Here's what's new:

• I've changed the look of the page
• I've added some of my favourite books
• I moved the links and added kiva - it's not a random ad, I think kiva is amazing!

If you have any comments, suggestions etc - feel free to let me know!  Likewise if there is anything you'd like to see covered in new posts, let me know!


For now, I hope you enjoy.

The Long Silence

I first heard this in Church years ago.  I've posted it as interest value though I don't know who wrote it!

The Long Silence

At the end of time, billions of people were seated on a great plain before God's throne. Most shrank back from the brilliant light before them. But some groups near the front talked heatedly, not cringing with cringing shame - but with belligerence. 

"Can God judge us? How can He know about suffering?", snapped a pert young brunette. She ripped open a sleeve to reveal a tattooed number from a Nazi concentration camp. "We endured terror ... beatings ... torture ... death!" 


In another group a Negro boy lowered his collar. "What about this?" he demanded, showing an ugly rope burn. "Lynched, for no crime but being black !" 


In another crowd there was a pregnant schoolgirl with sullen eyes: "Why should I suffer?" she murmured. "It wasn't my fault." 


Far out across the plain were hundreds of such groups. Each had a complaint against God for the evil and suffering He had permitted in His world. How lucky God was to live in Heaven, where all was sweetness and light. Where there was no weeping or fear, no hunger or hatred. What did God know of all that man had been forced to endure in this world? For God leads a pretty sheltered life, they said. 


So each of these groups sent forth their leader, chosen because he had suffered the most. A Jew, a negro, a person from Hiroshima, a horribly deformed arthritic, a thalidomide child. In the center of the vast plain, they consulted with each other. 


At last they were ready to present their case. It was rather clever.Before God could be qualified to be their judge, He must endure what they had endured. Their decision was that God should be sentenced to live on earth as a man. Let him be born a Jew. Let the legitimacy of his birth be doubted. Give him a work so difficult that even his family will think him out of his mind. Let him be betrayed by his closest friends. Let him face false charges, be tried by a prejudiced jury and convicted by a cowardly judge. Let him be tortured.  At the last, let him see what it means to be terribly alone. Then let him die so there can be no doubt he died. Let there be a great host of witnesses to verify it.


As each leader announced his portion of the sentence, loud murmurs of approval went up from the throng of people assembled. 


When the last had finished pronouncing sentence, there was a long silence. No one uttered a word. No one moved. For suddenly, all knew that God had already served His sentence. 

Is MCC a Cult?

I was watching one of Rev. Troy Perry's sermons online when another video caught my eye. It was called Queering Christ and the subtitle included the words "Metropolitan Community Cult". The video was published by Battling Christian and is also linked to a blog site (Journal of a Battling Christian).

Erik, the man behind Battling Christian admits to struggling with sexuality himself. He says, interestingly in the past tense, "At the time I was going to either deny my faith and pursue homosexuality, attempt to accommodate my faith to meet my desires or end my life". This is a struggle.  I and many other gay Christians know what he is going through.

Erik has studied gay theology (the study of what the Bible says on same-sex relationships). He concluded that people who say a man can have a relationship with Jesus and another man, are wrong. That's fair enough. I have no issue with people who (having thought it through) disagree with same-sex relationships. But Erik goes one step further and asserts that the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) is a cult. Why?

Erik says that there are 3 things cults have in common.

1. They claim a link to the Biblical Jesus
2. They twist Scripture
3. They have secret beliefs

Erik claims that MCC meets these criteria and therefore is a cult. Really?

Like Erik I come from a conservative Evangelical background. I have not abandoned that - I still think of myself in those terms. I was brought up in a Presbyterian Church (Erik's denomination) but switched to the Baptist Church over the issue of baptising babies. Later I started attending an MCC, and now MCC is my main Church though I still frequently go to a Baptist Church. So I know something of what MCC believes, and how this compares to other mainstream Christian Churches. So I would like to challenge Erik's view that MCC is a cult. I would also like to challenge his criteria for a cult as I think he is missing one important factor - which most people recognise as being "cultish". Specifically to "avoid independent thinking" (to borrow the Jehovah's Witnesses terminology). He also discusses MCC in the same breath as JW's and Mormons so I will be making references to them as well (see also other posts on my blog about them)

His first criteria is only half true. Not only do cults claim a link to the Jesus of the Bible, so do all legitimate Christian Churches. So we can ask if a Church is Trinitarian, does it accept Jesus claims to be the one true God, equal to the Father and Holy Spirit? MCC's statement of faith says, "Christianity is the revelation of God in Jesus Christ and is the religion set forth in the Scriptures... We believe in In one triune God, omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient, of one substance and of three persons: God, our Parent-Creator; Jesus Christ, the only begotten son of God, God in flesh, human; and the Holy Spirit, God as our Sustainer". So, MCC maintains the same view of Jesus as Christians have held for 2,000 years.

Secondly he says that cults twist Scripture. I agree with that one, but this raises the question - how do we know who is twisting Scripture? It is telling that the JW's made their own version of the Bible, and the Mormons read the Bible through "Modern Scripture" - and both through what their organisations teach. If a JW or Mormon sees a verse, he is told what it means. "Independent thinking" is discouraged. MCC does not do this. Our Churches have Christians from a variety of backgrounds in our congregations. We hold varying beliefs on issues like creation/evolution, the end of the world etc. But on the core doctrines (Jesus, God, the Bible, salvation by grace through faith, etc) we agree. But we all hold to the Bible as our standard. MCC's statement of faith says, "the Bible is the divinely inspired Word of God, showing forth God to every person through the law and the prophets, and finally, completely and ultimately on earth in the being of Jesus Christ."

Differing opinions on side issues (divorce, women in ministry, same-sex relationships) do not mean a person has joined a cult. It is worth noting that the Church of Scotland (which is Presbyterian) has recently agreed that gay men currently in training can be ordained, and is considering opening this to all future ordinations as well. Has the Church of Scotland become a cult, too?

Finally Erik maintains that MCC must have secret beliefs. It's hard to argue with this one, since it's impossible to prove the non-existence of a non existent belief! All I can do is to give you my testimony, MCC is very up front about what it believes. Specifically that God loves us all, that he came here in the person of Jesus to pay the penalty for our sins so that we don't have to. Jesus died and rose again, and now intercedes for us before the Father. The Holy Spirit indwells all who trust Jesus for forgiveness. We try to follow God by seeking his will (through study of the Bible and through prayer). God calls us to a life of personal holiness, prayer and outreach. There are no "insider secret beliefs" in MCC.

Where MCC diverges (though many other Churches agree with this, and many Christians within Churches that officially don't also accept this) is that we not only believe that faithful monogamous relationships are fine (whether straight, gay, lesbian), we campaign for it. We also campaign for social justice across the board.  We do reject much of what the gay community stands for in terms of promiscuity, just as we reject heterosexual promiscuity.

It is true that there are some liberal elements in MCC, but that is true of every Church. But for Erik to brand MCC a cult because he disagrees with what some people in MCC say is wrong. I would encourage Erik to cease slandering MCC, and to have an open honest dialogue about what the Bible says, because that is what matters. Churches make mistakes, people make mistakes, but we always need to go back to the Bible. It alone is our standard.

My final point is simple. I encountered the Holy Spirit in the Presbyterian Church and in the Baptist Church. The same Holy Spirit is active in the Metropolitan Community Church as well. How could that be so unless the people there are also the Body of Christ?

Image: MCC Logo, from Google Images, Logo (c) Metropolitan Community Church www.mccchurch.org

Sodom and LGB people

This is perhaps the most misunderstood verse in the debate on gay and lesbian relationships.

"...before they retired for the night, all the men of Sodom, young and old, came from all over the city and surrounded the house. They shouted to Lot, “Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them!” (Genesis 19:4-5)

If our question is whether God condemns gay and lesbian relationships, is a verse which is clearly about gang rape relevant? That's right, gang rape - not two men who love each other.

This passage tells us a lot about what God thinks of sexual abuse, but nothing about two gay men who love each other and want to spend their lives together.

Image: Google Images