I Was Chewing Gum for Something to Do

Let me begin this post with a story: Last Spring Break while we were in San Francisco on a Spring Break Campaign, we passed out lunches to some of the homeless population in UN Plaza. Across from UN Plaza is City Hall. Adam approached one of the men sitting in the plaza and offered the man one of the sack lunches that we had prepared the night before. As Adam sat down to speak with the man, the gentleman asked Adam where he was from. Adam began to explain that he was on a Spring Break Campaign with Abilene CHRISTIAN University. The man looked across the plaza towards City Hall where Christian protestors walked with signs that proclaimed, "God Hates Fags" and "Homosexuals will burn in Hell", and asked Adam,"so are you with them?" Adam quickly responded that we were not with the group of protestors, but we were a Christian group.

My dilemma is this: with our nation involved in a heated debate over the prospect of gay marriages, how does the Christian community reach out? The worst representation of Christian actions is the aforementioned practice of public embarassment and humiliation that we witnessed during Spring Break. Do you think any of those homosexual couples who walked out of City Hall paid any attention to those Christian protestors? How do they now react when they hear someone speak about anything involving Christianity or the church? If Christian groups are at the forefront of the battle to ban gay marriage, how do homosexuals now relate to groups that are attempting to legislate against their entire lifestyle?

This is an issue that I have mulled over in my mind many times during my two visits to San Francisco. One of our favorite things to do in the church is to weigh sins. We allow men who beat their wives and women who embezzle money from their companies to stay in the church, but as soon as there is any hint of homosexual leanings or actions, we immediately sever all ties with someone. As people who have received the grace of God in our own lives, how can we deny fellowship and grace to those whose personal struggle is homosexuality?

I know this is a very controversial topic, and I would like comments and questions from all sides of the debate. As a Christian community, we have a tremendous opportunity to reach out to a group that we have continually shunned. Everyone is hurting and everyone needs the love of Christ. Who are we to decide who is worthy of that love and who is not?