Changework

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The Remedy

Boy Scouts….The Boy Scouts were founded in February of 1910. Recently 60% of the groups’ 1400-member national council voted at an annual meeting in Texas to allow gay children/teenagers to be involved with the Boy Scouts. This to me was an awesome, radical change. It was said, “We’re going to focus on sexual purity, not sexual orientation.”

I’m not sure how it is around the rest of the country, but in my city, the Boy Scout troops find “homes” in churches or other places that can host their meetings and such. My old church is one that hosts them.  There is another church in the community, that I’ll call Church XYZ (to keep the politics out), that hosted a troop as well.

Sadly, almost immediately after the national council decision was made, Church XYZ decided not to allow the Boy Scout troop to use their church any more. And to my knowledge, the troop had no gays in attendance. Therefore, the church decided to stop hosting them due to the NATIONAL decision/opinion of the group as a whole. They truthfully punished the boys (that had nothing to do with this decision) by not allowing them to use their facility. I was outraged! What did that say about the Christian faith?

For the sake of this thought, let’s say that being gay is a sin. (Remember that through this next paragraph…)

So, Church XYZ essentially got rid of the Boy Scout troop because they allowed gays, which was a sin. Simple, right? Wait, but isn’t church “a hospital for the sinners, not a meeting place for the saints”? So, by kicking them out, they are saying that their sin is okay, but the sin of being gay isn’t? Wait, but aren’t “all sins created equal”? Oh, perfect sense…NOT! Even if your/their belief is that being gay is a sin, the concept of kicking gays out of church is ridiculous. Church is a place to love and repent…exactly what gays need to do if it’s a sin, right? They need to accept Christ and change their sexual orientation? How can they do that if they are not allowed/welcomed into the church? By not welcoming them, you are literally saying, “My sins are cool with God, but yours aren’t.” which LITERALLY goes against what the Bible says. The Bible says that ALL SINS ARE CREATED EQUAL. Oh, so you judge those that are gay? Then your sin is EQUAL to person that is gay. End of story. The Bible couldn’t be any more clear.

If you can’t tell, Church XYZ really pushes my buttons by their decision. Their logic is all wrong. The basis of the Christian religion is LOVE. Simple as that. By pushing them away, they are killing the basis of the Christian religion and putting themselves on a pedestal, saying that their sins are okay and God forgives them (everyone sins, let’s just admit it), but that a gay person’s sins are worse and unforgivable. HOW IS THAT LOGICAL? THE BIBLE CLEARLY SAYS TO LOVE…AND CLEARLY SAYS ALL SINS ARE CREATED EQUAL.

This past semester I had to write a research paper for my ENG 105 class and had to have a couple of interviews as sources. I talked to Jennifer, my previous church’s leader of college ministry. This is what she had to say about homosexuality in the church:

“Let’s say homosexuality is a sin. How can we reach sinners if we turn them away? It makes no sense to me when churches turn homosexuals away. If the church is in the business of turning away sinners, we might as well lock the doors and go home.” She went on to say, “My college ministry has had several gay men as a part of the group over the years. Are they sinners? Sure they are. Everyone in the group is. I’m thankful for a loving God who knows us, knows our hearts and offers grace and forgiveness.”

Love. Love can solve all the world’s problems, I truly believe. If everyone loved, I honestly believe there wouldn’t be suffering in this world. If everyone had unselfish love, everyone in this world would have sufficient housing, clean water, and adequate food. Love is something I have learned so much about since moving to my new church. Love can cure all. So, my theory is love. Even if your belief is that being gay is a sin, LOVE. Love them. Why? Because that is what the bible says to do…”Love your neighbor”

As my dear friend said, “Jesus said love thy neighbor, not love thy neighbor unless they’re gay.” I couldn’t have said it better.

But, this isn’t just a post about gays/being gay. Not at all. This goes for anything. No matter what your views on anything are, just love.

Years ago, I remember a young lady that came to my church. She came in a few minutes late and sat in the back. She was covered in tattoos and had a bright red Mohawk. She wasn’t like the normal person that I would see in this church. After church, many members of my church family walked up to her and welcomed her. I remember her saying that she had never been to a church that welcomed her because of the way she looked. How terrible. Love…it fixes everything, right? Right!

I couldn’t be more proud of the Disciples as they have created an “All means All” campaign, meaning that all REALLY DOES mean all! ALL are accepted and loved! The disciples have even tried to get gender neutral restrooms in order to make transgenders (and anyone else) feel more comfortable! Learn more about it here:  http://www.gladalliance.org/

And, I’m going to leave you with a video to get your brain thinking about all this… (just clicked the underlined word “video” and it should pop up in another window)

My rant for today is over. Thanks for reading and remember…no matter your opinions or belief, LOVE is the remedy.

Blessings,

Faith

A Thousand Words

Previously I talked about how I could write a book on the criticism I've received throughout my life. A lot of that criticism has come from other people in my life telling me that I am doing things that do not portray the Christian image they believe I should go after. Here is a little bit about me, that some of you might not know:

Some of my best friends are not Christians. I have friends in my inner-circle who have battled issues with drugs and alcohol. Some of them still are fighting those demons. I have friends who have been affiliated with gangs and selling drugs. My favorite genre of music is hip-hop. I've experimented with different chemicals in the past. Does that make me who I am? I am a bad Christian for hanging around with drug using, misogynistic music listening people? You may have your opinions on that, but my answer is no. Whether you are or aren't a believer, it doesn't determine whether or not I will talk to them or try to build a relationship. Because you want the truth? I've learned lessons on how to be a better man, a better follower of Christ, and a better overall friend from some of my friends who have no faith backbone. Imagine that?

Now I am not celebrating the fact that they are not believers, but what I am saying is that we as a society need to stop looking at the cover and start reading the pages. There are so many layers to every single individual in this world. Also, I gotta tell you all that I don't necessarily have a heroic plan to try and convert all my friends to Christ. It definitely is a priority to discuss Jesus with my friends whenever I feel the time is right, but if they don't become believers, that's on them; and it will not make or break our friendship. So while I always seem to get some flack for what I say or what I do, I'm okay with that. I feel called to go out and be friends and build relationships with people from all walks of life. Even the people that the general society seems to villainize. So the guy who wears the un-turned baseball hat and listens to Kendrick Lamar and Kanye West is the same person who attends Church every Sunday, part of his student ministry team at school, writes poem's, and serves the community. Oh yeah, and he happens to have some pretty amazing friends. I know I'll get judged, but that's okay. Remember, I'm just a broken lamp trying letting God's light shine the way.

They say a picture is worth 1000 words, but I say those 1000 words are more important than one picture. Look past the cover, you often times will be amazed by what you'll find.

God Bless,

Andrew

Comments/Feedback

First off I just want to thank everyone who has been reading our blog recently. We've noticed significantly more traffic these past several weeks, so we both thank you all for that. Also, I encourage all of you to write in our comment section and give your feedback on our postings. I love discussion, and I love being challenged. However, we ask that you refrain from personal attacks, and comments that will not create beneficial discourse. Last week I came across a posting that was not appropriate to display on this blog, so I removed it before Faith, and hopefullly anyone else saw it. We encourage and appreciate comments and feedback, and we look forward to having discussions with those of you who read our blog. We just ask that you keep the comments constructive, and leave any personal attacks or feelings absent. Thanks, again for reading, and I hope to hear from you all soon.

Andrew

Gold

For all the people that never feel like they are good enough...this is for you. For all the teenage girls that are so insecure...this is for you. And for all of the people that are unsure of their worth...this is for you.

I recall as a young child, around 5th grade, when I was cleaning out my closet with my mother and my father came into the room. He saw the pile of clothes that no longer fit (you grow when you're young, if you didn't know...) and immediately blurted out, "If you'd lose some weight, you might could fit into some of your clothes." I began to cry, and he REFUSED to apologize.  Any male in his right mind knows that you never comment on a girl's weight...much less if it is a young girl. Those words he said continued to haunt me for many years. As a young girl, I felt my body was less than perfect and I felt that I was never good enough. This comment led to struggles with eating disorders throughout most of my middle school years. 

Let's fast forward to my freshman year in high school, when my parents divorced. For all of my life, my grandfather meant everything to me. He was the most important person in my life, no doubt. Freshman year, things went downhill. One week into the school year (freshman year), my grandfather made an unexpected phone call. Out of nowhere, he called. I put it on speakerphone as he asked, and me and my mother sat and listened to him tell me I was worthless, that I needed to "get off my pedestal," and that I was going nowhere in my life. [Wait, what? This phone call seriously came out of nowhere and still to this day I don't know why he would even think about doing that.] Needless to say, a man so important in my life saying that crushed me. I felt like my heart was gone. I felt worthless. I remember running to my bed and crying. He hung up, but my mother called him back, put the phone on speakerphone, and let him listen to me wail. My mom said, "See! See what you have done to your granddaughter?!" and he replied, "Good, I'm glad." 
This phone call was a great way to spend the first week of my freshman year. I could not shake it. I began to go into a deep depression...feeling so incredibly useless. It was a conversation I could never forgive. Through that rough time after the phone call, I was continually told, "They're missing out." As a child, you are always told not to brag. But, after thinking about that comment, I began to think of all the wonderful things about myself. Truth be told...they ARE missing out...cause I'm pretty freakin' awesome. Although this isn't something you need to go around saying, each of us need to know our worth...and after that, I began seeing my true worth.

Three years later (December 2012), I decided to give him another chance at a relationship with me. [...with him refusing to apologize for that phone call.] I went and saw him in the hospital, went over for a few random visits and such...I thought everything was going great. I even had Christmas with them. Maybe this was the beginning of a decent relationship. [It's never that simple, guys] A few days after Christmas gathering, I got another of those dreaded phone calls. This time, I was at my best friend Jordan's house, and let him listen. This time, I got told I was a bad Christian, worthless, and he continually stated I was "immature." I remember telling him what I had been told for years..."You're missing out cause I'm pretty freaking awesome!" Although I shed many tears over this conversation, it didn't bother me as much because I saw my worth even when he didn't. 

With the help of my relationship with God, I realized my true worth...my worth in God's eyes. My worth isn't decided by my grandfather's opinion.

Gold is one of the most precious metals on this earth, and each one of us are a piece of Gold in God's eyes. 

Britt Nicole's song, "Gold" sums it up perfectly:

You were walking on the moon, now you're feeling low
What they said wasn't true, you're beautiful
Sticks and stones break your bones, I know what you're feeling
Words like those won't steal your glow, you're one in a million

This, this is for all the girls, boys all over the world
Whatever you've been told, you're worth more than gold
So hold your head up high, it's your time to shine
From the inside out it shows, you're worth more than gold
(Gold gold, you're gold)
You're worth more than gold
(Gold gold, you're gold)

Well everybody keeps score, afraid you're gonna lose
Just ignore they don't know the real you
All the rain in the sky can't put out your fire
Of all the stars out tonight, you shine brighter

This, this is for all the girls, boys all over the world
Whatever you've been told, you're worth more than gold
So hold your head up high, it's your time to shine
From the inside out it shows, you're worth more than gold
(Gold gold, you're gold)
You're worth more than gold
(Gold gold, you're gold)

So don't let anybody tell you that you're not loved
And don't let anybody tell you that you're not enough
Yeah there are days that we all feel like we're messed up
But the truth is that we're all diamonds in the rough
So don't be ashamed to wear your crown
You're a king you're a queen inside and out
You glow like the moon, you shine like the stars
This is for you, wherever you are

Oh, oh, yeah, yeah, oh, oh,
You're gold

This, this is for all the girls, boys all over the world
Whatever you've been told, you're worth more than gold
(So hold your head) So hold your head up high,
It's your time to shine
From the inside out it shows, you're worth more than gold
(gold gold, you're gold)
You're worth more than gold
(gold gold you're gold)

So don't be ashamed to wear your crown
You're a king you're a queen inside and out

Never feel like you're not good enough. Because you are. 

Blessings,

Faith