"I Think Shouting Hate Words at People Will Convert Them..."

Why is it when there is going to be a lot of people around, the "Christian protesters" come out in force? They're not doing anyone any good, and they're definitely not portraying a positive view of Christ and other Christ-followers. I saw a pack of them on 16th Street Mall with giant signs telling people they are going to hell, that homosexuals are going to hell, and that unless you follow the 10 commandments, you're going to hell too! All I could do is walk by and shake my head. No wonder people tend to keep the fact that they are a Christian/Christ-follower a secret-- look at who our representation is! I do not associate myself with those people, but if people hear I'm a Christian, they will more than likely place me in their group--ick! They have "stupid" cooties! Okay, that wasn't very nice...
Why do these people feel compelled to come out here and act/talk like they do? Has their method proven to be effective? Do they have anyone fall on their face in repentance? I would guess that that has never ever happened! So what motivates them to come out to the mall and throw fire and brimstone at people walking by? Just because Jesus said to "go and make disciples of all nations," he didn't mean to go out and make an idiot out of yourself. Telling people that they're going to hell is not a message of love. Telling homosexuals that their sin has condemned them to hell is not a message of acceptance.
Where is the sign that says "Jesus loves you for who you are, no matter what you've done"? I did see one guy holding a sign that said "Jesus is the message of hope." That at least was a positive message, but still, it begs the question: how effective is that? Are these people afraid to get close to anyone who may be at all different than them? Is that why they passively hold the sign and shout hate at the people passing by? To be missional the way Jesus was-- getting down and dirty with those who surrounded him-- makes people extremely vulnerable and also shows everyone else that they are not all high and mighty and holy; I'd venture a guess that showing their humanity is what they are trying to avoid doing.
It's no wonder why people don't like "Christians."

Homosexual Hamburgers

It was my mom's birthday this weekend and to celebrate, my family went out to lunch after church on Sunday. Jill drove down from Fort Collins and we met up in Denver to eat. The restaurant we wanted to go to had a 45 minute wait (and it was already 1:00pm!) So we wandered down a few blocks and found a restaurant called Hamburger Mary's. As we walked past, we could see the burgers on people's plates which looked delicious, so we went in. Instantly we realized where we were-- a restaurant that caters to the GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender) community. There were peace flags on the wall, the names of the burgers were some sort of homosexual slang, terminology, etc. For example, instead of a BLT, it was a GLBT (guac, lettuce, bacon, tomato); there was also a Flamin' J Burger... That kind of thing. Needless to say, for some people, it would have been uncomfortable to be there. My family, however, thought it was awesome! We had a great time! Oh, and the food was absolutely amazing! (I'd actually recommend it for anyone wanting a burger in Denver... and isn't biased against homosexuality) On the table, there was an advertisement for "Slut Bingo"-- the picture was of 4 or 5 men dressed in drag and full makeup with bingo cards in their hands. It looked like so much fun! I love Denver!
The culture and variety around here is more than I have ever been around in my entire life! I've lived in the southern suburbs of Denver where there were maybe 10 kids in my high school class who weren't Caucasian. Then I went to Fort Collins where I think it was even less! I've barely seen 10 people who are Caucasian in my neighborhood in Denver! It's so exciting. Life is so different and there are so many different people, different cultures, and different views for everything. Way different than anything I have ever experienced. Michael and I are still determined to be missional in everything we do, so we have been trying to scope out where we will buy our groceries, get our liquor (there are a gazillion liquor stores within 5 blocks of where we live!), go out to eat, go to the park, get coffee, etc. Life is just beginning for us, and we have so much potential to reach out to the people around us. There is a family who lives just a couple of houses down, and I'm sure when summer hits, we'll be seeing a lot of them... who knows what will happen!

Holding Signs on a Street Corner

I wrote a post recently on Jason Clark's blog about being intolerant of the intolerant. I mentioned that it is important to confront those people and love them just the same. Well, I've realized over the past few days that there is a certain group of people I actually have a very hard time finding the capacity to love. If you've read my blog, you know that loving others is a big deal to me. But I have found my weak-spot. At church on Sunday, they showed a short clip of pictures from rallies (mostly to do with anti-homosexuality), church signs, etc. about repentance, and any sort of hateful agenda. Looking at those pictures made me sick to my stomach. There was a picture of a little girl-- she couldn't have been more that 10-- holding a sign that said "Got AIDS yet?" I just about threw up. It outraged me! And the thought struck me-- I'm feeling hateful towards the hateful. I will say that the tactics of some of the churches-- like putting those clear letters up to make a statement on their church's sign-- are just ineffective and useless. But what about the people standing on the street corner with a sign full of lists of people who they think are condemned and going to hell? And then turning around and telling them that God loves them and wants to save them... I'm missing the connection. How would throwing hate towards someone want to make them convert or even consider repenting for whatever sins they have? I wouldn't want to be part of that religion, that's for sure.
My mom said a very interesting thing about the clip and the whole idea of people (meaning Christians) acting that way-- it's embarrassing and humiliating as a Christian to see others do that under the label of "Christianity." Being a "Christ follower" is a much better label for myself and others that I know. When non-Christians hear that someone is a Christian, they put them into the group with the sign-holders and hate-throwers. Our faith and religion are supposed to be about love, and yet has become labeled with hate. There is something drastically wrong with that. We have gotten so far away from what Jesus originally called us to do. But really, how do we respond to the "Christians" who do nothing but show hate and contempt towards others? I can understand not agreeing with others' lifestyles or choices, but when hate comes into the picture, what are we supposed to do? Stand on the opposing corner with signs saying "I love you"? I'm at a loss and my heart is broken for those people. I recently watched a documentary where one of the men in it said, "They're so full of hate, they don't even realize how hateful they are." What are we, as Christ followers, supposed to do? Because just saying we need to love can only go so far... what can we do?

Prayer Warriors

Recently, the discussion of homosexuality has been very prevalent in the conversation I've been having, articles I've been reading, blogs I've read, podcasts I listened to, etc. All of a sudden I have realized I don't know what I believe and why I believe it. The two major issues that the churches of my past have shoved down my throat is that of homosexuality being a sin and abortion being wrong. (Relax, this post is not about abortion... I don't even want to go there!) Anyway, I decided I should make my own mind up about what I believe and be knowledgeable enough to tell others about what I believe and why. I'm usually not very strongly opinionated, but I feel that I should have a strong, solid, educated opinion on the issue of homosexuality.
Coming from a Christian, yet open-minded, family, I have heard both sides of the issue. I have heard what my churches had to say and what my parents had to say. We had long discussions over dinner and in the car about homosexuality. I know what my stance is, but I want to be more educated when I state what it is! I want to be able to engage people in a discussion about it and be able to give them answers and possibly a different perspective on the issue.
Anyway, on the start of my knowledge-journey, I went to the library to look at what books they had in stock to read about Christianity and homosexuality. You'd actually be surprised how many books there are! So I checked out a bunch and here's a little blurb on what I just finished reading:

I just finished reading a book today called, Prayer Warriors: The true story of a gay son, his fundamentalist Christian family, and their battle for his soul. I was really excited to read it because, for one, I enjoy stories and novel-like books as compared to textbook, history-like books (I have two sitting on my shelf waiting to be opened...), and two, I was really interested in what I would learn from this book, through one man's life and struggle with acceptance from his family.
Anyway, the hate and disappointment that came from the parents made me want to scream and yell and punch them in the face. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that that is how Christians and the church tend to treat homosexuals. When Stuart (the author) came out to his parents, they got angry and told him to never come back home because he was no longer welcome. What kind of parent does that to their kid? How could love and acceptance ride on only one issue? How can people say, "I love you...what? you're gay? Never mind!"? Isn't love supposed to be unconditional? When we treat people like that, not just homosexuals, it's no wonder that people don't like Christians. How can people treat others, like one of my pastors says, like issues, not people? How can people not see beyond the issue and embrace the person behind it? My mom informed me of a woman she knows who went through this exact same thing and it took the siblings of the woman had to go against what the parents thought and said to embrace her and love her despite what they believed or thought. That's what we're supposed to do-- put aside our own agendas and love people for who they are and not focus on the baggage they're bringing along. We all have baggage and issues and sin, so no one has the right to look down on others, no matter what they believe. No one is better than another. That's what Jesus did-- he loved everyone and didn't focus on their issues or problems-- he loved them for their hearts and who they were as people.
That's when I am so excited that I am in a church where one of the pastors and one of the worship guys went to the GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender) office on campus to establish a relationship with them and apologise to them for how the church and Christians treat them. What a relief!
I am still researching (I'm going to crack open the history books... it'll be a long process) and becoming solidified in my viewpoints. It's only been a few weeks in this journey of knowledge, and I've learned so much! Who knows what else I'm going to learn!!! I'll end with a quote from my pastors: "Love God and love people. That's all you have to do."