this morning, sir jim schunemann, of christianbook.com fame, offers the first installment in our new series: Happy Haiku Friday.


"meditate on life

recollect your every move

shit, the oven's on."


be sure to tune in next week for our new installment.

i almost forgot...there is one title that i am interested in reading: Loving Homosexuals as Jesus Would. i have ordered a galley copy of this work, so that I can read it next week and interview the author the week following. once the interview is complete, i'll post it.

have there been any christian treatments of the homosexuality issue that you have found helpful? if so, let me know.

for the past two days i have been reading manuscripts regarding homosexual marriage. at christianbook.com we have decided to run develop a little feature on this issue, because where there is controversy, there is 'kwan.' two of the titles are of the 'chicken little' variety (i.e., they run round and round in circles crying, the family is falling, the church is dying, the nation is decaying!) and they are driving me up a wall.

admittedly, i think that homosexual marriage will have some dire consequences, especially upon children who are raised without the positive influence of either a mother or a father, but i do not think that it is the lynch pin of western society (i.e., "pull the pin and bickety bam the whole stage falls down!"). moreover, i find the steadfast warnings of the james dobsons of the world, who are trying to goad us into action by asking "when will evangelicalism finally take a stand?" and are imploring us to make this our primary focus during these dark days, quite hollow. if these men are so passionate about defending the 'sanctity of marriage' why do they consistently fail to address the issue of spousal abuse, which is wrecking far greater havoc on our institution of marriage. how often have you heard pastors condemn spousal abuse from the pulpit? my guess is that it hasn't been very often. likewise, when are we going to "take a stand" or "go to war" against child abuse? surely this is another seige ramp which has been raised against the citadel of marriage, but we rarely hear a peep about it in the church, either from the pulpit or in our literature (believe me, i've checked!).

i know that i am in danger of preaching one too many sermons on this topic, but i passionately believe that we must address these rampant issues, which are well rooted in the church and abundantly nourished by our shame and silence, before we can expect for the culture of this world to truly hear our critique. in essence, i think that we need to set our own house straight before we set out to subvert the pattern of this world.

okay, enough. i promise that is my last such post for a bit. by the way, if you ever want to check out my work at christianbook.com take a look at the Pastor's Resource Center or the Christian Living Page. Remember, "for every coin in the coffer that clinks..."

5.17.04

Today is the 50th anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education. A truly momentous event in American History, the Brown decision condemned the legal separation of black and white schoolchildren and so helped pave the way for a fully integrated society.

Today is also the first day that gays and lesbians will be allowed to marry in the United States. Since our beloved commonwealth is ground zero for those official unions, several thousand citizens have applied for marriage licenses and a number of gay and lesbian weddings are being conducted as we speak. Both advocates and antagonists of gay marriage realize that now, for better or for worse, our country will never look the same. What was once theoretical has indeed become real.

The convergence of these two events on May 17th was designated by the Supreme Court Justices of our Commonwealth as a means of communicating to the homosexual community that what is true about our schools is now true about the institution of marriage, insofar as their unions will not be identified as separate, but equal to heterosexual marriage. For this reason, the date is incredibly significant for that community.

However, I believe that this date can be incredibly significant for the Christian community as well, insofar as it reminds us that while our government has established laws that resonate with biblical principles, consider the close connection between Brown and the Apostle Paul's declaration that in Christ "the barrier of hostility has been broken down," it has also established laws, as is the case here in the Commonwealth, that do not resonate with biblical teaching. As believers this should, at the very least, teach us that we should not be too euphoric when the government acts in step with biblical principle, nor should we completely despair when they repudiate such principle, for the truth is not determined and our hope does not reside in the legislation or judicial decision of our government, but in the Lord and the Kingdom over which He sovereignly rules. During this confusing and occasionally dark time, let us not make the mistake of equating God's Kingdom with the republic in which we dwell, nor confound the "City of Man" with the "City of God." Homosexual marriage is neither condemnation nor commentary upon the church, but is the free (and, from my perspective, rather poor) choice of the state. Therefore, we should not take up defensive positions, for the action of the state is not attacking the church nor is it intended to destroy "Christian marriage." Rather, instead of weeping about the wound to our so-called "godly American heritage" we should work all the harder to develop Kingdom centered marriages that are marked by sacrificial love, mutual submission and, at their best moments, serve as a parable of Christ's love for the church. It is only then, by faithfully living out the gift of marriage within the Kingdom of God, that we might begin to influence our culture's evident misunderstanding of marriage. Instead of shaking our holy swords and screaming holy words at those outside the Kingdom, let our loving marriages serve as an ever-present illustration of what marriage can be.

I offer these reflections humbly and hope that they are received as such. If you would like to offer an alternative reflection or would like to engage in further dialogue about this issue, please do not hesitate to contact me.

May God bless His Kingdom and enable Christ's church to subtly, but surely influence this country as leaven does a lump of dough.