So I told you about Christians Gone Bad.  Well, our pastor had a bit to say about Christianity and homosexuality last Sunday.  That I can recall, it’s the first time he’s done so in the nearly four years we’ve attended Good Shepherd.  I do believe it’s one of my favorite messages ever, embodying what I love most about our church—a genuine, sincere, and practiced emphasis on love and service, at the expense of divisive (and frankly, ultimately irrelevant) issues.

Want to hear the sermon yourself?  Check it out here.

I have no moral and/or religious dilemma about homosexuality.  I am at peace with my belief that God does not look unfavorably upon gay people for their gayness, and have been for decades.  I simply can’t resolve such a characteristic with who I know Jesus to be.

David hit that in terms of highlighting the words and deeds of Jesus, but he went further.  Know how many times Jesus denounced those outside the church?  Zero.  Know how many times the Bible directs Christians to denounce those outside the church?  Zero.  Is homosexuality sinful?  Not our call, boys and girls.  But, if we are conflicted about it, we should “err” on the side of inclusion and love.

(I’ll add this myself:  know how many times Jesus mentioned homosexuality?  Zero.)

Christians in general have earned a widespread perception (to the tune of 91%) that we are anti-gay.  We can talk about extremists’ and/or vocal minorities’ roles in generating that, and maybe even get a modicum of traction with such a claim.

However, the bottom line is that if we did a better job emulating Christ, that never would have happened.