It was the prayer of the early church as they strained toward the Kingdom against tides of conflict and persecution. "Come, Lord Jesus!" This week, I find myself praying that prayer with fresh energy as I read breaking news stories about the church, covenant theology, and issues surrounding same sex attraction.
Two stories in today's national news merit our prayerful attention. In one story, Phil Robertson speaks publicly about his beliefs concerning same-sex attraction. In another story, a United Methodist pastor in Pennsylvania has been defrocked for his participation in a marriage service for his gay son.
I am in step with Phil Robertson's theology, though not with his presentation of it. I am not in step with the pastor from Pennsylvania, though I respect his desire to stand by his son and his values. These two stories, breaking in the same week, give United Methodists good reason to think again about both our approach to an important cultural issue and our commitment to being a "connectional people."
The issue begins, for me, with how we treat people. How we treat people matters. Every person, whatever their greatness or brokenness, deserves love and respect. Every person has the mark of God's image. Whatever our view of same sex attraction, we are responsible for treating people with respect and love, and I'm honored to be part of a congregation that takes this call seriously.
Respect and love are not the same as tolerance (nor is "intolerance" the same as disrespect).* The word "tolerance" gets tossed around a lot when stories like these surface. "Aren't Christians supposed to be tolerant?" You'd think the obvious answer would be "yes." But actually, tolerance is not our core value.
Our core value as Christians is not tolerance but holiness. God commanded, "You are to be holy, because I the Lord your God am holy" (Leviticus 20:26, 1 Peter 1:16). Holiness is our call and according to scripture, holiness demands -- among a host of other character-defining traits -- patience, humility, gentleness, endurance, bearing with one another in love. When followers of Jesus take this call to holiness seriously, they find themselves on a path less traveled. Eventually, they will look less like the world and more like the Kingdom of Heaven in the ways they live life.
Holiness informs my response to the culture around me. My opinions must be rooted in the values of holiness as I find them in the Bible. I don't interpret the Bible in light of how the world turns. I interpret the world in light of the Bible, even when it means I will look a little crazy by the world's standards.
Holiness demands that my opinions be expressed in ways that communicate love and are more likely draw people toward Jesus, not away from him. I don't get to "save" anybody (Jesus already has that job), but my behavior will determine another person's openness to Jesus. I pray like crazy that I will "do no harm," as Wesley counseled.
Ironically, holiness reminds me that my primary call is to lead people to Jesus, not get them to "act right." Jesus, not behavior, is the key to salvation; until a person knows Jesus, nothing else matters.
My own failure to respond in holy ways is most often a product of impatience, especially when it comes to denominational matters. As our debates over issues surrounding same sex attraction continue to boil, I find myself praying the prayer of the frustrated: "How long, O Lord, how long?" How long will we continue to bite and devour one another? I become frustrated when I hear the conversation list toward tolerance and unity as our key values, rather than holiness and respect. I hope we have not made an idol of unity when God may be up to something else entirely.
In any case, the world is watching, and I am praying for the spirit of Jesus to descend and give us a better answer than the ones we've fashioned.
Come, Lord Jesus.
NOTE AND RESOURCES:
* Dr. Jerry Walls is a professor of philosophy and has developed a much better discourse on the issue of tolerance than I could express: His article can be found here:
http://christianthought.hbu.edu/2013/12/19/duck-dynasty-and-the-scourge-of-fundamentalist-intolerance/
Dr. Preston Sprinkle is a New Testament professor at Eternity Bible College. He is the other voice you hear in Francis Chan's "Erasing Hell," the book that refutes Rob Bell's "Love Wins." I don't know much about the rest of his theology (except that I'm guessing he is not Wesleyan), but I'm impressed with his collection of twenty blogs on the subject of homosexuality in the Bible. This article addresses the current news story about Phil Robertson: http://facultyblog.eternitybiblecollege.com/2013/12/phil-robertson-on-homosexuality-a-conservative-christians-response/
And this article (also by Dr. Sprinkle) takes you to the first of twenty blogs exploring what the Bible says about same sex attraction: http://facultyblog.eternitybiblecollege.com/series/homosexuality-in-the-bible/
Finally, here is a brief blog post by Dr. Tim Tennent, president of Asbury Seminary, who references another situation brewing in the United Methodist Church today. This story emphasizes the erosion of our commitment to covenant as a "connectional church." His blog will reference a Good News article also worth reading: http://timothytennent.com/2013/11/04/bishop-talbert-defies-the-discipline/
Jesus, may your Kingdom come, may your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.