Walk The Line

Walk the line.

My schedule in the last few weeks has been filled with interviews with radio, newspapers, and TV. Most of the press has come our way due to the national release of the book Glory Revealed. The book officially released about a month ago, and in an attempt to be a good steward of the message entrusted to me, I have been hitting the airwaves and getting the message out. Most of the interviews have been with Christian media outlets…that is until last Thursday.
I was asked by CNN/ Headline News to comment on a story that at first glance had nothing to do with the release of the new book. Many of you may not be familiar with the much debated- and press-covered story of a dispute between a church in Texas and the family of Cecil Sinclair. You can read about the dispute in the Dallas paper by clicking here:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/081007dnmetgayfuneral.3617689.html

You can read the church’s statement on their site here:http://www.churchunusual.com/statement.html

The short of it is that a church in Dallas had agreed to host a funeral for a military man who had died of heart failure. The dispute began when the church found out the deceased man was homosexual and that the family desired to perform a funeral that celebrated his way of life. Having the conviction that homosexuality is a sin; the church felt as though allowing the funeral to be held in their sanctuary would send the message that they are condoning the gay lifestyle. The church says that this decision was based on specific pictures submitted for a slideshow and the all-gay quartet that the family wanted involved in the service. The day before the funeral, church called and reneged on hosting it. The church did offer to pay for an alternate location and to make food for the guests. But to the family, that was just more salt added to the wound. The family of the man was irate about the church’s last minute cancellation. They said they were never given the option to tweak the slideshow; that the quartet was only going to sing Amazing Grace; and that they were open to the church giving an alter call if so desired, etc. The family felt as though the church in the midst of a time of mourning mistreated them. So, by the time the press, the bloggers, the talk radio guys, and other spin doctors got hold of the story, it was an explosive incident that dared many to ask some hard questions about the church's role in modern day culture. To add more fuel to the fire, the man had served our country in war, making the incident harder to stomach as patriots. Some accused the church of hate and legalism, while others backed the church for taking a concrete stand. The church had made an official statement, but was not engaging in further dialogue about it. This is why CNN was asking me to chime in. Obviously there were many sides to this story, but the only info I had was what I could read on the web.

So there I was on CNN being asked to throw my two cents in. Mike Galanos was the interviewer. Mike was great at being unbiased and it was obvious that he had done his homework. After hearing from the Sinclair family Mike asked me if I believed the church dropped the ball and what would have been the appropriate response. I began by giving my condolences to the Sinclair family for the loss of their loved one. It is an awful thing to lose someone you love. I told CNN that although I agreed with the church theologically, it did seem as though the church had dropped the ball culturally and practically. The church had approved the funeral initially and in my opinion should have explored every option to allow the funeral and to not have it moved at the last minute. The attitude of a church should always be how could we say “yes” to this, not “no!” The Sinclair family said that the church just cancelled. What if the church had said, “The answer is yes, but we need to ask you to remove one or two photos from the slideshow.” or, “Can we talk through the song selection of the quartet?” or “We ask that you not say anything that...” What if the church engaged in dialogue about options and a “meet in the middle” scenario? Not compromising, but comforting. The family claims that was never done. The church says they offered to pay for a non-religious location, and to pay for the food.
The thing that was perhaps most unsettling to the Sinclair family was that the church compared allowing pictures of a gay couple being shown at a gay man’s funeral to allowing pictures of a man murdering someone at a murders’ funeral. Wow. I can see the point being made by the church about projecting an act of sin through their projectors, but is that a fair comparison? Does it lack sensitivity to compare homosexuality to murder in the midst of the Sinclair family's time of mourning? How about a little tact? If the quartet wants to sing Amazing Grace, do we not let them because they have sin in their life? If only sinless people could sing in our churches, then who can sing? They did not want to sing pro gay songs. They wanted to sing Amazing Grace. It's not as though the church was asked to perform or host a gay wedding. That would be condoning and celebrating. The case can be made that if the major theme and purpose of a wedding is about celebrating and condoning, then a funeral is for comforting. As I see it, the church in Dallas could have figured out a way to be clear that they were not condoning, but giving people a safe place to mourn and reflect on their loss.
Although it is not easy, we, as the church, need to learn to walk that line.
It’s not a gray line, but a bold black one. It’s a bit of a balancing act, but in order to meet people where they are, we can’t have a knee-jerk reaction when we encounter situations that are out of our religious “norm.” What if this had been treated as an outreach event?
By the end of the CNN interview, the one thing that was clear to all parties involved was is that the church of the future will be a church that will have to learn to navigate through these kind of issues proactively and reactively.
This brings me back to the original question of what the CNN interview had to do with the book Glory Revealed. The intent of the book is to point people to scripture as a means to hear from God. God is not silent about anything. Including the Sinclair funeral arrangements. What does scripture have to say about this? Not just homosexuality, but about reaching out to people in the midst of a sinful lifestyle? Maybe a good place to see God reveal himself to us in this matter is the story we know as “the woman at the well.” So go ahead. Grab a Bible, and turn off all the talking heads (including me) on this matter. Go to Scripture and ask God to reveal.