Posted on 12/04/2007 7:00:30 AM PST by Between the Lines
Two homosexual groups plan to launch a national campaign targeting the most influential megachurches and its leaders in an attempt to change their views on gays and lesbians.
Soulforce, which promotes "pro-gay" interpretations of Scripture, and COLAGE (Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere) are currently recruiting LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) parents and their children along with other supporters for "The American Family Outing" in 2008. Selected families will visit six major megachurches to "educate" the public on the issue of homosexuality.
"Through our visibility we hope to peacefully challenge the false stereotypes about LGBT people and same-gender families, and educate the public through authentic and personal conversations - real parents sharing their stories and describing the hurtful effects of prejudice and religious condemnation," said a statement describing the national campaign, which will run from Mother's Day weekend in May through Father's Day weekend in June.
Churches being targeted are those led by Joel Osteen, Bishop T.D. Jakes, Dr. Rick Warren, Bishop Harry Jackson, Jr., Bill Hybels and Bishop Eddie Long. Along with most Christian leaders, all have expressed to some degree an opposition to the homosexual lifestyle.
Soulforce contends that these younger generation evangelical leaders "are striving to change the tone of the national political debate with messaging that is less punitive, therefore making religion-based discrimination seem more palatable to the mainstream American public."
The upcoming campaign comes at a time when more evangelical churches are showing compassion toward the homosexual community. While still rejecting homosexual behavior as sin, Christians are increasingly welcoming and loving homosexuals, departing from the hateful and homophobic labels often attached to churches.
Still, churches continue to struggle with the issue of homosexuality in a culture that is more open to gay and lesbian lifestyles.
Participants of The American Family Outing plan to attend a worship service at each of the megachurches and also request time for panel discussions and a chance to engage in informal conversations with congregants of the churches.
Before the visits, 40 recruited families are required to attend a weekend of training in Austin, Texas, in February to prepare for theological dialogue and nonviolent direct action.
Sick! I feel sorry for these poster children for their "parent's" perversions.
“churches continue to struggle with the issue of homosexuality in a culture that is more open to gay and lesbian lifestyles”
Why, do they struggle? I am sicken by the entry of “feel good” churches into so called mainstream Christianity.
The Old (the law) and New Testaments (grace) are clear on the issue of homosexuality.
Love the sinner, hate the sin - honestly what is so hard about that concept.
“Love the sinner, hate the sin - honestly what is so hard about that concept.”
Those who are spiritually dead cannot comprehend spiritual matters.
These “mega-churches” are not churches; they are social clubs claiming to be churches. They will, to some degree, embrace this sin just as they have embraced the deception that has led them away from Scripture in other areas of doctrine.
They have chosen craftily, as usual. I doubt any of those churches will put up any real or meaningful defense. They will just further thin-out their veneer of biblical faithfulness in favor of warm feelings. Heck, they won’t even be able to be faithful to obvious biological facts, like that homosexuality doesn’t reproduce, so the “families” are built entirely on heterosexuality. No one in the group could exist without it. It is the only essential when everything is reduced down to, “How did they get here.”
Bending and shaping your religion to fit your lifestyle, astonishing.
I hope the pastors take advantage and preach to these poor innocent children about the sin of perversion their parents engage in and let them know they are loved.
And have at ready bouncers to escort them out if the Sodomites say a peep.
LBGT Parents
You mean like the homosexual men who put dog collars on thier two year old twin daughters and paraded them around the Folsom Street fair a couple months ago.
It sounds like those left-wing pro-homosexual groups are the ones who need to be educated.
“Man should not lie with man, it is an abomination”(paraphrase)
I like Eddie Long and TD Jakes. I hope they refuse to give these groups any valuable pulpit time. If they do I would be sorely disappointed.
This ought to be interesting. It could force some of these pastors to take a side - Scripture vs. opinions and feelings. Popcorn anyone?
--According to Manfred the Wonder Dawg
Great..!!
Given the depth of theological teaching at most of those churches, the tactic will likely be successful at most of them.
In addition to the numerous Bible verses regaring homosexuality, Jesus harshly condemned the Church of Thyatira for tolerating sexual immorality. (Rev 2:20) I realize they are all about the money but these “Pastors” are literally playing Russian roulette with their souls. The fact they don’t realize (or care) about that tells me all I need to know.
I’ve confronted a Pastor who was in essense promoting the acceptance of homosexuality as non-sinful.
The response I received was that the OT references were not made in the context of sexuality, but merely of submission - that one man should not submit to another. I presume that this was extrapolated to no longer being necessary in the Pastor’s mind. On the NT passages, the Pastor actually made the comment that Jesus never spoke on the issues, and therefore His silence somehow overrides Paul’s comments. When I pointed out passages such as Matthew 10:15 where Jesus indirectly references the sins of homosexuality, it was dismissed again as not being about sexual behaviour, merely submission.
I was left absolutely stunned. Just stunned.
The Pastor went on to say that they were on the fence and hadn’t yet made a decision on the issue. A couple weeks later an openly gay woman was placed in charge of Evangelism for that church.
There’s no on the fence on this issue, not making a decision is acceptance by default.
Where do you attend now?
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