wadeboy
05-18-2007, 01:43 AM
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being a supporter of me! My parents and I will be resigning from Mt. Olive Baptist Church once we return from vacation. The deacons called for another meeting with me to push the issue.
I could not continue to fight for this with the possibility of hurting other members of my family. There were threats and hate mail being sent to me by people in the church who would do just that. I have also become very fearful of the possibility of someone harming me or someone I love dearly.
Only a few people actually spoke out in opposition directly to the deacons or the pastors! I know there are many people who feel this is wrong but I will not put the church through a vote which could lead to a possibility of a split or cause a rift in my family. In my heart, I know this is wrong and their may be those who will rejoice. This is very sad and it is tearing me apart. It is to overwhelming to deal with. It was my home church for 34 1/2 years.
We will leave the church as strong faithful Christians who love and will continue to serve Jesus Christ! We will find a church who truly welcomes all people and does not condemn a person for being who God created them to be! There are many churches in Winston-Salem who are welcoming and affirming to homosexuals and who do not believe in this type of fundamentalist theology.
Science has proven homosexuality is genetic. My pray is when people hear our letters read during a business meeting their hearts and minds would be opened to see the exclusivity being pushed by the deacons of our church!
People should mind their own business and cast no stones!
I love all the great people in my home church who supported me and my parents. We hope to see you again one day!
Below is a letter which was printed on "The Dispatch Online" from a Southern Baptist pastor in Lexington, NC... Everyone in Mt. Olive Church should read this!
On the night before he was crucified Jesus prayed that his followers would be unified in him as a witness to the world. He also charged his disciples with a new commandment: "Love one another as I have loved you." "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-35)
Sadly, when the world looks at the church today, they see only conflict and division. This week the Baptist State Convention voted to exclude churches that welcome gay members. They announced that only two complaints are necessary to trigger an "investigation," reminiscent of the Inquisition.
Dear friends, what in God's name is happening to us? We must find a way to stop this madness and come to our senses. The homosexual issue is dividing families, tearing apart churches and fragmenting denominations. Here are three things I feel we must do.
We must find a way to talk about this issue in a meaningful manner, understanding that there are no easy answers. Few issues evoke more intense emotion than homosexuality. Rather than engage in constructive dialogue, religious leaders and politicians are quick to silence significant debate by resorting to clichés and slogans that spark the emotions of their listeners. Theologian Walter Brueggemann writes that "the dominant ideology of our culture wants to silence all serious speech ... Life is diminished when there are no longer real words, but only clichés and slogans." We must find a way to, in the words of Scripture, "come and reason together."
Secondly, we need to acknowledge that all Christians do not agree on this issue. The president of the North Carolina Baptist Convention justified their action by stating, "We view this as a biblical precedence of right and wrong."
Whenever homosexuality is mentioned in the Bible it is clearly condemned. But we must be careful here. The Bible also condemns celibacy and birth control. The Bible permits slavery, polygamy, concubinage, the treatment of women as property and the marriage of young girls as soon as they enter puberty. The Old Testament calls for the stoning of women who commit adultery and the stoning of rebellious children. Paul makes it clear in his writings that we are no longer under the law, but we live a new life in the Spirit. Jesus tells us that the Spirit will lead us into all truth. Therefore, the question that we should be asking, as phrased by theologian Walter Wink, is: "What is the Word that the Spirit speaks to the churches now, in the light of Scripture, tradition, theology, and yes, psychology, genetics, anthropology and biology?"
Finally, and most importantly, we must base our interpretation of this issue in the revelation we have received in Jesus. The four Gospels do not record Jesus saying a single word about homosexuality, but they do report how Jesus reached out to the disenfranchised, the marginalized and to those who were categorized "unclean." I cannot imagine Jesus excluding homosexuals or kicking them out of the church. Jesus was criticized because "he welcomes sinners and eats with them." He was always including those who had been excluded by the religious establishment. All are invited to sit at the table of the Lord.
There are many people who feel that homosexuality is wrong. It is a sin. God did not create anyone to be gay. There are others who feel that some individuals are born as homosexuals. This is the way they were created, and there is nothing that they can do to change it. To these people, being gay is OK.
Yet, many of us find ourselves somewhere in the middle. We struggle to understand this enigmatic issue and how it fits into God's plan and purpose. We don't claim absolute truth, but we do know that Jesus has commanded us to love one another, and the good news is that in the father's house there is room for everyone.
Jesus tells us in John 10 that he is the good shepherd; he is the door through whom we find salvation. He also tells us that he has other sheep, not of this fold, and he must bring them also so that there will be one flock and one shepherd. When we start looking around the father's house, we might be surprised at who we will find in the many rooms.
Since Jesus has included all of us, shouldn't we include each other? Jesus never mentions the "sin" of homosexuality, but he does the sin of exclusion.
Sisters and brothers, let us love one another, for love is of God. The world will know that we are Christians by our love.
The Rev. Dr. Ray Howell III is senior minister at First Baptist Church on West Third Avenue.The Dispatch Online
Sincerely yours.
I could not continue to fight for this with the possibility of hurting other members of my family. There were threats and hate mail being sent to me by people in the church who would do just that. I have also become very fearful of the possibility of someone harming me or someone I love dearly.
Only a few people actually spoke out in opposition directly to the deacons or the pastors! I know there are many people who feel this is wrong but I will not put the church through a vote which could lead to a possibility of a split or cause a rift in my family. In my heart, I know this is wrong and their may be those who will rejoice. This is very sad and it is tearing me apart. It is to overwhelming to deal with. It was my home church for 34 1/2 years.
We will leave the church as strong faithful Christians who love and will continue to serve Jesus Christ! We will find a church who truly welcomes all people and does not condemn a person for being who God created them to be! There are many churches in Winston-Salem who are welcoming and affirming to homosexuals and who do not believe in this type of fundamentalist theology.
Science has proven homosexuality is genetic. My pray is when people hear our letters read during a business meeting their hearts and minds would be opened to see the exclusivity being pushed by the deacons of our church!
People should mind their own business and cast no stones!
I love all the great people in my home church who supported me and my parents. We hope to see you again one day!
Below is a letter which was printed on "The Dispatch Online" from a Southern Baptist pastor in Lexington, NC... Everyone in Mt. Olive Church should read this!
On the night before he was crucified Jesus prayed that his followers would be unified in him as a witness to the world. He also charged his disciples with a new commandment: "Love one another as I have loved you." "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-35)
Sadly, when the world looks at the church today, they see only conflict and division. This week the Baptist State Convention voted to exclude churches that welcome gay members. They announced that only two complaints are necessary to trigger an "investigation," reminiscent of the Inquisition.
Dear friends, what in God's name is happening to us? We must find a way to stop this madness and come to our senses. The homosexual issue is dividing families, tearing apart churches and fragmenting denominations. Here are three things I feel we must do.
We must find a way to talk about this issue in a meaningful manner, understanding that there are no easy answers. Few issues evoke more intense emotion than homosexuality. Rather than engage in constructive dialogue, religious leaders and politicians are quick to silence significant debate by resorting to clichés and slogans that spark the emotions of their listeners. Theologian Walter Brueggemann writes that "the dominant ideology of our culture wants to silence all serious speech ... Life is diminished when there are no longer real words, but only clichés and slogans." We must find a way to, in the words of Scripture, "come and reason together."
Secondly, we need to acknowledge that all Christians do not agree on this issue. The president of the North Carolina Baptist Convention justified their action by stating, "We view this as a biblical precedence of right and wrong."
Whenever homosexuality is mentioned in the Bible it is clearly condemned. But we must be careful here. The Bible also condemns celibacy and birth control. The Bible permits slavery, polygamy, concubinage, the treatment of women as property and the marriage of young girls as soon as they enter puberty. The Old Testament calls for the stoning of women who commit adultery and the stoning of rebellious children. Paul makes it clear in his writings that we are no longer under the law, but we live a new life in the Spirit. Jesus tells us that the Spirit will lead us into all truth. Therefore, the question that we should be asking, as phrased by theologian Walter Wink, is: "What is the Word that the Spirit speaks to the churches now, in the light of Scripture, tradition, theology, and yes, psychology, genetics, anthropology and biology?"
Finally, and most importantly, we must base our interpretation of this issue in the revelation we have received in Jesus. The four Gospels do not record Jesus saying a single word about homosexuality, but they do report how Jesus reached out to the disenfranchised, the marginalized and to those who were categorized "unclean." I cannot imagine Jesus excluding homosexuals or kicking them out of the church. Jesus was criticized because "he welcomes sinners and eats with them." He was always including those who had been excluded by the religious establishment. All are invited to sit at the table of the Lord.
There are many people who feel that homosexuality is wrong. It is a sin. God did not create anyone to be gay. There are others who feel that some individuals are born as homosexuals. This is the way they were created, and there is nothing that they can do to change it. To these people, being gay is OK.
Yet, many of us find ourselves somewhere in the middle. We struggle to understand this enigmatic issue and how it fits into God's plan and purpose. We don't claim absolute truth, but we do know that Jesus has commanded us to love one another, and the good news is that in the father's house there is room for everyone.
Jesus tells us in John 10 that he is the good shepherd; he is the door through whom we find salvation. He also tells us that he has other sheep, not of this fold, and he must bring them also so that there will be one flock and one shepherd. When we start looking around the father's house, we might be surprised at who we will find in the many rooms.
Since Jesus has included all of us, shouldn't we include each other? Jesus never mentions the "sin" of homosexuality, but he does the sin of exclusion.
Sisters and brothers, let us love one another, for love is of God. The world will know that we are Christians by our love.
The Rev. Dr. Ray Howell III is senior minister at First Baptist Church on West Third Avenue.The Dispatch Online
Sincerely yours.