To recap, from the Soulforce press release above:
Quote:
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The conciliatory and grateful tone of the remarks [May 24] offers a sharp contrast to Jackson's recent appearance on the Christian Broadcasting Network News [May 27], where Jackson characterized the families as "irrational," "heathen," and "aggressive."
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CBN News: Interview with Bishop Harry Jackson
~begin transcript~
Wendy Griffith: A gay rights group is trying to confront six mega churches across the US. Over the weekend the group met with Bishop Harry Jackson of Hope Christian Center in Maryland. The Washington Times reports 30 conservative black Pentecostals dined with 30 of the activists. Members of Soulforce say the talks are designed to force the conversation about faith, family, and homosexuality, to a national level. Other churches that have been targeted include Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church, and T.D. Jakes’ The Potter’s House.
Bishop Harry Jackson joins us now from Washington, and Bishop Jackson, you met with members of Soulforce over the weekend, what happened?
Bishop Harry Jackson: Well, they had their old spiel. You know, they’re out to get civil rights, they’re out to change the nature of marriage, and to be included in the Church. Over the years they’ve been aggressive, and this group has had a reputation of having sit ins, being arrested, holding up placards, and there was a veiled threat that if we didn’t talk, they were going to act out. So we said come in, the night before, and we had a little bit of a debate, we shared the Gospel with them, and it was an amazing time, where, I believe we learned a little bit about their strategy.
There’s nothing to be afraid of. Ultimately we need to recognize, as the Church, that these folks are sinners, and that the Gospel of Jesus Christ can overcome any kind of sin, from drunkenness to homosexuality. Sometimes we try to make it so deep that we’re fighting some kind of foe that we can’t defeat. But Wendy, it’s important to note, that with the California ruling, the next decade, we’re going to deal with things like hate crimes, Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and the gay community has targeted the Church as it’s ultimate arch enemy.
Wendy Griffith: Well let me ask you this, I understand that while the group did not back down, at least one life was changed during the service. Tell us about that.
Bishop Harry Jackson: Well what happened was, we decided that we’d meet the night before, and during the regular service, I’d preach a message entitled: “Jesus, the ultimate liberator.” And we preached that from the scripture Saint John, that if you continue in His Word, then the truth shall set you free.
A openly gay man, who is HIV positive, who was not apart of that group got saved that day. But it was a sign to us, as he came forward, that God’s Word is greater than any of these kinds of attacks.
Wendy Griffith: Wow. Well you’re church is one of six churches targeted by the group. What do they hope to accomplish, and what are they doing at churches that won’t meet with them?
Bishop Harry Jackson: Well, churches that won’t meet with them, like Lakewood wouldn’t meet with them early on, and they had a little placard and they stood someplace in the city, and they had a press conference, calling them all kind of names--it’s a subtle form of intimidation. And Wendy, you may be aware that I’ve had death threats by openly gay groups, and it was interesting in our debates, as we talked with them, and I mentioned this fact, they kind of shrugged that off. And one of the guys came up and said, well, our people are under the threat of death every day of their lives, in a sense, you’re just feeling what we feel all the time.
Wendy Griffith: A'heh!…I’m not getting the logic there…a'heh..
Bishop Harry Jackson: No, I don’t get it either, but the thing is that they are irrational. I believe that many of them want to be Christians, but it is a counterfeit Gospel that is being preached. And their ultimate goal is a four fold fight. They’re fighting on a PR front, they’re fighting on a legal front, they’re fighting also on a generational front, that our children will be more open to the gay lifestyle. And then finally, they’re fighting on a doctrinal front. They want to be included in the warmth and [roof?] of our society, and I think we need to, according to Psalm 2, believe that God will give us the heathen as our inheritance. And if they want to call themselves a gay nation, then I believe that Jesus can win every nation by winning those aggressive people to Christ, as he did in our Sunday morning service.
Wendy Griffith: Well said. Bishop Harry Jackson, thanks as always for being with us today.
Bishop Harry Jackson: Thank you.
~end transcript~