Last week, pictures circulated Facebook encouraging people to support
Chick-Fil-A on August 1. Initially, I didn’t notice the cause because
it doesn’t take much to convince me to eat tasty food! With this
attitude, I shared one of the pictures with this statement: “This sounds
like a great excuse to eat Chick-Fil-A to me!” I had no idea the
firestorm I was about to walk into. I was blindsided by the outrage and
attacks that came from some of my friends who hold values different
than my own.
So much has been published about last week’s event
that I wonder if I can actually contribute any new or pertinent ideas to
this discussion. Joe Dallas wrote “
To My Angry Gay Friend”
which I believe is the best Christian response to the LGBT community I
have read. I however have no intention of composing an apologetic post
to last week’s event, but will attempt to express some thoughts that I
think are particularly important to pastors and Christians as we
navigate these interesting times.
Christ Crucified.
In
this discussion, along with other hot buttons in our culture, I have
seen Christian leaders opt out of the conversation for the sake keeping
Christ crucified as the only message. I agree with this position at
first glance. I certainly don’t want to minimize the Gospel—the death,
burial, and resurrection of Christ is the jugular vein of Christianity.
It is the message of hope to a dead world whom God loves and has called
us to reach. The stance of preaching Christ crucified alone has been
my response to a number issues in the past, but in all honesty I
question my motives sometimes as I feel like I am hiding behind the
Gospel for the sake of not having to take a controversial stance on a
particular issue that is critical, sensitive, or divisive.
I guess
the ultimate question at hand is does the Bible call Christians to be
Switzerland (i.e. neutral and passive) on all issues outside of our
message Christ crucified, or does Christ call the redeemed person to
challenge the fallen culture in which they live as they proclaim Christ
crucified? In seeking to answer this question an article in Time
Magazine (go figure) helped me square this issue as it relates to my
calling as a pastor. The article essentially asked Jerry Falwell how he
dealt with Billy Graham’s criticisms of his political involvement. His
response was something along the lines of, “Billy Graham is an
evangelist called to lead people to Christ. I am a pastor called to
lead people to maturity in Christ.” I found this response to be helpful
and insightful as it shows Billy Graham's goal was to remove all
barriers outside of the Cross. Jerry Falwell's goal was to lead people
to Christ and then equip them to live out their faith in Christ.
There is a story in
Acts 19
that I find particularly relevant to the debate in our land today. If
you don’t remember this story, let me refresh your memory here. Paul
had entered into Ephesus, and ministered there for about two years (
Acts 19:10).
God used Paul’s ministry in a mighty way. Many came to Christ and
lives were transformed. Their lifestyles changed and it affected the
local economy radically. One of the local businessmen was financially
devastated because so many of his clients accepted Jesus as Lord. He
pulled the "silversmith union" together try to stop the Gospel because
it had utterly destroyed his industry and livelihood (
Acts 19:27)
as the Christians essentially boycotted their services. This is a
story that clearly demonstrates the Gospel penetrates further than the
soul of the individual it saved, but to everything touched by the saved
individual. The Bible seems to encourage believers to give preference
of doing good to those of the household of faith (Galatians 6:10).
Maybe it isn't even an intentional action by a group of believers, but
rather an organic byproduct of a group of people living according to
Kingdom standards as revealed in the Scriptures? Nonetheless, it seems
to me the whole August 1 event was a display of support and blessing a
corporation that stands for Biblical values. Quite frankly, I was
pleased to see Christians stand united for something they were for
instead of the rallying against a particular cause that Christians have
deemed inappropriate.
History records that the majority of people
are silent as their culture is making a shift in a bad direction or
towards evil. I love what Bonhoeffer said in his context of Nazi
Germany, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold
us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” The most
difficult thing for me is determining which things are worth standing
for and what things are not. But I am certain that the majority of
people choose silence instead of doing the right thing in the face of
opposition. Cowardice is not a Biblical virtue. Christ instructs His
followers “not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but
instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the
things which are done by them in secret.” (
Ephesians 5:11-12)
Our Citizenship.
In
Philippians 3:20,
Paul teaches that believers in Christ are citizens of heaven. The
lesson is clear that we live in a world filled with pain and sorrow and
we are pilgrims passing through a foreign land. I became a Christian
while serving as a US Navy SEAL. To say that I saw myself as a patriot
would be an understatement. During those early years God began to
challenge my confusion, or syncretism, with my American citizenship and
my new Christian citizenship. God used the above passage to help me
shape my new identity in Christ. Does our new identity in Christ negate
our earthly citizenship? I don’t think so. Paul wrote this letter
while under house arrest in Rome. He was in Rome because he used the
benefits of his Roman citizenship, as he did in a number of other
places, to appeal to Caesar (
Acts 25:11). Clearly Paul was okay using his Roman citizenship for the sake of the Gospel.
In Paul’s letter to the Romans he instructs believers to be in “subjection to the governing authorities.” (
Romans 13:1)
American Christians, in large part, have had the easiest job in obeying
this command in comparison to other believers throughout history. The
United States is a governing authority that is of the people, by the
people, for the people, and was born out of strong Judeo-Christian
values. One of our greatest privileges as Americans is the right to
vote. It saddens me that so few people who are eligible to vote
actually register to vote and very few of those who are registered to
vote actually exercise that right. I do believe that we as pastors
should encourage believers to register and to prayerfully consider who
to cast their vote toward.
Clarity Beats Agreement.
As
a final word, I’ve been going crazy over statements made in the midst
of this whole Chick-Fil-A discussion. I am shocked by the attacks
against Christians and even more shocked by the Biblical illiteracy of
the average believer as the Bible is clear concerning God's position on
homosexuality. I would like to end with a quote from Rick Warren as it
helps untangle some of the false accusations and assumptions made in
this discussion. He said, “I am not allowed by Jesus to hate anyone.
Our culture has accepted two huge lies: The first is that if you
disagree with someone’s lifestyle, you must fear them or hate them. The
second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they
believe or do. Both are nonsense. You don’t have to compromise
convictions to be compassionate.”
Posts
