Category Archives: news

Louis Giglio Will NOT Lead Inaugural Prayer

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GiglioLouis Giglio is an Atlanta Area pastor that recently became well known for organizing Passion 2013.  Some 60,000 college students met at the Georgia Dome to rally against sex-trafficking and slavery.  Some of my own friends were there and posted regularly on Facebook, while others were able to view live streams.  Giglio, possibly riding the success of Passion, was invited to lead prayer at President Obama’s inauguration on January 21st.

After further investigation, gay and lesbian groups found a sermon from the 1990’s in which Giglio preached the sinfulness of same-sex relationships. The inaugural committee has now released this statement: “We were not aware of Pastor Giglio’s past comments at the time of his selection and they don’t reflect our desire to celebrate the strength and diversity of our country at this inaugural…”

In other words, Pastor Giglio does not support gay marriage and the inaugural committee will look for a “Christian” that does to pray for the president.  Read the full story here.

 

 

Supreme Court Will Hear Same Sex Marriages Cases

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wedding ringsThe U.S. Supreme Court will hear cases concerning California’s Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act.  Prop 8 was passed by California voters defining traditional marriage after the state’s Supreme Court upheld gay marriage rights.  The Defense of Marriage Act, passed by Congress in 1996, means that the federal government does not have to recognize gay marriages performed in the states in which they are legal.

The cases will be heard in March, on the 26th and 27th respectively.  The High Court’s decision(s) could lead to the legalization of gay marriage nationwide or the affirmation of current laws.  Gay marriage is currently legal in nine states, while 30 states have constitutional amendments defining marriage as between one man and one woman.

READ MORE HERE. 

Here’s Our Chance

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Today is Halloween, which happens to be one of a long list of things Christians disagree about.  At our house we carve a Jack-o-lantern and hand out candy, relegating the holiday to a children’s event only.  We have good friends that turn off all their lights, go to bed early, and complain that people still knock on their door.  Christians disagree on celebrating Christmas, voting in elections, serving in the military, consuming alcohol, and even the use of caffeine.  How Christians feel about _______ always depends on which one you ask.

Hurricane Sandy may go down in history as the worst weather-related disaster in our nation’s history.  This is our chance to be the body of Christ.  More than teaching rhetoric, Jesus taught his disciples to go and do.   Continue reading →

Can Christians Vote for a Mormon

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Can Christians Vote for a Mormon?  That was the topic of a panel discussion at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.  When I saw the headline, I couldn’t believe we were still talking about this.  The panel resulted in some good points being made about viewing American history from a Christian perspective and abandoning the idea that the White House is some king of mascot for Christianity.  I like this statement from Al Mohler:   “Above all we have a Gospel responsibility, that we are first and foremost citizens of the heavenly Kingdom and our concern is that others will become a part of the Kingdom through the proclamation of the Gospel.”

The panel was composed of four members, among them Al Mohler, Jr., President of Southern Baptist Seminary and Russell Moore, dead of the school of theology at Southern.  Despite a little shock at the headline (and maybe that was the point) I really liked where they came out on this.  Read the entire article at Baptist Press.  

 

 

FRC Shooting Leads to Calls for Civil Discourse

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A lone gunman entered the Family Research Council in Washington D.C. and shot an unarmed security guard before being subdued.  The only thing he said before opening fire was “I do not like your politics.”  There have been a lot of accusations from both sides, conservative and liberal, about who is at fault.  The most sensible thing I’ve read all week is a statement from Richard Land, president of the SBC Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission: “”We need to lift the level of civil discourse where we can disagree without demonizing our opponents.”  Ed Stetzer wrote on his blog “We must be able to disagree without demonizing or labeling as ‘haters’ those with whom we disagree.” Continue reading →

Chick-fil-A Drama Play by Play

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The Chick-fil-a saga continues, and some would argue has gotten ridiculous.  Here’s a timeline, a play by play if you will, of how we ended up where we are.  The story has been picked up by national media, who of course are reporting many facts wrongly.

  1. Dan Cathy is interviewed by Ken Coleman, a radio talk show host in Atlanta.  The link I had to the interview is longer valid, but Cathy did remark that America is inviting God’s judgement.  That broadcast was over a month ago, and there was no social media attention nor public outrage in the weeks that followed.
  2. Last week this interview was published by the Baptist Press.  Cathy says in the interview there is no such thing as a Christian company.  A company cannot be lost or saved but individuals are.  A company can however be run according to Christian principles.   Continue reading →

As For Me and My House, We Will Eat at Chick-fil-A.

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Thousands of conservatives protested JC Penny when they announced that Ellen DeGeneres would be their new spokesperson.  (If you recall, I cited the ridiculousness of such a boycott).  In light of Christians calling on others in their ranks to boycott Disney, JC Penny, or (retailer of the week) for supporting gay marriage we should not be surprised that gay and lesbian groups are calling for organized boycotts against Chick-fil-A for their public stance on supporting the family.

Please read this article, published by Denny Burk, titled Chick-fil-A and the Irony of the Tolerance Policy.  I will offer a couple of excerpts but strongly encourage reading the original piece. Continue reading →

When the Church Does Not Understand the Gospel

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We’ve all seen the same news stories, right?  A pastor in North Carolina (Charles Worley) suggests we put all the “gays” inside an electric fence, provide food and water, and wait for them to die out.  Another pastor in Kansas sites Old Testament scripture that homosexuals should be stoned to death.  And then there’s the kid with the questionable song lyrics, but let’s leave him to his parents.  In the first place he is a minor; secondly, and more importantly, he is probably a reflection of his parents’ world view and has not yet developed his own.

The internet can give a national or even global voice to writers, preachers, etc. that are in otherwise obscure places (such as myself).  What I think we’re really dealing with in the North Carolina story is culture shock.  Fundamentalist preachers in the Carolina’s, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky and so forth probably say a hundred things every week that would shock people, including Christians, from other backgrounds.  I can only imagine what would happen if journalists in New York started listening to every fundamentalist, Pentecostal, charismatic or even Southern Baptist sermon from below the Mason-Dixon line each week. Continue reading →

Marriage Equality in the United States

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The Christian blogosphere is lit up with Obama’s public support for gay marriage rights in the United States.  My post yesterday was a knee-jerk reaction to hearing the news.  That post is about the biblical definition of marriage, that goes off on a tangent of America not being a “Christian nation.”  This post is more about the news: Obama supports gay marriage rights, some demographics, and speculation about this election year.

Obama coming out in support of what he calls marriage equality comes just a few days after Biden made similar remarks on NBC’s Meet the Press.  Others in his administration were making similar statements and there is speculation that Obama was somewhat pressured into taking a similar stance.  Even if that’s how he already felt personally, this is the strongest statement he has ever made regarding gay and lesbian rights.  We now have an American president that public supports gay and lesbian marriage. Continue reading →

Is Mitt Romney a Christian?

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Is Mitt Romney a Christian?  Are Mormons Christian?

Many others have already posted on this.  Here’s the article that got me thinking.  My issue has less to do with Romney’s faith than with the significance of a candidates faith when considering a president.  But first things first.

Are Mormons Christian?  The short answer is yes, but it comes with a lot of baggage to unpack.  Mormons, who would prefer to be called Latter Day Saints or LDS, read the Bible and believe in Jesus Christ.  Anyone worshiping Christ is a Christian in that sense.  As a believer in Christ, Romney falls in that classification.  But that’s not all Mormons believe. Continue reading →