Various blogs have been hammering me for agreeing to speak to a group called the Gay Christian Network. I get tired of writing about this issue because it stirs up such a storm of controversy and little of the dialogue seems constructive. On the other hand, the church must keep engaging, and I know of no better way to engage than to hear the stories of Christians who are struggling personally with homosexuality. Some conservatives think the very term “Gay Christian” is an oxymoron. I wish they could attend a gathering such as the one I spoke to last week and hear the stories I heard. Rather than try to defend my decision just to speak to Gay Christians, I will quote here a letter from the head of GCN:
An Open Letter about Philip Yancey
From GCN’s Executive Director, Justin Lee
Since we announced that bestselling Christian author Philip Yancey would be addressing the GCN conference in 2011, questions have been flying, online and offline. “Is Philip Yancey pro-gay?” some have asked. “What are his views on homosexuality?” “Why would he agree to speak to this conference?” “Why would GCN invite him in the first place?”
Some have criticized me for extending the invitation, thinking an evangelical author like Philip is surely far too conservative to speak to a group like ours. Others have strongly condemned him for accepting the invitation, saying he’s condoning sin. Some have even called for other Christians to disassociate with him.
So I’d like to set the record straight on exactly what this conference is about and why we invited him.
When I was a teenager, I discovered to my horror that I was attracted to guys instead of girls. I was a deeply committed Christian growing up Southern Baptist, and I was firmly opposed to homosexuality in any form. Nevertheless, when I turned to my pastor, church, and Christian friends for prayer and support, they all turned their backs on me, condemning me for my temptations even though I hadn’t acted on them.
GCN began when I met other Christians who were in the same boat. All of us were struggling to figure out how to live holy lives with our same-sex attractions, and all of us had felt the church’s rejection. Some of us ultimately decided to commit ourselves to lifelong celibacy, while others of us decided to pursue monogamous relationships. In spite of our theological disagreements with one another, we all wanted to serve Christ, and we all longed for a Christian community that would hear our stories.
The annual GCN conference is a place for Christians to hear those stories and worship and pray together—gay and straight, women and men, some believing in gay marriage and some believing that gay people are called to celibacy. Our organization does not advocate for any viewpoint on gay marriage, gay rights, or any similar issue; our goal is simply to let people know that Jesus loves them and to provide a safe and compassionate space for the church to work through some of these difficult issues.
I invited Philip Yancey because I respect him as a Christian. I’ve always been impressed at how well he balances our need to live moral, holy lives as Christians with our need to have grace toward those who do things we disapprove of. I did not invite him because of any views he might or might not hold on gays; I invited him because this is a group of people who desperately need to hear not only that God loves them, but that other Christians do, too.
I have no idea what Philip’s views are on gay relationships, same-sex marriage, or anything of the sort. He’s never told me. Honestly, it wouldn’t affect my decision either way. That’s not the point.
Last year, we had a keynote delivered by Baptist minister and author Tony Campolo. Dr. Campolo believes that gay relationships are sinful, and he said so during his keynote address. He also received a standing ovation at the end—from an audience including some people in the very relationships he had just condemned. Why? Did they think he was supporting their decisions? Not at all. They applauded him because he was one of the very few Christians who would dare to reach out to them in love and say, “Even though I don’t agree with you, I love you. I hear your stories of pain, and I want to count you as my friends.” That message was powerful. It changed lives.
I don’t know what Philip Yancey will say in a few weeks when he addresses our audience. We’ve asked him only to say whatever God puts on his heart. I do know that his audience will be diverse: gay couples in monogamous relationships; same-sex-attracted Christians wrestling with the loneliness of celibacy; Christian parents struggling with how to respond to their gay children. One woman I know will be attending with a heavy heart, carrying the memories of her gay daughter, who committed suicide years ago after feeling her mother’s rejection.
As those people, with all their theological disagreements, come together to seek God’s heart, I can think of no one better equipped to speak to them than a man who has gained a reputation both as solidly evangelical and filled with grace toward others. And even though I’m sure he knew people would misconstrue it, I am so grateful that he had the courage to reach out to us in love. It is, I believe, exactly what Jesus would do.
Justin Lee
Executive Director
The Gay Christian Network
————————– (Note: if you have comments to make on this blog entry, please keep them brief and polite. I do not intend to make the blog a platform from which to condemn people holding different points of view. Also, please refrain from posting any URLs to personal blogs or other websites. Thank you. — Philip)
I am in the midst of reading: The Jesus I Never Knew by Yancey. I’m really enjoying the settlement between God’s Ideals as presented in the gospel and the Grace of God.
Basically I gleaned this in the first few chapters:
Anything that makes me feel comfortable with God’s moral standard is a cruel deception and anything that makes me feel discomfort with God’s forgiving love is also a cruel deception.
I was married for 20 years; I have 4 children. I am no longer married.
I am a lesbian Christian. Without hesitation I can say, it is because of my love relationship with a woman that I have a human to human sense of God’s love.
I believe with my whole heart that each day I live is for the purpose of drawing near to God – to be consumed by the love of God.
I have read the posts, and I hear the echo of the voices that call homosexuality a sin, but I have to tell you from my experience, the love I share with Diana is closer to reflecting God’s love than my own and many other heterosexual relationships.
I apologize if my upfront claim of love for another woman offends you. Perhaps we all should be careful not to allow the “rules” to overshadow what our heart knows.
Believe in the things only your heart can see.
Where on the scale of cruel deception do you/we/I land?
Christians have the tendency to define sin as a behaviour, rather than a mindset, perhaps because humanity has an obsession with certainty and catergories.
I went to a conference in New Zealand that Philip spoke at in 2003. At the end of this conference after Philip had left, some audience member rather spontaneously concluded the conference by coming out as gay and giving his testimony as a closet Christian homosexual. The question of how Christianity should respond to him was made that much more powerful coming on the heels of Philip’s teachings on grace and Jesus, and this was back before the morality of homosexuality became a hot topic for Christianity. When the boy commited suicide a few months later, it brought up the huge issues of categorizing sin and sinners and the effect of labelling them as such.
Now one of my best friends is an ex-christian who has recently come out as lesbian, and I am happy for her that she is in love with her first girlfriend. I’ve honestly never found anything negative to say. My own liberalism scares me. While I do feel that homosexuality is by nature less fulfilling than heterosexuality, I think it’s more of a flawed belief than a deliberate choice.
Which is what sin is really, anyway.
And I can’t help feeling that the way we say what is sin and what isn’t, is a little like the Tree Of The Knowledge Of Good And Evil (in Genesis) that got Adam and Eve ruined.
sorry it’s long….
Hi,
I was listening to one of my favorite christian radio show when Mr. Yancey was a guest of that show. I am a born again christian but never heard of him before. So i wanted to know more of that christian man when i found this website. I feel so bad that christians are using other christians as standards. Sins are sins, yes. But because some other christian is living in sin doesn’t make it okay for any christian to decide to “live in sin” and ignore the beginning of human creation by our Lord. Male and female he created. we can’t choose what to believe in the Bible. We can’t also not pretend to love sinners when we accept sins and agree with people deciding to live in sins. Jesus said to the woman “Go and sin no more” not ” Go and try to deal with your sins”. Jesus has the power to make us holy. Living as gay or lesbian is deciding to make your own decision when it comes to your sexual orientation instead of letting God and the truth of the Bible direct your path. I pray everyday for gay and lesbians so the truth can come to them. But christians proudly describing themselves as gay or lesbian christian is an abomination in itself.
An 18th Century Christian once said, “How do you know someone is a Christian? When they believe all of the Bible.” To pick and choose is to reject God and make our own will the ultimate authority in accepting what we like and rejecting what we do not like. This is the first human sin in the Garden. Of course, Christians should be kind to homosexuals, but the most kind thing to those who, according to Scripture, will not inherit the kingdom of heaven is to tell them the truth. What often passes for grace is no more than fear of reproach from the culture, to be viewed as a mean spirited fundamentalist. Grace and truth go together. One cannot have one without the other. To love homosexuals is to tell them the truth with grace, despite the fact that they may hate us for it. When we are afraid of being rejected or called names we are thinking of ourselves, not the person who is on the precipice of a Christless eternity in hell. Grace is amazing, that God would pay the judicial penalty for our sin as our substitute, but we should not confuse grace with being afraid to tell people the truth or affirming them in sin for which they will be judged by God. We may win their accolades, but at their expense, a costly expense at that.
Thank you for reaching out with love and grace.
I just pray that the church at large may come to a place of humility where when we are tempted to judge others, we may stop and first take a look at the darkness that lurks so hidden (or so we think) in our self, remember the grace extended to us, and then ask God how HE would have us approach the person.
Oh, if only we could get it through our collective thick layer of pride that God said He would heal our land not when we make others conform to our doctrine, but when we, the church, confess our sins, repent of our sins, and turn from our wicked ways.