Call for Clarity

The Bible is very clear about God's standards, how we have not and can never meet His standards, but how Christ has come to redeem us so that we might have fellowship with God the Father.  Titus 2
says:
11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men,
12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age,
13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

So, how do we define "lawless deed?"  The Scriptures show us what pleases God and what violates His principles.  And, we have the guiding and convicting power of the Holy Spirit.  So, if we're are open as we come before the Lord, we can depend on Him to illuminate areas that He wants to transform.  But, we cannot go in with preconceived notions, making the determination ourselves about what is and isn't OK; we are not to withhold any area from Him - in humility, we allow Him to do His desired work for His glory.

+++++

Jesus invites all to come before Him and experience His truth, His mighty power, and His ability to
forgive a person's sin and to experience His redemption. Colossians 1 says:
13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

There's a new rating service for churches, and on the surface, it seems to be something that would be useful. But, considering the background of the leaders of it, it does raise some important concerns.

It's a website called ChurchClarity.org.  Jonathan Merritt of Religion News Service has already spotlighted it - basically the "clarity" is on one issue: a church's response to LGBT individuals.  Merritt states:

Today, a new organization, Church Clarity, launched an online database that will score churches’ positions on the issue and rate each congregation as either “affirming” or “non-affirming.”

The organization claims to be neutral on the issue, but visitors will be excused from assuming otherwise based on the organization’s leadership. Two of CC’s co-founders — Tim Schraeder, who identifies as gay, and Sarah Ngu, who identifies as queer — are clearly more progressive on the issue. The third, George Mekhail, identifies as straight but serves at the LGBT-affirming Riverside Church in Manhattan.

Merritt believes "CC’s mission is one that many conservative Christians should embrace. Many evangelicals have decried the theological ambiguity of some churches and have called for greater clarity on the matter."  The Church Clarity website has four scores: Clear, Unclear, Undisclosed, or Actively Discerning.  What's unclear is how these are actually determined: it looks like the church's website is a tool for determining the score, as well as submissions to the site.

The question becomes: is a church really going to put an "LGBT policy" on its website - isolating just that one area? To me, it seems to place a greater emphasis that one matter than it deserves.  After all, Jesus Christ died for ALL sin, not just for one!  But, we do have to consider this has become such a contentious issue, even among Christians, not to mention the relationship of the Church and society at large.

Rod Dreher of The American Conservative, author of the book, The Benedict Option, agrees with the concept of the website.  He quotes David Gushee, whom he calls a "liberal evangelical," who wrote at ReligionNews.com:

It turns out that you are either for full and unequivocal social and legal equality for LGBT people, or you are against it, and your answer will at some point be revealed. This is true both for individuals and for institutions.

Neutrality is not an option. Neither is polite half-acceptance. Nor is avoiding the subject. Hide as you might, the issue will come and find you.

Dreher states:

It’s pretty clear that Church Clarity is interested in policing churches from the Christian left. If this were a conservative Christian website, there would be no end of caterwauling from the media and elsewhere about these horrible conservative inquisitors, blah blah blah. This site will be greeted by those same people as a tool for advancing social justice. I can live with that hypocrisy, and still be glad for the clarity this site provides, and compels congregations to embrace.

It’s important. This matters. This winnowing is sad and painful, and is going to be even sadder and more painful. But it can no longer be avoided. The differences are significant, and irreconcilable.

He adds, in response to a reader comment: "...this website starts out as a consumer service (it claims), but as others say, it will be ultimately be used to pressure, shame, and ultimately to persecute dissenting congregations — all in the name of social justice." He adds, "I welcome the Church Clarity site because it clears away the obfuscation and wishful thinking about what’s really going on in this struggle, and what’s really at stake in trying to be a faithful Christian in our time."  

And, in a chilling update, the Church Clarity blog says that "they are going to use this data to make sure that churches “earn” their tax-exempt status. Translation: data collected will ultimately be used in a federal civil rights lawsuit against dissenting churches. There it is. This was always in the cards. It was never about tolerance, but coercion. With Church Clarity, we now have, well, clarity."

Well, I still contend that "clarity" is in the eye of the beholder.  But, I do think that churches and individual Christians need to be clear on where they stand on issues surrounding homosexuality and the LGBT agenda, including same-sex marriage.  Dreher mentioned the importance of the Nashville Statement, which incorporates Biblical principles about sexuality.  

But, I also contend that a person can be "welcoming" toward LGBT people without being "affirming."  Issuing a "warning" about a particular church can thwart the work that the Holy Spirit wants to do in the life of a person by connecting with a congregation.  We should all be eager for all who are sinners, and that includes all of us, to enter into a life-changing encounter with the living Lord.  We should be desirous to see all, including those who identify as LGBT, come into the presence of the Holy Spirit as the Word is preached, as His people worship together, and as they fellowship together.  

Bottom line: all are welcome.  Those who commit sin are invited into the presence of God; but we do not tolerate sin; rather we are to appropriate the redemption for which Jesus died.  God wants to forgive those in sexual sin, those who are addicted to life-controlling substances, those who have committed crimes against others or crimes of the heart.  But, when you come to church, when you submit to the Word, you can expect to be changed.  Unfortunately, those who adhere to the LGBT lifestyle apparently don't want to change; they want their lifestyle to be accepted - that's not the role of the church.