Pelvic Politics

My daughter e-mailed me a story from The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) dated June 17, 2010: “Bellevue says ‘you’re out,’ gay softball coach claims.” If you don’t want to read the news story, let me fill you in quickly. Bellevue Baptist Church, where I served for nine years as a minister, kicked a softball team out of their league because the coach was a lesbian.

Was the church playing hardball with this switch hitter?

My daughter asked what I thought, appropriately entitling her e-mail, “This is where it gets tricky…” Here’s my response:

I heard Richard Land,  President of The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, tell a story recently about meeting a priest who inquired, “Why are you Southern Baptists so hung up on ‘pelvic politics’?” The priest was referring to Southern Baptist’s hot-button issues of abortion and homosexuality. Land astutely observed that people like this just don’t get it.

They think the issue is sex.

It’s not.

Don’t get me wrong. Homosexuality is sin. It is condemned multiple times in both the Old (Leviticus 18:22) and New Testaments (Romans 1:26-27). But cliche as it may be, God hates the sin. God loves the sinner. And sexual sin is just one category of sin—no better, no worse than other sin. God hates all sin—my sin, your sin. Furthermore, nearly everyone is guilty of some kind of sexual sin, since Jesus said that to even look lustfully equals adultery in the heart (Matthew 5:28).

So sexual sin is not really the issue here.

If you survey reader comments on the story—and the story generated nearly 1,000 comments in 24 hours, five times more than any other story that day—most people criticized the church for a lack of love and grace, or for hypocrisy and inconsistency. Most of the comments were sheer ignorance, and I mean that word in its classic sense, absolute ignorance of Bible hermeneutics. I don’t have time to even begin refuting them. And it doesn’t really matter because love and grace and consistency in responding to sin is not the issue either.

The issue in this case is clear and simple:

Unrepentance.

If the woman in question would have had a godly response to the confrontation about her sin—agreeing with God that it is wrong and repenting of it, then the church would have been right to let her and the team stay. But she openly and defiantly confessed to being gay and was not willing to turn away.

You may be puzzled by why I think an unrepentant heart is the central issue.

Because if sin alone—any sin: homosexuality, alcohol abuse, gluttony, anger, lust, idolatry, envy, just go down any catalog of sin (Galatians 5:19-21)—if sin alone disqualifies one from playing softball, we would all strike out. No hits, no runs, all errors.

But this woman not only sins, she professes her sin openly and defiantly. It’s an on-going lifestyle for her. Not a stumble. The Bible has much to say about wicked people who boast of their sin and think they are beyond the arm of God’s judgment. For starters, read Psalm 10.

So, if the woman humbly repents, she’s safe. But since she was unrepentant, Bellevue had no choice but to call her out. The fact that she was the coach, in a leadership position and held to even higher standards, made it even more clear cut.

I pity and pray for Jana J. Jacobson. Her sexual disorientation is not the issue. Her issue is an unrepentant heart and an open arrogance toward her sin. The church did not declare her guilty. God did. Bellevue simply read the verdict. She, however, could have appealed to the Judge and received a full pardon. Instead she chose to take the punishment herself. People don’t ultimately go to hell because of their sin. They go to hell because they reject the Savior. No, this isn’t a case of “pelvic politics.” Sex is not the issue. Rejecting God is. It is not, however, too late for her. She can still apply the grace and mercy that God offers. What a story that would be, if she repented, got saved, and the church restored the team. God, let it be. Jana, I’m praying for you.

Not I, but Christ…

—From my Prayer Journal, November 25, 2003

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” —Galatians 2:20

Not my goals, but His.

Not my pride, but His praise.

Not my strength, but His.

Not my sin, but His holiness.

Not my revenge, but His.

Not my lack of faith, but His faithfulness.

Not my effort, but His overflow.

Not my provision, but His abundance.

Not my understanding, but His omniscience.

Not my self-pity, but His glory.

Not my trials, but His faith process.

Not my plans, but His.

Not my results, but His.

Not my ingenuity, but His creativity.

Not my temporalness, but His eternality.

Not my pettiness, but His overarching purposes.

Not my self-focus, but Him.

Not my objects of worship, but Him.

Not my sorrow, but His joy.

Not my selfishness, but His selflessness.

Not my striving, but His power.

Not my ministry, but His.

Not me, Him.

I’d love to hear your own “Not I, but Christ” phrases. Please leave your comments…

The Old Violin

Here is one of my favorite paintings. It’s entitled “The Old Violin.” I’ve liked it since first grade, when it hung on the wall of the Music Room at Glendover Elementary School. Our music teacher Miss Haney passed on to us a love of music and even a surprising amount of music theory, such as the melodic themes of “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.” She had six toes. It’s odd the things we remember. I remember more of my teachers from elementary school than I can the rest of school. She asked the class one day to name their favorite song. The majority said “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head,” a big hit for B.J. Thomas in  1969.

Glendover was run like a military school by Principal Bess Roberts. She would grab you by the ears and shake the living daylights out of you while administering a deadly Vulcan pinch. I landed in her office on more than one occasion where she proudly displayed her paddle with holes drilled in it to increase the velocity of the swing and ferociousness of the sting.  Once I stole a poor kid’s chocolate bar and sat it on the filmstrip projector, which melted it, ruining both the candy bar and the projector. Another time we filled the heater blowers with those little round circles of paper that you get out of hole punchers. When we suggested to the class nerd that he go turn the heat on, the room was filled with paper punch graffiti. There are many more tales of my “Wonder Years” childhood at Glendover. But enough stream of consciousness babble for now. I’ll just summarize by saying that although we thought Glendover was a harsh place at the time, looking back, I believe I got one of the best elementary educations that I could ask for, er, for which I could ask. Enjoy the painting…

The Old Violin by William Michael Harnett

William Michael Harnett (1848-1892)

Oil on canvas
24″ x 3′ 2″
1888
National Gallery of Art, Washington

Harnett innovated a trompe l’oeil (“trick the eye”) style of painting still lifes, in which he made everyday objects look hyper-realistic.

Let me throw out a question for discussion…Which style of paintings and artists do you admire most–those who lean more torwards realism or towards more interpretive styles, such as impressionism?

The Final Frontier of Civil Rights

I sent the following as a “Letter to the Editor” to the Lexington Herald-Leader, our daily newspaper:

“Does anyone see the hypocrisy in Merlene Davis, the “Horrid-Misleader” editors, and the Democratic party? They attack Rand Paul, insisting that business owners do not have the right to chose whom they serve. And yet they turn around and say individuals do have the right to chose death for their unborn children. Abortion is the ultimate civil rights issue. How inconsistent it is to abhor slavery and racism, and yet murder innocent, defenseless unborn children. I pray for the day that abortion will be no more, a dark part of our nation’s history just like slavery and other civil rights violations of our past.”

At this point, abortionists usually counter with two moves–one, defensive, and the other, offensive. Defensively, they say something like, “Although I don’t personally believe in abortion, I believe a woman should have the right to choose.” Of course, any second grader can see the fallacy in that logic. Do we let individuals decide whether or not they wear seat belts or text and drive? If abortion is morally wrong, it should be prohibited.

Offensively, abortionists often point out that many who believe in abortion also believe in capital punishment, a seeming contradiction. Not all killing, however, is murder. Killing in self-defense is justified. Just wars and capital punishment are simply self-defense at a societal level.

Abortion is murder. It is killing an innocent, defenseless, voiceless human being. And make no mistake, a fetus is a human being. It has a gender, unique DNA, often a beating heart–and a future. Abortion is the most heinous civil rights violation of all. How can a president who calls Abraham Lincoln his hero and who has benefited so much from the progress America has made in the civil rights arena, how can he nominate two Supreme Court justices who will virtually guarantee that the civil rights of unborn children remain in the dark ages for generations to come.

The Spirit of an Artist

¹ Then the LORD said to Moses, ² “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, ³ and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts- ⁴ to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, ⁵ to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship. Exodus 31:1-5

If you’re an artist, designer, or craftsman, you’ll really benefit from this passage. Notice how when God chose a person to craft His tabernacle–a beautifully ornamented masterpiece designed by the Supreme Creative Director–the first gift He gave the person was “the Spirit of God.” Only then, were added the skill gifts: ability and knowledge in crafts. God’s artists must have His Spirit or all one’s abilities will be lifeless. Lord, fill me with your Spirit before I begin any project for you. Then, You design it, and I will craft it.

A coda to this story…first, God’s Spirit fills the artist (Exodus 31:3), then God’s Spirit fills the art (Exodus 40:34-38). God filled His tabernacle with His glory. Lord, fill me as I create. Then fill what I create for Your glory.

Know. Be. Do.

Every life has a theme. Like a novel, it takes a few pages for the theme to crystallize. It took about 30 years for me to figure out mine.

Know.

Be.

Do.

Eight letters. Three words. One simple message.

I’ve always been one to try to distill a message, a life, a truth down to its irreducible essence. So I can remember it. Keep focused on it. Live it.

I believe the Bible is our guiding light for living life. And during the first 20 or so years of my life, I had it reduced  down to one word which I tried to live by. Do.

I believed that the Christian life was summed up in the word “do.” God saved me when I was 19. But I had grown up in church. And so my concept of the Christian life already centered around the word “do.” I had a list of dos and don’ts for Christians. And I, the king of “To Do” lists, even had a “To Do” list of things I needed to do—or stop doing—now that I had become a Christian. I started working my way down that list, ticking off items one by one and feeling like I was progressing nicely as a Christian.

But I was drifting off into legalism, where your external actions are the most important measure of your Christian walk and where God is primarily a judging, wrathful God who waited to zap me every time I messed up—which was constantly.

That’s when I discovered that the Christian walk was not all about “do,” but more about “be.” I needed to focus more on being who I am in Christ—a brand new person who is complete in Christ, who is completely forgiven, fully pleasing to God, and totally accepted and deeply loved by Him (check out Search for Significance by Robert S. McGee).

When the lights finally came on to this truth, I began to focus more on the internal than the external. And what I discovered is that if you focus on the internal, the external seems to take care of itself.

I even developed a formula for integrity. Be = Do. Be who you are in Christ, and you will do what He wants you to do. And that’s the very definition of integrity. Total consistency and agreement between who you are (be) and how you behave (do).

So I had learned a lot about myself that made me see God in a different light. But I wasn’t quite through yet. Because although I had learned a lot about the nature of me, I had hit a plateau in my Christian walk. Focusing on the internal had its limitations. God had one final word He wanted to add to my little life theme: Know.To know Him more and more. That’s a focus on the eternal. Because as I get to know Him, I will understand how He relates to me, and how I relate to Him. I will see myself as He sees me. That’s “Be.” And then once I understand who He is (Know) and who I am (Be), I will be prepared and motivated to act as He wants (Do). So here are the focal points:

Know—focus on the eternal.

Be—focus on the internal.

Do—focus on the external.

I believe that God even assigns a particular member of the Holy Trinity to superintend each of these realms.

God the Son (Jesus) set the supreme example for all our actions (Do).

God the Holy Spirit guides our spirit with regard to who we are (Be).

God the Father created us so that we could relate to Him (Know).

We see this Know-Be-Do triad all through Scripture, but my favorite passage that illustrates it is 1 John 5:13-21. The apostle John is the “know” writer in the Bible, using the word way more often than any other writer. John uses the word “know” a number of times in this passage. But what’s  interesting is that when he gets to the end, he uses a different Greek word for “know” the final time in verse 20, “that we might know him that is true.” The other “knows” in the passage are head-knowledge knows. But this last one is a special word that means “know” in an intimate way, the way a husband and wife know each other, the way sheep know the shepherd’s voice. God wants us to know Him in the most intimate way possible. That’s why He created us.

Another way of looking at it is through the three-part nature of man. Created in the likeness of God, man is a three-part being: physical (body), mental (mind, will, emotions), and spiritual. Each of these parts has a focal point:

Know—Spiritual

Be—Mental

Do—Physical

There’s so much more I could write about this theme of my life—Know. Be. Do. But the bottom line is that our main purpose for existing is to know God. To the extent that we know Him, we will begin to see ourselves for who we really are—no more, no less—and once we live in an awareness of Who He is and who we are in Christ, we will live out our lives—not naturally, but supernaturally—in trust and obedience.

So, I endeavor to live my life in a lifelong quest to know God better and better each day. To study the Scriptures for information about His character and how He relates to me. And to look for His hand in everyday life. The rest takes care of itself.

Know. Do. Be. Eight letters. Three words. What could be simpler? And what could be more complex? It takes a lifetime just to scratch the surface. But we have all eternity to get to know Him better.