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I am a Log Cabin Christian

The Log Cabin Republicans adopted their name in honor of Abraham Lincoln who was born in a log cabin and ushered in a ‘new birth of freedom.’ They exist to encourage their party to choose fairness over discrimination, equality over bigotry, hope over fear, and freedom over oppression.

Today I declare myself to be a Log Cabin Christian.  I make this declaration not to endorse  any political party or movement, but to say that I choose fairness, equality, hope and freedom. I am now a Log Cabin Christian because I choose to support people who love each other in gaining the right to join in marriage; I choose to support people being committed; I choose to support people saying I want no one but you. I am for people wanting to love someone until death do they part. I am for consensual sex within marriage. I am of the opinion that commitment to one another and specifically commitment through marriage makes our society stronger.  I do this knowing that I still have inner conflict with some difficult verses in the Bible. I also do this knowing that if I am not 100% sure of difficult verses, I will err on the side of loving someone like I love myself. Not too long ago, I was really sure of what I believed about a lot of things, but lately I have been doing some tobogganing (see previous posts) with people who have made me rethink some of my traditions that I thought were truth. I know this for sure, Jesus did not come into the world to condemn the world but to save it and that he expects me to love everyone. Yes, even that person (whoever you just thought of). Novitas recently teamed up with a church called RISE out of Virginia for their AND campaign. One of the pages in the slide show says, “God loves gay people and straight people. We do too.” Doesn’t that say it all? Everyone gets to play regardless of their orientation, gender, social status, nationality or skin color.

The 9th Circuit handed down a decision today that overturns Proposition 8 which would have changed California’s constitution to say that marriage in the state is between one man and one woman. In their decision the court stated, “Proposition 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their relationships and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples.”

There are more of us than you think. One prominent ‘Log Cabin Christian’ I admire is Justin from GayChristian.net who says, “Essentially, I’m arguing that a Christ-centered marriage is a good thing, regardless of the gender of the people involved.” He is far more eloquent on the issues than I am at this point so I will refer you to his essay on whether or not God blesses gay relationships. What I also love about Justin is that he also presents Ron’s argument that God expects gay Christians to remain celibate. I encourage you to go and check out his site. It is amazing.

I know this makes some of you uncomfortable. If it helps, the reason I am writing, the reasons for the posts on homosexuality and women in leadership (among other things) is that these are people; people made in the image of God, people who are being left out of the conversation; people who are forgotten, ignored, or worse, damaged by other well meaning Christians. I believe my declaration furthers the gospel by letting these lovelies know that God isn’t just for the people they think, he is for them. Don’t forget, he hung out with people who made the religious leaders of the day uncomfortable.

Let’s not fight. I love you all. I would ask you to read this transcript of a talk given by Tony and Peggy Campolo, who disagree on whether or not God blesses gay relationships but love each other just the same. You can also listen to similar talks given by the Campolos here.

The Log Cabin Republicans have a saying, “inclusion wins.” Rob Bell has a saying, “love wins.” I would like to humbly suggest that “inclusive (according to Webster: covering or intended to cover all items or costs) love wins.”

I’m Celebrating Arbor Day Early This Year.

Thanks to Kathy Escobar I am celebrating Arbor Day early this year.

plant new trees.

trees that have the roots of equality from the very beginning.

trees that gain nourishment from a free-er gospel and soil that is enriched with freedom and hope instead of fear and absolute certainty.

trees that have men and women and rich and poor and educated and uneducated and black and white and gay and straight all tangled up together from the beginning.

trees that are tended to gently and naturally instead of pumped with unnatural growth agents & pesticides that try to advance the progression of development to “catch up faster” to other churches that will always have the advantage of time and power on their side.

trees that get their strength from the beatitudes not the latest and greatest how-to-grow books and conferences.

trees that are well-watered by people who are tired of talk and are ready for action.

trees that over time will flourish and bring shade and fruit and all kinds of other goodness for generations to come in the communities & cultures where they are planted.

a diverse ecosystem of trees that more accurately reflect the fullness of God’s image.

Today I am celebrating all the saplings that have been planted or are being prepped for planting, including our own www.novitaschurch.com, The Refuge outside of Denver, and RISE in Virginia.

Today I am celebrating all the gardeners who tirelessly tend in hopes of our children and grandchildren walking in the shade of a forest with boughs of love, equality, justice and freedom, all intertwined forming the most lovely of canopies.

Today I am celebrating nurseries (such as Fuller Theological Seminary) where future gardeners are taught the principles of “organic” gardening.

Today I am celebrating those who provide fertilizer for these new trees. Groups like Christians for Biblical Equality and The Gay Christian Network as well as individuals such as Wade Burleson and Rachel Held Evans.

Today I am inspired to keep tending, keep fertilizing, keep pruning. Planting trees requires vision so I will chose to keep the picture of the forest in my mind with my daughter and my son dancing beneath its boughs.

Today I will remember the planters who have gone before me and fought for the rights that allow me to participate in this amazing celebration.

Thank you, Kathy. I will never look at Arbor Day the same way again.

Dear John Piper, Would You Like a Ride on my Toboggan?


Dear John Piper,

I would like to thank you for your recent comments about the masculinity of the church, indeed of all creation. You have succeeded in drawing a bright line that everyone can see. It is the defining line of what complementarians actually believe. Thank you for being honest and just laying it all out there. Thank you for not mincing words or hiding behind things like “everyone is equal in God’s eyes, we just have different roles.” I really appreciate that too. Now people can see the true choice between your view and mine.

John, as a gesture of my gratitude I would like to offer you a ride on my toboggan. Rachel and Susan and my husband Kent, most of the people from my church, Wade Burleson & Jesus are already on board and I have seen lots of other folks here on the slippery slope. But don’t worry, there is still room for you. I think maybe you are scared of what will happen if you go over the edge. I promise you it will take your breath away and at moments you may wonder what is happening but once you have taken a ride down the slippery slope you will find that it isn’t as scary or as slippery as you might think. (Just curious, what exactly is the fear if we afford women true equality in church and life? Sometimes I think people are afraid that elders meetings will turn into slumber parties where we all do each others hair and nails if women are included).

Heck you might enjoy it. You might even decide to take a run at a couple other slippery slopes while you are at it. How about homosexual hill? What will happen if we allow homosexuals to get married and come to our gatherings and worship Jesus with us? Are we afraid that our own children might become (I don’t think it is something you become btw) gay? Some of them already are; they are just scared to say so because they have been taught that the love of Jesus isn’t for homosexuals. Jesus never said that. He loves with no “unless”.

How about evolution incline? What will happen if we as Christians embrace or even entertain the scientific evidence for evolution? Are we afraid that God won’t be God anymore or are we just afraid that we might be wrong about him and he isn’t just like us? If God is God he has nothing to fear of science; he created science. All truth is God’s truth.

Pull on your mittens John, I can promise you a wild ride. I will be waiting for you at the top of the next hill.

m

Lovlies,

The video at the beginning of this post is shocking, yes? It is one of the first things I thought of last night when I heard about of John Piper’s remarks. The church in large numbers has been on the wrong side of history on several occasions including women’s suffrage, slavery & segregation. I am afraid that Piper is on the wrong side of history this time.

After reading the article last night on The Christian Post, I wondered how exactly Piper defines the terms masculine and feminine. Luckily for me I found this video. In it Piper uses a graphic that states the definitions he uses:

The Meaning of masculinity
At the heart of mature masculinity is a sense of benevolent responsibility to lead, provide for and protect women in ways appropriate to a man’s differing relationships.

The meaning of Mature Femininity
At the heart of mature femininity is a freeing disposition to affirm, receive and nurture strength and leadership from worthy men in ways appropriate to a woman’s differing realtionships.

Don’t you see women, this is a doctrine of freedom for you? You (as he goes on to say in the video) have the freedom to choose the man who will lead you. Once again, I am thankful for the bright line he has drawn. It forces you to think about what you really believe on this issue. It is one of the big three facing the church today. What about women? What about homosexuals? and What about evolution? Alas, we are only here to address the one slippery slope today. Here is the thing, we are all to mutually submit to one another. We all, according to our gifting, lead, provide for and protect one another. We all have the responsibility to affirm, receive and nurture each other. This post by Sarah Bessey is a great picture of this type of marriage relationship. But it isn’t just in marriage that mutual submission should take place. It is everywhere; at home, in the church, with your friends or at work. Everywhere with everyone. Can you imagine a world where we actually lived like this?

Piper seems to ignore many verses in scripture in his misogynistic interpretation of the scriptures in the article. These are just a few.

Galatians 3:27-28
27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Unless…oh wait, there is no unless.

Genesis 1:27-28
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (notice he created them in his own image, he gave dominion to them).

Wade Burleson had an excellent post today where he stated:

The male and the female were both designed to rule. Men and women are created by God in His image as co-regents of the world He created. Any system, any society, any organization that places one gender as an authority over the other, whether it be patriarchal or matriarchal in nature, is a direct violation of the command and design of the Creator God. Why can women rule in God’s creation? Why can women lead in God’s creation? Why can women be equal to men in God’s creation? Women are created in the image of God, just like men, and when the omnipotent, sovereign and invisible Creator God determined to create man in His image, He created a male and a female, reflecting the very nature of God Himself. This is why there is nothing wrong with considering God as both Father and Mother, as the invisible and all-powerful Ruler of the universe who reflects Himself in both males and females–God is Spirit and the perfections of each gender are seen in God.

AMEN! Thank you Wade. I love fellow toboggan riders.

Isaiah 46:3
“Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb;
John Calvin wrote (btw, John Piper is a self proclaimed 7 point Calvinist),

God has manifested himself to be both Father and Mother so that we might be more aware of God’s constant presence and willingness to assist us.

Isaiah 49:15
15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.
Calvin’s commentary on this verse states:

God did not satisfy himself with proposing the example of a father, but in order to express his very strong affection, he chose to liken himself to a mother, and calls His people not merely children, but the fruit of the womb, towards which there is usually a warmer affection.

Matthew 20:25-28
25 But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

I will leave it to you. But remember the words of the great abolitionist, Sir William Wilberforce, when you are ready to throw in the towel and think that we cannot succeed in changing the status quo,

Accustom yourself to look first to the dreadful consequences of failure; then fix your eye on the glorious prize which is before you; and when your strength begins to fail, and your spirits are well nigh exhausted, let the animating view rekindle your resolution, and call forth in renewed vigour the fainting energies of your soul.