Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Brian McLaren in "Bridging the Gap"
Brian McLaren is an author, speaker and activist. Many who have felt disillusioned with either the church or Christianity, or simply no longer willing to complacently languish in the status quo, have found in Brian a refreshing, revitalizing call to re-engage in the ways of Jesus. Others view Brian with a great deal of suspicion. McLaren is a man who has encountered both incredible appreciation and criticism from within the Body of Christ.
"Why", you might ask, "would you include someone so controversial in your 'Bridging the Gap' project?"
You see, Brian is not only controversial generally, he has been both applauded and challenged for his comments on the topic of homosexuality.
We are deeply appreciative of Brian's willingness to be a contributor to this project not because we expected him to provide THE definitive answer - but because as a pastor he has a keen awareness of the pain that the polarization and enmity over the topic of homosexuality causes: to glbtq people, to those with gay loved ones, to the church, to our witness in the world.... He has a way of naming those things that hit at the heart of the matter for so many of us - in a way we can resonate with. He captures our dilemma at a relational level in such a way that it causes us to re-engage, to wrestle with God and to wrestle with each other, to find steps forward that will honour Christ and honour the image of God in one another despite disagreement. And regardless of what anyone thinks of Brian's writing and ideas, anyone who meets him in person, as I have, will encounter a man of grace who well reflects the invitational heart of his Saviour, Jesus Christ.
I have often said to our staff that if we're going to just go and do "business as usual", not rocking the boat, not making anyone uncomfortable, not challenging anyone to think and relate more deeply ..... then we might as well pack up shop and go home. This ministry area is too hard & too costly, to not risk stepping out of our comfort zones and press in to the new places God is calling us to reach out and share the love of Christ.
The question "Bridging the Gap" asks is: How can we more fully relate to our gay neighbours in the Spirit of Christ?
The question is not: Who do we agree with?
The question is not: Who do we need to correct?
The question is not: Who is missing the mark?
The question is: How are we more fully relating to our gay neighbours (some who will be fellow believers and others who need to yet encounter the real presence of Jesus) in the Spirit of Christ?
In his statement of endorsement for "Bridging the Gap", Brian says,
"According to a recent study, only 16% of Evangelicals who are aged 35 or older have a close friend or relative who is gay. Meanwhile, younger evangelicals are twice as likely to know gay people personally. Whatever your age and theological opinion on homosexuality, you'll benefit greatly from watching "Bridging the Gap." I and several of my friends appear in the DVD, along with six Christians who have experienced same-sex attraction ... all in hopes of helping our fellow Christians better share the love of Christ with gay men and women ... who (whether we know it yet or not) are our relatives, neighbors, friends, and coworkers. There's so much hot rhetoric and cold treatment when it comes to this sensitive subject; this DVD will bring needed light and warmth."
Thank you Brian. We are deeply grateful!
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7 comments:
Hi Wendy,
I know you hate me coming on here and disagreeing but once again this guy misses the boat.
1: There are quite a few Christian Faiths that offer full acceptance of gays and lesbians as they are. Why should the gay and lesbian community engage an entire segment of Christianity that says that homosexuality is wrong when there are other Christians that offer full acceptance? We are already know that Christ created us in His own image. We know God does not make mistakes! He made us gay and lesbian for a reason. Churches such as The Episcopal Church, The United Church of Christ, MCC and so on..already share this authentic message of Jesus why should we look or listen to a segment that is only going to eventually hurt us? It doesnt make sense.
2: The language he uses invokes a very "parental" or "mature" approach with respect to homosexuality. He draws the analogy of how a parent accepts his/her children without approving of their choices. By using this imagery he is giving the immpression that the "Straight White Conservative Christians" love their sinful less emotionally and spiritually mature Gay Christians but not their actions.
I am sorry but that still sounds like condescending language. Until Evangelical Christians can authentically use language and actually BELIEVE that sexually active gays and lesbians are their emotional, physical and spiritual equivalents, then progress is not going to be made.
I know that there would probably many many more gays and lesbians willing to engage in discussion and community with evangelicals if they thought they could respect them and see them as their equals and NOT just a group of misguided less mature believers.
I know these are attempts to reach out and you know I applaud that effort--but you arent there yet--well not even close. Know that I am in your court though! Praise God She is Great! --Jack
Hi Jack,
This is a place for conversation - and you are always welcome. Your perspective is a valuable one - and one that must be heard if we are ever to bridge anything.
Let me comment on your second point first. I agree. I was going to put something in the actual post - but thought I'd wait to see if it came up in the comments. I don't think Brian had any intention of sounding patronizing to gay people when he uses the example of a parent/child to try to explain the difference between acceptance and agreement .....but it can be taken that way - and I think that is a legitimate point. It reminds those of us who struggle to communicate in this area to be very careful with the examples we use. (Even then, our examples will always be imperfect.) So, Jack I think you're quite right to draw attention to that.
What you've said in your first point is understandable. Bridging the gap is about reconciliation - it is not about conversion or winning someone over to your "tribe". Bridging the gap is about wanting to break dividing walls of hostility. Bridging the gap is about trying to listen, understand and respect one another. People who experience same-gender attraction, whether they identify as gay or not, are a very diverse group of people. Some will embrace faith and find a home in a gay affirming church. Some embrace faith and find their home in a more conservative fellowship. Some won't embrace faith at all. So in bridging the gap we try to recognize the reality of this diversity and not assume where anyone is going to land. To you it doesn't make sense that a same-gender attracted person would want to experience reconciliation with the conservative Christian community and find their home there ..... but to another individual it might. I don't see our blog as trying to convince anyone of where they need to land - but rather focused on trying to create and foster as safe and as generous a place within the community of which we are a part - in this case the conservative/moderate part of the Christian community. Even if people don't land there or make their home there ..... I hope that they would value and appreciate the attempts to make that environment more welcoming and safe for glbtq people.
Bless you Jack :)
There is an online community/ministry, gaychristian.net, which has also just released a dvd/study guide: "Through My Eyes". It is available at Amazon. It is simple collection of interviews with young (18-30 year old) gay christians who talk about their faith in Jesus, how they came out to themselves and what that was like; and what it was like to come out to family and friends. It stops short of discussing questions of celibacy, dating and marriage. But honestly, if you only have the money to buy one dvd I'd buy this one rather than Brian's. Go directly to the gay christian community with your interest and money. They may not be able to answer every question you have, but, instead of learning HOW to bridge the gap -- you will in fact be bridging the gap.
Hi Denise,
Thanks for stopping by....
I've seen "Though My Eyes" and really like it. In face, I have plans to do a post promoting it soon - I'm just been pretty swamped with stuff right now.
Not sure if you know, but Justin Lee, Executive Director of Gay Christian Network, is one of the contributors on "Bridging the Gap". We'll be featuring a clip of him soon (we'll be releasing a clip a week for the next while). Keep your eyes open for that :)
Jack,
Love your comments and the pushback that you challenge the ND folks with. I'm pretty sure they appreciate it too. It's so good to see people engaging in productive dialogue.
Just wanted to acknowledge though that Brian McLaren is a friend of mine, and I assure you that he did not in any way intend any amount of inequality in his words. I think he speaks recognizing that unfortunately, there are a number of Evangelicals who do think of themselves as morally superior. So Brian's analogy helps them to get one step closer to hearing and understanding people like you and I. But I ultimately agree with you, I think his words could be easily misconstrued.
Hi,
I am new to this blog, so maybe you can help clarify why people use the term "same-sex attraction" instead of "gay."
Seems to me that's like saying, "inclined to write with left hand" instead of "left-handed."
Hi Hillside...
Welcome to BTG.
Language around sexual identity is funny sometimes. To say 'same-gender attracted' is most certainly cumbersome and may be a put-off for some gay people. The reason we continue to use it at times is that it is descriptive and more universally neutral. What I mean by that is it doesn't say anything about a person's theology, belief, practice, politics etc. It simply describes the reality of the direction of their sexual attractions. For most gay people using the word gay means the exact same thing. But ... for some, perhaps many, in the Christian community the word gay raises all kinds of other assumptions. And some same-gender attracted people are also very uncomfortable about the kind of assumptions the word gay can raise - so they prefer to not identify as gay or be called gay. In deference to them, we continue to use the descriptive term 'same-gender attraction'.
We say more about this in an earlier post that you can find here: http://btgproject.blogspot.com/2009/04/of-language-labels-identity-please-pass.html
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