Dear Church, Please don't let this happen again on our watch.

Oh, Church.  Yes, this space where I write is normally for anyone who desires to read it.  

It continues to be, but today, I am talking to the Church here.  I want to sit down to coffee 

with you and beg of you to reconsider some things.  I know tone is hard to read, so I'll tell you 

that you can read this as a heart that is grieved and heart-broken--one that humbly asks you to 

look at your heart & see if you are contributing to this either actively or by passively letting it happen.

Church.  We are the global collection of Christ followers called to love the Lord, love others 

and to go out into the world and show them how beautiful, gracious and loving our Lord is 

in order to attract them to and share the gospel with them.  There is something happening 

here that feels like anything but loving and beautiful.  And right here in the United States, 

it's being done while yelling of 'religious freedoms.'

I want to be careful when comparing slavery, segregation, and the oppression of black people 

because I don't want to minimize the horrifying suffering they have been through and the very 

real challenges that they continue to face today.  I look at my 3 boys with their beautiful black 

skin and the fact that they wouldn't have even been able to attend the same school as our other 

children--let alone be in our family--just under 60 years ago?  It's almost unfathomable.  The 

lynching, the abuse, the suffering, the hurt, the fear, the shame, the oppression that black 

people have faced in our country is sickening and almost unspeakable.  Yet they 

lived it, so we could at least educate ourselves about it, become more compassionate 

and do better.  Right?

Well, that oppression--the prolonged cruel or unjust treatment--it's happening again in our 

country and around the world.  Right here in our generation.  On our watch.  I look at the 

statistics and I hear the stories and I don't think comparing the dark days of 60 years ago to the 

fight for civil rights that is happening right now is too much of a stretch.
 Oh Lord, we cannot silently stand by.  People who are gay are being lynched &
abused.  They are suffering, hurting, dealing with fear and shame.  They are oppressed
and I would venture to say that much of that is coming from the Church.
We have allowed what we believe is right to trump our command 

to love our neighbor as ourselves.

If you have no clue what might have prompted this normally very non-controversial introvert 

to speak up and write this post, read these two posts:

A bill touts 'religious freedom' that allows businesses to deny services to gay people in Arizona.

Calling homosexuals disgusting & signing an anti-gay law by the president of a country we love dearly.  Then, this.   

This is what we are allowing to happen.  And, trust me, I've heard your arguments.  I've 

seen your crossed arms and mouth hanging open as you find out that a Christian has friends 

who are gay.  I've seen the righteous raising of eyebrows when you hear a lover of Jesus who 

believes that people who are gay should be allowed to legally marry.  I've studied your verses and 

I've felt the weight of that big book that you've hit me on the head with.  I hear your spouting off 

of why you shouldn't have to provide your services to people who are living in sin according to 

your beliefs, but you know what?

I call your bluff.

Because my friends who are gay are kind, respectful, hard-working, funny, thoughtful, 

creative, wonderful people who I enjoy being around.  Not one of them has ever felt loved 

or become interested in the gospel by the things mentioned in the above paragraph.  

I'd speculate that not one person ever has.  Many of them are in loving relationships 

and the inequality that exists for them is flat out discriminatory and oppressive.  Please tell 

me how fighting to keep them oppressed or how lining up around the building for 

chicken to demonstrate your 'rights' to preserve traditional marriage builds a relationship 

with the LBGT community?  It doesn't make sense.

Those verses you keep pulling out?  If they have convicted you in your walk--take note.  

But, do not take the word of our gracious and loving God and beat these people bloody.  

I know I'm doing quite a bit of speculating in my writing here, but I'm going to guess 

again that every gay person in this country knows that there are verses in the Bible that 

call homosexuality sin.  You are not winning anyone to Christ by pulling verses out of 

context and shoving them in someone's face.

Finally, refusing services to someone because of who they love?  Oh, heavens.  We've been 

here before, America.  We've been here before, Church.  Not only was segregation, 

slavery and oppression of black people very real, but many people provided scripture as to 

why it was perfectly acceptable.  Haven't we learned from our atrocious mistakes?  You 

can't do flowers for someone's wedding because they are living in sin by being gay?  

Outrageous.  How do you even have time to make floral arrangements for people when you 

are so busy determining if your customers are worthy of your services?  Is there a form 

that you fill out asking your customers if they've had premarital sex? 

an affair? lied or cheated?  dishonored their parents?  had a prior divorce?

Church.  We are called to love.  We have to stand up for what is right.  It isn't right for 

people to be hated & discriminated against.

We draw people to Christ not by loudly discrediting what they believe, by telling them how 

wrong they are and how right we are, but by showing them a light so lovely that they want 

with all of their hearts to know the source of it. -Madeleine L'engle

Please tell those you know who are gay that this is not the way Christ followers are.  

Tell them that you are going to do your best to be louder than the others with love and 

grace. Get to know some of these people for who they are.  Make your voice known 

that you do not support these discriminatory bills or the public shaming that is happening 

right now.  Pray and humbly ask Him how He wants you to feel and act about this.  

Please.  Please be lovely.