Recently, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America voted to recognize gay marriage and allow the ordination of homosexuals in committed relationships. There are a certain number of small thinkers who have made a stink of this, and a noisy minority of ELCA churches are talking about leaving the church, claiming the ELCA's recent decisions to extend a Godly love to all as a main reason for their divorce from the synod.
One such church, Community Church of Joy in Glendale, Arizona has recently decided that a divorce would suit their congregation rather than trying to learn how to love.
Is nothing sacred any more?!
Here is a letter I just sent to Pastor Kallestad. I look forward to his response.
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I just read the unfortunate news about Community Church of Joy's decision to divorce from the ELCA. I appreciate the attempts at an explanation on the church's website, but am left confused, as most of the scripture used as a tool of human justification was used without much consideration of context.
Regardless, I would love to hear a more candid, real explanation from you if you're willing to engage in such conversation. I read your quote from the ELCA News Service, "There is such a different direction that the ELCA has chosen, a path they're traveling on, and we really believe that it just was not consistent to where God has called us. And so we're parting".
After having read the three documents released on your website, my question stems from my understanding of the ELCA's direction and of what Jesus actually said himself in Matthew 22:37-40
Jesus said, "'Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.' This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: 'Love others as well as you love yourself.' These two commands are pegs; everything in God's Law and the Prophets hangs from them."
As a people of faith, how could I even begin to use any secondary scripture to justify turning my back on people who are different than myself? Does this Godly love Jesus refers to only stretch to fellow Christians and to the state of Israel? Is this love applicable to only heterosexual sinners? I understand there is such a thing as "sound byte" scripture (Romans 1:27 for example) which, when used alone, is used to explain the sin in what is considered "unnatural" according to popular human culture.
But even in that case, the biblical and historical context reveals a deeper message. See Romans 2:1:
Therefore you have no excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others; for in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things.
I'm a sinner. You're a sinner. Heterosexuals, homosexuals, blacks, whites, hispanics, jews, christians, muslims... we're all sinners. And yet, God loves us all just the same, whether we like it or not. There is nothing any of us can do to escape this love, grace and forgiveness.
Please help clarify this issue if you can. I would much rather have respect for the thought behind this conversation and divorce (er... "God's calling") than be left wondering why Christian culture in America feels like we can justify bigotry and angry politics with a loose, misunderstood scripture.
Blessings to you and the people of CCOJ,
Ian McConnell
Minneapolis, MN
ian.mcconnell@comcast.net
CCOJ should be more aptly named First Church of Walt Kallestad. That is it in a nutshell.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Holly!
ReplyDeleteTis a sad day when bigotry fuels decision-making. I thought we had all moved beyond that, culturally. I suppose there are still outliers.