We
have had no experience with close family members or friends who are LGBT. We
have not watched as someone we love suffers the hurt of rejection by the
Church. Our reasons for working for an inclusive church are not as profoundly
personal as those of some. Our reasons are more theological, for lack of a
better word. To some extent it is partly how we read the Bible. Are there parts
that spoke only to the specific time, place, culture, and people for whom they
were written? And if so, what are those parts? Our reasons are also based on
our concept of the type of God we believe in and worship. We choose to believe
in a God of love, acceptance, and inclusion. We also believe in a God of
absolute freedom and would not try to limit whom God might choose.
All
are aware of the recent struggles for full inclusion in the church—African-Americans,
women, etc. And, while much progress has been made in these struggles, they
will, perhaps, never end in this world. But the struggle for an inclusive
church is as old as the church. Much of the book of Acts deals with what might
have been the first and probably the most fundamental question of inclusion in
the church, whether one had to be a Jew to be a Christian. For the most part,
the early church tried to exclude non-Jews. Peter did not want to visit the
household of the Roman centurion Cornelius. The church in Jerusalem resisted
Paul’s mission to the Gentiles, whom the Jerusalem church regarded as pagans. In
doing so were they unwilling to accept those whom God had accepted? And are we
doing the same when we do not welcome members of the LGBT community?
We
do not claim to have any direct line to God or any special insight into what
God says, wants, or thinks. In fact, we are troubled by those who profess such
certain knowledge beyond any doubt. We find their arguments and even many of
them unappealing. We find ourselves more drawn to those who seek a more
inclusive church. While we do not claim to have all the answers and are still
working on some of the questions involved, we do, in all humility, choose to
stand with those who believe that God’s mercy, grace, and love includes
everybody.
We would like to believe that we could simply say
we welcome all, without having to list any specific groups. And we must
remember that this struggle is for the sake of the whole church and not for any
one group (it is about us, not about “them”). However, we are moved by the idea
that many in the LGBT community and those who love them have been deeply hurt
by actions of the church and strongly feel the pain of rejection by what should
be their church. For this reason, we have been persuaded of the need to
expressly name them and welcome them into the church.
