The Great Debate...

As a man who does not have cable, dish or any other form of additional programming, I am very limited on my television viewing.  With this in mind, I found myself watching an episode of one of the many weight loss shows on TV.  During this episode the participant deduced that his addiction to food/over-eating stemmed from being molested as a child.  During this same episode the man "came out" and basically quoted Lady Gaga saying "God made me this way and God doesn't make mistakes."  Now, I am not trying to oversimplify same sex orientation, but I found it interesting that he saw no POSSIBLE correlation between his traumatic experience and his orientation.  Couldn't he just as easily said "God made me an over-eater and God doesn't make mistakes" or "God made me an alcoholic..."

Don't misunderstand me I AM NOT COMPARING SAME SEX ORIENTATION to addiction.  What I am saying is that there are many people who are wired towards addictive behavior (some argue it is genetic, or at least is with them from birth).  In that regard I see parallels- I do except that same sex orientation can/does exist in some people from birth.  So with that in mind, I am convinced that the homosexuality debate within the Christian community hangs on the answer to the question "Is same sex orientation God's design or a result of the fall?" Regardless of your thoughts about that question, both sides must accept that same sex orientation is very real, and may very well be something a person is predisposed to from birth.  

Original sin (the fall) is in our DNA and there are many things that all people are predisposed to from birth (lust, selfcenteredness, etc, etc...)   We accept the face that a man will struggle with lust most of, if not all of his life.  We must accept that regardless of there ethical stances there are people who will have same sex orientation their entire life.  And so, if an individual takes a stand against same sex marriages/relationships he or she must do so empathetically.  And likewise, those in support of same sex marriage/relationships must recognize the way people are "wired" is not necessarily by God's design. 

Redefining Hospitality

My wife's 18 year old, un-churched cousin is staying with us for several weeks this summer and watching her struggle through one of her first "Sunday experiences" has got me thinking a lot about the top of hospitality  If you ask most churches, they will tell you that hospitality is important, but if they are anything like our church, their hospitality plan has nothing to do with people.  Our "hospitality committee" is concerned with how are collection center looks, the state and position of our furniture, and how up to date our bulletin boards are.  Is anyone else picturing Martha running around with her hair on fire?

I have a hunch, in the story of Mary and Martha, both sisters were practicing hospitality (or at least a perception of hospitality).  Jesus was a visitor in their home after all.  Most churches ascribe to Martha's interpretation of hospitality.  I contest that seekers are hungry for hospitality as defined by Mary.  Getting back to my wife's cousin.  I empathized with her as she struggled to sing songs she had never heard before, bending awkwardly to read the lyrics from a half blocked screen, unable to find the hymn fast enough as our pastor called them out with absolutely no time given before they began.  And yet, when asked about her experience this is what she had to say "I like it!  The pastor shook my hand after the service and he seemed really happy that I was there."