Yesterday, sitting in worship at First Presby and listening to testimony from three members, I reflected on my previous post and realized how inadequate it was. I know most people who read this are family or close friends, but even still: what do you care about how I read the Bible? Or any of the other things, other than to confess hypocrisy.
What matters more broadly is how I fail to proclaim the Gospel. This summer, I’m taking a course on worship from the University of Dubuque. The point of worship is to prepare us for mission. In today’s church vernacular, “mission” is usually interpreted as acts of charity or service.My denomination, though, declares a different mission in the opening section of the Book of Order:
In Christ, the Church participates in God’s mission for the transformation of creation and humanity by proclaiming to all people the good news of God’s love, offering to all people the grace of God at font and table, and calling all people to discipleship in Christ.
PC(USA) Book of Order, F-1.01
Acts of charity and service are necessary but not sufficient. We must proclaim the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
So a more appropriate confession is this: I have failed to teach others about the good news of God’s love for all humanity. If you read my statements of faith (old and new), you’ll see that I believe that all are welcome in God’s kingdom. But if I don’t actually TELL people that they are welcome, or what that means or why they should care, what’s the point?
The dominant cultural narrative is that churches reject gay “lifestyles” and transgender “ideology.” If you ask a random person in Rolla, would they know that there are any churches where LGBT individuals are welcome? Any place where there are people who accept them as they were made in the image of God, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity? Probably not.
One recent audiobook I listened to was Getting Things Done. My list of things to look into includes setting up an LGBT resource center of some sort in Rolla. S&T students have access to the student diversity house, but what about younger students, faculty, staff, or people in the community? What can I do, as a straight, cis-gender man, to support the LGBT community?
One last note: I was asked if I want feedback on these posts. Sure! I have it set that your first comment will need to be approved (just to keep spammers and trolls away), but feel free to comment on anything I post.