3 H's - Homosexuality: part 1

The lack of equal rights for Homosexuals is something that this generation will be ashamed to have been associated with. The poor acceptance of our society to embrace and try to understand homosexuals is an indictment on our governments, social insitutions and churches. 50 years ago, if you were divorced you were ostracised by the church. Today you can be divorced multiple times and be a minister. While we have progress in this area, we are still sorely behind with the rights of gay men and women. I find it hard to fathom why the church still has this fear of homosexuality. The Salvation Army is the biggest charity in Australia, it has a reputation of being fair and equitable. Below is a part of the salvos position statement on homosexuality:

"Homosexuality is broadly defined as being sexually attracted to, having a definite sexual preference for, people of the same gender. It is The Salvation Army's belief that, whilst recognising the possibility of such orientation, (the origins of which are uncertain), the Bible expressly opposes homosexual practice, seeing such activity as rebellion against God's plan for the created order."

This statement is the basis for the salvos to oppose homsexuality as a legitiamate sexual orientation and one in which God condones. But where is this biblical evidence they speak of? there is no direct scriptual references attached to this statement but they follow it with this:

"The Bible teaches that God's intention for humankind is that society should be ordered on the basis of lifelong, legally sanctioned heterosexual unions. Such unions (marriages), having the potential for procreation, lead to the formation of social units (families), which are essential to human personal development and therefore to the stability of the community."

The bible teaches statement is interesting as the heterosexual unions of the bible involved one man, many women and the exchange of cattle. In our society we are opposed to bigamy and selling people, but biblically speaking this is what constituted 'Gods intention for humankind'. It is a flimsy response to a very complex and sensitive issue. If reproduction is the basis of union, then those who cannot have children should not be able to marry. This is of course a ridiculous statement, but it is a direct outcome of this kind of thinkning. I have seen families that have been horrible examples of humanity, heterosexual couples that should not be parents and are evil abusers of their children, but because they are heterosexual, this union has been blessed by God. There is imbalance in this view.

The biblical world view is not our world view, and just as we have altered out thinking of biblical expectations of marriage and divorce, so too must we alter our view of homosexuality. Jesus spoke against divorce very strongly, but never raised the issue of homosexuality. Yet we accept divorced ministers and castigate homosexual ones. Perhaps in this regard it is best to take our lead from the guy we are meant to be mirroring our actions on.

Brother Andrew

Before I launch my tirade on homosexuality, human rights and hell (3 H's) I want to introduce a good friend of mine and fellow blogger, Andrew Walton. Andrew and I went to salvo college together and was instrumental in me making it through 2 years of difficult times. We would often spend hours debating theological and spiritual concepts, which helped me define many of my beliefs. He has started a blog at: http://andrewwalton.blogspot.com/ and it is well worth your while to check him out. He is a bit like a velvet sledge hammer, what he says may come across polite, considerate and almost placid, but it will rock your world. Go see Andrew!

Controversial Topics - The 3 H's

Well the fires in Victoria have taken up much of my time the past 3 weeks. I have been seconded from my role in drug and alcohol and given the task of cataloging and distributing donated goods at the salvation army's warehouse in central victoria. This has been an interesting experience and I am looking forward to getting back into my normal role. Despite the fire threat still present and the recovery process being ongoing, I have decided to steer this blog towards some controversial topics. There are 3 topics that I will explore in the upcoming posts and the are all interconnected in some way. They are: Homosexuality, Human rights and Hell.

I feel I need to digress at this point. I am not a liberal Christian. I have some quite liberal friends (shout out to fazzell and Awol - you know who you are Craig and Andrew...sorry!) But I certainly am not fundamental. I would probably describe myself as a liberal orthodox Christian. Essentially though, labels mean nothing and we are left with our understanding of scripture, our world context and what we know of the Spirit of God. Through these things my opinions have taken shape, and while I believe many things that drive my liberal friends nuts; such as a litteral physical resurrection, future physical resurrection, Jesus as God etc. I also have strong views on things that would see me disbarded and dismembered from many Christian communities. At the end of the day, we must be driven by the need to fulfill the call of God on our lives, despite prevailing or popular opinion, and thus my views on the 3 H's. Here ends the preamble. Please respond and argue away at the following posts.

Why I'm a salvo

Having been heavily involved in the salvation army's response to the victorian bushfires, I feel a sense of pride being a salvo. To have access to and be able to help so many people because of the salvo brand, has been a great experience. It reminds me of why I'm a salvo. I wanted to be an officer so I could take advantage of the opportunities being a salvo provides. To be able to be involved in the immediate response to emergencies on this scale and then involved in the recovery process so hands on is a job that many churches are not able to be part of, let alone do. There are many problems with the army and its autocratic power hungry structure, but there are good aspects. And the army's response to the victorian bushfires has clearly shown the good parts of the salvation army, and reminded me of why I'm still a salvo.

Vic Bushfire Update: Overdale interview

I did an interview on ABC rural radio on the impact of Overdale being razed to the ground. I have attached the link if you want to listen to the interview. http://www.abc.net.au/local/audio/2009/02/11/2488073.htm

Vic Bushfire Update: Thank God for the CFA

The public relations catch cry of the salvos is 'Thank God for the Salvos'. But as this dark week continues, I think that it can easily be applied to the CFA. When me and my hombre Simon Pickens were feeding the fire fighters in between there shifts, one of the guys, covered head to toe in ash, looked at me through the soot and said, 'you guys do such a great job'. What a revealing thing to say. Here these guys are risking there lives as volunteers, fighting fires and telling the food servers ther doing a great job. Thank God for the CFA!

Vic Bushfire Update: CFA Superheroes

The volunteer fire men and women of the CFA (Country Fire Authority) are certainly heroes, as evidenced by the amazing work that they have been doing in response to the bush fires. But what I have discovered is that they are in fact superheroes. I was at the supermarket earlier today buying some supplies for kids affected by the fires. A maintainance guy who was working near the check out commented on what I was purchasing and the fact that I was in salvo uniform. He started talking about his role in the fires, as he was a CFA volunteer. Here was a man going about normal life doing his day job, who had 24 hours earlier been fighting the worst bush fire in Australian recorded history. These men and women who saved lives, property and livestock who showed incredible mateship towards one another, are normal folk in our communitys. Just like superheroes though, in times of distress and emergency, they shed their normal day clothes and become firefighters staring into the face of the hell.

Vic Bushfire Update: Overdale burnt to the ground

I will be writing a few posts dedicated to the vic bushfires which are affecting many people at the moment. As a previous post of mine showed, I was given an appointment at Overdale a youth drug and alcohol rehab. Unfortunately it has been burnt to the ground. All clients and staff were evacuated and there were no injuries, which is a great outcome. The clients were relocated and the staff are being cared for by the great work of the manager there. Many houses and property have been impacted by these fires along with the tragedy of human loss it is a devestating time. Living in Bendigo, we have been directly involved with the statewide emergency services response, which has been a privilege. I will post an update soon.

Mark 'Hyperreal' Sayers

Mark Sayers is a superstar. When I was a teenager at Camberwell Salvos Mark was the youth pastor there, doing crazy and awesome things. It didn't work out and the salvos let go another emerging prophet. Anyway, he's pretty much an emerging church guru in Australia and he has his blog - which is really good. You all must now go and read his latest post on the emerging church and the impact of hyppereality. Please, dont wait, click on his blog! http://marksayers.wordpress.com/2009/02/05/hyperreal-emerging-missional-churches/

new position

I have just been given a change of appointment. I will be leaving my previous role as Network Director of Bendigo Community Services and be taking up a role as Program Coordinator for AOD services, which basically means I will help run Overdale Youth Rehabilitation Centre and the Transitional Units in Bendigo and the counselling team located there also. This change for me is exciting as I can focus on what I feel most passionate about - working with people. I will be staying in Bendigo (an hour and twenty commute to and from the only down side), Peta stays as Divisional Drought Coordinator, and Isabella will stay in her Day Care! For thsoe who have been praying for us - thank you and please keep going.

Rant on Power (part 3)

What I love about the previous posts bible verse's is the fact that even though these guys had been with Jesus for quite some time, they had missed the point. It gives me some relief in my own life, and allows me to give other people that same grace. I think that the disciples arguing over power is akin to our church leaders jostling for position in the hierarchy of the church. Within the Salvation Army and its autocratic structure, this is made even more appealing to the ambitious officer. Army officers are not paid well, so financial motivation is not a factor in the pursuit of power. Popularity of the masses is rare for an officer, as the Army is almost cultish in its 'secret squirrel business', so the desire for power to be recognised is not a motivating factor. Therefore, officers persue power for powers sake alone (I am saying officers, but it can easily be pastors, priests, bishops etc.) This pursuit of power is particuarly damaging because it is insatiable and only meets its need through the failure or subjugation of a fellow minister. It creates a situation where it is inconvenient to be spiritually motivated. Jesus said at the end of it all that he came to serve, this is certainly a counter cultural thought within the hierarchy of the church. Many observers can be confused by the fact that the Army serves multitudes of marginalised within our communities. I am not talking about that service, but the internal ladder climbing that takes place within the Army. Rather then being satisfied with service, many church leaders want power, to control. The second bible verse show two disciples, even after being rebuked previously, wanting to be the top dogs of the crew. When the other boys heard about this they were annoyed and upset - no doubt because they didn't get in first. But Jesus constantly and consistently teaches the message of service, service, service. We must try hard to follow the example of Jesus here and put down our ambition, regardless of whom it may benefit, and concentrate absolutely on service.

Rant on Power (part 2)

I find it interesting that the desire for power has been with Christians and the church since it began. One of my favorite bible passages, due to its timeless message and frank commentary on human nature is found in the gospel of Mark. There are two sets of verses that occur directly after each other that show something of the pride of the disciples and the desire for power. I will show them on this blog and in my next post comment. Please take the time to read them and enjoy the interplay of what the writer is trying to convey and the dynmaics of the disciples.

Mark 9:33-37 (NIV)

Who is Greatest?
33They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the road?" 34But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.
35Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all."
36He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37"Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me."

And then a little further on in the text:
Mark 10:35-45

The Request of James and John
35Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. "Teacher," they said, "we want you to do for us whatever we ask."
36"What do you want me to do for you?" he asked.
37They replied, "Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory."
38"You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said. "Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?"
39"We can," they answered. Jesus said to them, "You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, 40but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared."
41When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. 42Jesus called them together and said, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Rant on Power (part 1)

I have recently been confronted with a situation where power has been dangled in front of me as an incentive in my work. I eventually rejected this and am subsequently in the process of trying to re-claim my ministry (and to some degree, my soul). The process of working through this attractive proposition of power was very difficult. I think there are a few reasons for this, but most compelling is that our culture encourages us to blindly persue power in all parts of our lives. It is disheartening to realise that often the worlds view of us is shaped by how powerful we may or may not be. I was informed that I may never get an opportunity like this again and that I would basically fall behind the pack if I didn't take it. The really sad thing was that this was presented in the form of a ministry opportunity. There is good news though, when we reject power and its trappings, people dont know how to deal with us and we can begin to take back our humanity. Once you turn your back on the lure of power and success, it ironically gives you back your freedom, which is the only positive aspect of power. I will post again about this topic soon.