No Idea Where I'm Coming From

Here's what "anonymous" wrote:

This is something you wrote last year:
"With Fred Phelps (the Topeka anti-gay bigot) and the KKK (supposedly still active in rural Missouri if you ask around) this open bigotry is becoming all too common. I thought Christians were supposed to be known for their love. I thought Jesus and his disciples were Jewish. I thought we were supposed to love our enemy. Have I misunderstood the Bible?"
But now you have written about the oscars and the gays, and have even criticized Martin Luther King, Jr. in your blog. I dont think its appropriate to attach your personal blog to a church website. But I am glad you have for one reason, so I will not attend your church. Its ok to have a personal life, but when you attach your personal blog to a church website, you are preaching politics which is actually against the law, you are also mocking grown ups who although may not agree with you, still love the Lord...as if we are too stupid to understand and you have to explain to us what is wrong with the world. Can democrats be a christian?
Now as for your personal life, your choices of television kind of worries me...survivor, a show that pits people against each other for money and glorifies it, and also just the fact you have so much time to write every detail and explore so many other things.

Here's something about me. If you disagree with me on my blog, I don't delete your comments (although I could). In fact, I'll go out of my way to show everyone (mostly my friends and family) what you said, even if you're upset with me.

I also don't take things too personally here. I love people, even when they hate me or oppose everything that I believe. It just doesn't bother me that there are people out there who disagree. What really raises my ire is the debate of ideas, principles, and truth. For example, I don't hate Fred Phelps, but I'm disgusted by his bigotry and I'm not afraid to stand opposed to him. I don't hate George Clooney or Michael Moore, but I'm flabbergasted by their slanderous propaganda and baseless conspiracy theories and I'll gladly hit those softballs out of the park. I don't hate gay people, but the mere thought of two men sodomizing each other is enough to make me vomit and I think it's as unnatural, warped, and harmful as child molestation or beastiality. Don't I have the right to be sickened?

But some people don't understand (and take personally) the distinction between criticism of positions and criticism of people. For me, it's very much a "love the sinner and hate the sin" kind of thing. You might be surprised what kind of people I meet in my job. As a minister, for almost everyone I know, I know their worst secrets. I've met child molestors and rapists. I know homosexuals and transvestites. I know thieves and liars and adulterers and gossips and perverts and convicted felons. And I honestly love these people like everyone else. But I never condone the evil in their lives – I'm able to make that distinction.

And Dr. King is no different. His theology was atrocious and he deserves criticism for that. That doesn't make me racist, anti-civil rights, or even anti-MLK; it just says I have an educated assessment of his theology.

How can I make these stands with such arrogance? Because the truth I believe is not my own. My convictions are based on an authority external to me. I had to change and conform to it, not vice versa, and sometimes against my own selfish desires. If I take a serious stand on something, it's not because of my opinion, it's because of my convictions regarding absolute truth.

And as for preaching politics, it's not illegal. It's only illegal for me to endorse a candidate from the pulpit – so I don't. I don't even preach from a political view point, but I do cover all kinds of political issues. After all, if political overtones reach into issues of ethics, morality, law, civics, family, sexuality, religion and philosophy, then politics has invaded my territory not vice versa. There's no such thing as an issue that is not religious or philosophical and it's my job to apply God's Word to the whole of life. What would I do otherwise – dust pews and change the candles?

And did you know that I made the choice to move to the most Democrat county in my state, even though many Democrats openly deride people like me? And did you know that the church I serve is probably more than a third registered Democrat? And that I don't have a problem with that? I might know and love more Democrats than you do Republicans.

And finally, thank you for your concern for my personal life but I hope that you see by now that my whole life is being a minister of God's Word. I'm never off the clock; it's even how I watch tv. Survivor, more than most shows, is a case study in human behavior. Or do you think that backstabbing and lying only happen on tv? If you knew me, you'd know how big a nerd I am: documentaries and news make up 95% of what I watch. I've lost interest in most sitcoms and tv dramas. And what tv I do watch, I usually watch while I read a book or work on the computer. That's who I am. Can you love me anyway?

Well, I hope that clarifies things, and I'll be happy to see you Sunday.