There seems to be some hub-bub going on about Elton John's comment that he believes Jesus was a "compassionate, super-intelligent gay man."  Some are even calling it blasphemous.  I think we are, to borrow from McLaren/Campolo, embarking on an adventure in missing the point when we so easily condemn Elton's statement.  What some are labeling an 'attention grab' I guess I just see as a bit of the pot calling the kettle black.

It is really quite easy to get all up in arms because someone thinks Jesus may have been gay.  But there are a few things to think of here:

Being gay does not equate to sinfulness in and of itself.  Gay is used as a pejorative term in many Christian circles in a way which couples orientation and practice in a destructive way.  I say it is destructive in that it connotes a special level of disdain and degradation for those that have engaged in homosexual acts. If they were to do the same acts with the opposite sex, while still sin (outside of marriage), they do not receive any extra condemnation from 'Christian' society.  As Christians we do not point a finger and speak under our breath, "you know that guy is a heterosexual right?"  There are many and varied reason why a persons orientation may differ from heterosexual that have nothing to do with the choice of the individual.

It is statistical truth however that most people are heterosexual.  Heterosexuality also has the weight of being the only way in which humans can 'go forth and multiply'.  Those in mind it would seem that nature in general would point us towards a heterosexual pre-disposition in the majority of cases and we have no evidence that Jesus was otherwise.  It makes anthropological sense then that Jesus was indeed heterosexual.  Of the temptations Jesus faced the Bible does not speak to any matters of lust or sexual indecency that Jesus may have faced directly, although we do have assurance that he was tested in all the ways that we are as humans, the Bible simply just doesn't say 'how' he was tempted.  The Hellenistic/pagan culture of that era, especially in the areas outlying the reach of Judaism, were libertine in nature and sexual temptations were not limited to heterosexual ones.

The main issues I take task with in Elton's assertion is not one of sexual correctness, but one of hermeneutic focus.  How does he interpret the story of Jesus to make the assumption that he was gay?  Elton has fallen prey to the interpretive error of egocentrism.  In How to Read the Bible for All it's Worth Fee and Stuart make this observation:

"That is, most of us assume as we read that we also understand what we read.  We also tend to think that our understanding is the same thing as the Holy Spirit's or human author's intent.  However, we invariably bring to the text all that we are, with all of our experiences, culture, and prior understandings of words and ideas.  Sometimes what we bring to the text, unintentionally to be sure, leads us astray, or else causes us to read all kinds of foreign ideas into the text."

It seems logical that Elton is simply bringing into his understanding of Christ an uneducated and perhaps egocentric world-view in which his interpretation is correct.  This is no different than the many challenges we face in the church today whether it is unholy patriotism, prosperity gospel, name it and claim it, fierce judgmentalism, or churches that pray for the death of our president.

Everyone has a pet sin that they love to call out, I like calling out laziness in others because I struggle with it myself at times.  It's really easy for me to read my pre-judgments into scripture.

What Elton faces is the same thing we all face in interpreting scripture, are we going to let the text inform our life and practice and let the text be the text, or are we going to continually ram the text into our mold of choice to fit our comfort level?  I really wish parts of the Old-Testament weren't in there at times, all the violence is quite frankly a bit embarrassing, but I have to let the text be the text and learn from it and let it shape me. Not the other way around.

Today I wrote four blessings.  These were specific blessings written for the four men I am taking a course with in seminary.  It is easy to gloss over the discipline of blessing others.  It's kind of weird in our culture to physically (or in my case virtually) embrace another, look into their lives, and speak into them the Spirit of God in blessing.  Compliments are hard to come by, but blessings are even harder.

There is power in blessing others, and in being blessed.  Not our power, but the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit.  Just as God breathed the breath of life into Adam, we continue that life-giving act today.

If you want to transform the life of another today then take them by the shoulders, look them in the eyes, and bless them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Pray God's guidance on their life, his strength in their limbs, his love on their lips, his mind in their vision.

I pray that the Lord would bless you!  That he would guide your steps, and enter into your heart in a powerful and healing way!  He is not just the Lord of our souls, but the Lord of the universe!  His power is infinite, his love is majestic, and his holiness is dumbfounding.  May you walk today knowing you are blessed and loved, unique in all creation!

For those of us in the U.S. we will be sitting down tomorrow, most likely with family, to share in our tradition of the Thanksgiving holiday and the meal that is a part of it. The origins of the American celebration (Canada has Thanksgiving the 2nd Monday of October), are murky and somewhat contestable.  Some say Florida, others say El Paso, traditionalists claim Plymouth or possibly Jamestown, Virginia.  Whether you are celebrating with tamales or turkey, this is a time in which we give thanks for the blessings we have received.

The question then arises, who are we giving thanks to?  While Thanksgiving was largely treated as a religious observance for Christians here, a day that marked the end of the harvest and the entrance into advent, it is focused more today on the tangible bits of our life.  We give thanks for prosperity, for family, for our country, for the food and football.  Many, regardless of religious observance, will offer a prayer before the meal to give thanks.

I find Thanksgiving interesting, from a scriptural standpoint, because I see it as a continuation of levitical laws. When the Israelites offered up their sacrifices at certain times of year the coupled the sacrifice with a feast. While we certainly do not 'sacrifice' our turkeys to God (I am not sure he would have counted frozen ones anyway) we do partake in the 'feasting' ritual of the Thanksgiving experience.  Whether it be the Turkey, the potatoes, the green beans and yams, we gladly take part in the feast.

Now, I know that Christ's sacrifice is all-sufficient, and I am the last one to beat the legalism drum; however I find it interesting that as Americans we have become more than happy to engage the feast, to be "thankful" for the bounty that has been provided, but I wonder if we are missing that whole 'sacrifice' part of it.  It's pretty rare that anyone is asked to 'sacrifice' anything these days.  Sure, we have the military, who continue to serve and protect us and sacrifice themselves.  We have the single moms and dads who work two and three jobs to support their children.  We have the brave police and fire servants that give their lives to protect and serve.  We have the pastors who take calls at 2 or 3 in the morning, only to be yelled at for not 'doing enough'. Our Christians brothers and sisters that are oppressed and die at the hands of others daily. 

If you have ever moved from one place to another, and if you are like me (and I know I am), then you have no doubt at some point wondered what in the sweet world are you going to do with the mountain of junk you have somehow managed to attain and then stow into the nooks and crannies of your home/apartment/hobbit hole, etc..  As you begin to gather all of your bounteous loot and place it into box after box you reminisce a bit, perhaps even fawn over, some item of past worth.  Perhaps it's your trophies from Junior High Track, or your mint set of 1988 Donruss baseball cards, or in my case a small box of knickknacks that contain a variety of American and foreign coins and postage stamps collected from relatives and visiting missionaries.  After your moment of cherishment you place the item in a box, take it to your new destination, and after settling in it ends up tucked away until you repeat the process over again.

Our Christian life can sometimes end up being a lot like this exercise in moving.  We have a lot of miscellaneous junk that we have stowed away in our psyches.  A bad deed there, a hidden longing over here, a well intentioned plan in the attic that we are saving for some rainy day.  From time to time God asks us to move, and so we box up all of our assorted junk that we have attached personal meaning to, and bring it out of hiding just long enough to acknowledge it; but before you know it we have moved into our new pad and all of the junk has been tidied up and placed out of sight and mind.

The thing is we have often misunderstood God's command.  Location is hardly ever the issue, it's the presence of God in the midst of our circumstance and awareness of his abiding love that makes the difference.  If you are feeling restless, like you need to move on, chances are you are simply going to box up the same old junk that is holding you back now and only end up with a change of scenery.  God isn't interested in competing with FedEx or UPS, he is not interested in helping you be emotionally unhealthy somewhere else.  We think God is asking us to move on, when he is simply asking us to let him dump our junk so that he can move in.

God wants to inhabit the deepest parts of our being and to transform them.  This is the essence of sanctification, God transforming us into the person he always meant for us to be, His image bearer.  Are you allowing God to transform you in this way?  The essence of your faith hangs on this question; are you attempting to define yourself, or have you found the freedom that is discovering who God already made you to be?  In your story is your house full of boxes of self-loathing, regret and pain; or is it full of mysterious and wonderful packages yet to be opened?

Recently a fellow named Bud Caddell came up with a Venn diagram entitled “how to be happy in business.” It reminded me of a similar diagram from the class notes for my 'Biblical Foundations for Missions' class. As such I wanted to replicate and mash both concepts into a single form that would help me think and hopefully spur some discussion. I would consider what I have below a work-in-progress and would appreciate any feedback or discussion it generates.

If you are unfamiliar with this general setup, each circle represents an entry point by which we as humans enter under the tutelage of Christ.  Hopefully as we progress in that process we are drawn into the center of all three disciplines, however that is not always the case.  The conundrum we often face is how do continue the process of discipling in our new cultural contexts.  I would argue that largely the core concepts remain the same, however the praxis of discipling often calls for new and varied tools of expression and instruction.  Regardless of our cultural contexts the three struggles we most likely face in the discipling process are ones of vulnerability, accountability, and exploratory spaces.  The primary catalysts for working through these struggles are cultivation, embracement, and encouragement.

Let me know your thoughts.