A BLOG BY ALAN CHAMBERS

It's Hard to Hate a President that You Pray For

My wife, kids and I have been praying almost daily for Barack, Michelle, Sasha, and Malia Obama since they became the First Family Elect of the United States.  We had voted for John McCain and, frankly, were very nervous about an Obama presidency.  During the campaigning process I was very vocal about my support for McCain and my opposition to Obama.  This is the United States and I am very thankful for the right to speak my mind freely.  People of every race, creed, color, orientation, political affiliation, and religion should always have that right.  There is no harm in having or expressing an opinion.

 However, infinitely more important than being able to express my opinion as an American is my desire as a Christian to care about people’s hearts above those right or wrong opinions.  And, while I am, as a citizen of the United States, regularly and carefully sharing my thoughts with our elected officials I am far more often simply praying for the people voters have entrusted with leading us.

 I am sure that the concept of hating a president or elected official isn’t too far from many people’s minds these days.  The media has always been very quick to show the stories of those who seem to hate a president.  I hear from people daily who hate President Obama’s policies and trash him all day long for them.  Sometimes, maybe often times, I sense that conservatives, more specifically for the purposes of this article, evangelical conservatives, hate this president’s policies and try to defeat them more than they love the man as their neighbor and pray for his heart.  I know for a fact that if I didn’t pray for Barack Obama and his family daily that I would be guilty of the same thing.  It is my praying for the Obama family that keeps me from sinning against them with a reckless tongue.

 I have written before about Former Governor Jesse Ventura’s comment that religion is a crutch for the weak.  In the case of praying for Barack Obama my faith is more like a brick wall for me.  I am weak and I willingly and gladly admit it.  I am too weak not to pray for the daily strength to overcome the sin of unhealthy criticism.  I am too weak not to pray for the ability to love my fellow man with which I have so many deep disagreements.  I pray because I must.  I pray because I will fail miserably if I don’t.  Having failed far more times than I care to number, I daily choose to succeed.  In this particular case, I am choosing to succeed at loving and praying for a president that I don’t agree with, that I didn’t vote for and for his heart that I do not understand. 

 God loves Barack Obama and his family as much as He loves me and mine and wants them for His own—if they aren’t already.  I cannot judge him because I haven’t walked a step in his shoes let alone a mile.  So, as a citizen I will be proactive in sharing my opinions, but far more often my wife, four-year-old son and daughter and I will bow our heads, quiet our hearts and pray this prayer:

 Dear Jesus, This morning we pray for Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Malia and Sasha Obama to come to know you if they don’t already.  We pray that President Obama would become the best Christian president this nation has ever known.  Guide him, protect him and help him to seek you.  We pray for his cabinet and administration and for every decision he will make for our country today.  We trust you, Lord.  Amen.

 

 

Confessions of an Evangelical Christian

A recent hullabaloo over a conference in Uganda has had me thinking and praying about some things.  The conference centered on a conservative, presumably Christian, response to gay issues in that country.  In Uganda, homosexual behavior is punishable by imprisonment and there is talk of stiffening the penalties.  Several American gay activists and even some conservative Christians have raised a ruckus about the event and rightfully so. Uganda's policies seem reprehensible. Publicly exposing or arresting gay-identified men and women for homosexual behavior or forcing them to undergo therapy is a true violation of free will and a compassionless transgression.
 
I'm not an expert on Ugandan law or even on U.S. law. I am, however, a Christian and can share my perspective on an issue that I believe transcends legal and cultural boundaries. I know a few things relevant to this discussion. For one, Christ came for all of us or He came for none of us.  I know He loves us equally regardless of our skin color, religious beliefs, affiliations or orientations.  Nothing can make Him love us more or less.  I also know that there is a right and a wrong as well as a good and an evil.  I know every single human being who has and ever will be born, aside from Jesus Christ, of course, is a sinner in need of a Savior.  And I also know that love transcends hate.
 
About 40 years ago, the gay rights movement really took off in America.  The Stonewall riots occurred. Organized groups began looking at how they could bring about social change in psychology, religion and government. I'll freely admit they did an amazing job in accomplishing the task. They were far more brilliant in how they capitalized on something deeper and infinitely more significant - the hypocrisy, apathy, pride, division, laziness, ignorance and un-Christlike attitudes that existed in the Christian church.
 
Surprised to hear me say that? It may not make me sound like much of a Christian, but I am. I'm a follower of Christ and believe every word of the Bible is true and infallible.  However, I have to be honest. I am troubled by what I see as one of the most significant failures in church history. I wasn't alive in the 60's and I barely remember the early 70's, but I watched enough Christian television and took in enough news in the 80's to know that the Christian church didn't experience its finest moment at a time when gay individuals desperately needed to know God's unconditional love. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that 100% of all Christians or all churches failed, but if we are truly to be a united group as the Bible suggests, then what one of us did wrong, we all did wrong. We must own that, deal with it, turn away from it and move forward with humility, honesty and compassion.
 
I will never forget the early days of the AIDS epidemic. I remember reading about entire families that were run out of town simply because a member of their family contracted AIDS through a blood transfusion.  One family in Belle Glade, Florida that had three hemophiliac sons with AIDS were kicked out of school, forced out of their home and subjected to cruel torture by angry mobs.  I wondered where the Church was. Then there was the story of young Ryan White who contracted AIDS from tainted blood. Unfortunately, it wasn't the Church that became known for embracing him and his single mother and sister - it was the gay community.  I applaud the gay community for doing what the Church should have done.

I think of actors like Rock Hudson who was the brunt of cruel jokes after his diagnosis with AIDS for being gay.  I remember the sermons I heard about the abominable sin of homosexuality - as if it was the only abominable sin in the Bible.  I vividly remember the all-too-common sentiments I heard from many Christian people entrapped in ignorance and fear who said, "Ship the gays all off to an island and let them have at it" or  "AIDS is God's judgment on the homosexual."  A dear friend of mine with two gay sons once said in response to that comment, "Aren't you glad there isn't a cancer for a judgmental heart and vicious tongue?"  The horror stories are endless.  And they served as an open door that many gay activists walked through to obtain sympathy from a detached and even ignorant society.

While Christians were pointing the finger at homosexuals, many were shacking up with secretaries, shooting up in bathrooms and paying for sex on the street.  Hypocritical for sure.  Many Christians can tell you the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, but they don't know Romans 2:4 (NAS) states, “….the kindness of God leads you to repentance.” Many of our shortcomings, as a church, set the stage for they gay rights movement that ensued.

I unapologetically believe what the Bible says about homosexuality just as much as I believe what it says about every other sin, too.  I know Proverbs 6:16-19 by heart in a dozen languages.  You know that reference, right?  It's the most famous verse listing abominations:

"There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers."

Ironically, there is no reference to homosexuality.  While there are plenty of other direct references, I think every Christian needs look no further than their own heart to see themselves in these verses. Lying tongues? Haughty eyes?  We're all guilty of those things and I'm thankful that the ground is level at the foot of the Cross.

Most recently, our nation has been engaged in marriage initiatives like Proposition 8 in California.  While I supported this initiative and all others that uphold what I believe is God's intention for marriage, I have often wondered what things in California might be like if the Church had spent the $39 million dollars they raised for Proposition 8 to show the love of Christ to the gay community.  The visual impact of that overt gesture would be undeniable - Christians raising a small fortune simply to show their love for gay people.  I can't imagine. And I am sad that I can't. Consequently, I believe that policies on social issues do matter, but only because the people behind them do. Losing that truth means losing the full heart of God.  When conveying the heart of God becomes impossible to do in policy battles then we need to stay silent.  And, if there is a way to express the heart of God and forgo the policy battle altogether---even if it is a much longer and more rigorous process—then by all means, choose it.  For instance, might there be a way to strengthen marriage as the union of one man and one woman for one lifetime that isn’t reactionary and based on policy?  Even if such an effort took longer and was far more labor intensive?  Isn’t it always better to have a campaign for something rather than one that is against?  Just my honest questions here.

Confession is good for the soul, they say. There's a reason for that. So, to my fellow Christians in Uganda, California and elsewhere around the world, my suggestion as you engage in social dialogue over this issue is this: pray, confess your own sins and remember where you were before God found you.  And to the gay community: it is my great hope that we as a Christian church will give you no more reasons to justifiably doubt God's love for you.  I am sorry for the times when I have contributed to that.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

I have started a new tradition.  I will now be taking each January off with my wife and kids.  So, no blogging, no commenting, no email, just my family! 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  See you in February---rested, recharged and ready.

Hillary Clinton is a Human Being

I have been described as an ultra conservative and a member of the vast right wing conspiracy.  I am a Republican, a conservative Christian and the head of an international pro-family organization.  As I type those titles and labels I do so thinking of the millions of people who would say that these things are strikes against me.  I think someone like Hillary Clinton might even be one of the people that would think that way.  I don't know.

Hillary won't be my pick for President should she be one of the candidates I have to choose from come next November.  There isn't much I agree with her on where public policy is concerned.  Like so many Americans, the very thought of her causes strong emotions and opinions to well up within me.  I have stated many times to friends that I don't like her.  The truth is that I don't know her.  So, a more honest assessment would be, I don't like what I know about her politically.

On the other hand, I have to give her credit for the things she has accomplished.  She was once the most successful lawyer in Arkansas.  She is unbelievably smart.  She was the first lady of Arkansas and of America and served tirelessly beside her husband during all of those administrations.  Hillary Clinton became a Senator and is now running for President.  No slouch accomplishes all of these things.

Ironically, when I made an appointment with Senator Hillary Clinton's office last year senior level staffers were assigned to that meeting.  When I walked in, presumably as a member of the enemy camp, I was warmly welcomed, greeted and treated the entire time.  I am sure her staff hated my position on the issues I was discussing with them, but they were consummate professionals and treated me with the utmost respect.  I have been in hundreds of offices on the Hill and not all Republican ones treat me like they did.  Whatever the reason for their demeanor, I appreciated and believed it genuine.

Regardless of her accomplishments and my opinion of her politics, however, I must unequivocally denounce the names she is being called by fellow Republicans, especially those who are followers of Christ.  I have gotten one too many emails with bumper stickers calling her a bitch.  And, I was very disappointed when Senator McCain failed to stand up for a fellow Senator, Presidential rival and woman last month when one of his supporters asked, "How do we beat the bitch?"

I am sick of politics in general, but most assuredly dirty politics.  I am tired of the name calling.  We are a country very divided when it comes to social issues, policy, the war and so many other things.  But, we are nonetheless all Americans living in the greatest country in history. 

I hope Hillary Clinton doesn't become President of the United States, but if she does then I have an obligation to respect her office, authority and to pray God's very best for her.  She is, after all, a human being, a wife and a mother.  I can imagine how her daughter must feel when she hears people calling her mom these names.  I can also imagine how non-Christians feel when they see Christians calling Hillary Clinton a bitch---turned off to Christians and Christianity and skeptical of the God we serve.

If you don't like Hillary, don't vote for her.  But, for goodness sake, have some respect.

A Bit on the Racist Side?

Over at Jim Burroway's blog Box Turtle Bulletin Timothy Kincaid wrote the post I have pasted below on our friend, Mandisa Hundley - the former American Idol Contestant turned Christian recording artist. 

Mandisa Loves Her the Exodus

Timothy Kincaid              

September 20th, 2007

Grasping desperately at the last few seconds of her 15 minutes of fame, Ex-Idol Mandisa gave yet another interview, this time to Melissa Riddle of Baptist Press, explaining how her display on America’s most popular vehicle for self-aggrandizement was all for Jesus and to let people know “know what Christianity looks like.”

And, of course, she had to tell yet again how she was misunderstood by The Gays:

“This song,” she said as the crowd cheered, “goes out to everybody who wants to be free. Your addiction, lifestyle and situation may be big, but God is bigger.”

“I really was talking about my life, my addiction to food, my lifestyle,” Mandisa said of that night. “You know how people say you shouldn’t diet but have a lifestyle change? That was what I was talking about, but people partnered that with my admiration for Beth Moore and Exodus Ministries. The ill-conceived conclusion was that I didn’t like gay people.”

So really, now, The Gays should be so sorry for misunderstanding poor little Mandisa. After all, how could anyone mistake her admiration for Exodus as being the basis for her “lifestyle” comment. I’m guessing it’s because they’ve already seen what her brand of Christianity looks like.

COMMENT | LINK

Timothy, your choice of post titles is way over the top as far as  stereotypes of the African American community go.  Or is Mandisa "black with an asterisk" and thus okay to sterotype simply because she believes what the Bible says about homosexuality?

I think you owe her and the black community an apology.               

Is All of this Joy Dangerous? Ridiculous? Shame-based?

Dr. Andrea Macari, the "expert" they used on the Mike and Juliet Show this morning called my life ridiculous, shame-based and impossible.  Interesting that she's never met my wife or me and thinks she can still offer such an opinion. 

The funny thing to me is that she thinks people like me should be true to ourselves and live openly gay lives.  What she is advocating is that individuals should leave their spouses, abandon their children and give into sexual urges.  Sure, live life being true to your every sexual whim.  Well, Dr. Macari, I did that and long before I was married or even wanted to be married I chose to live a different life.  And, I am sorry that doesn't fit with your brand of "science" but I have three people that I absolutely can't wait to get home to every day at 5pm and who I treasure more than life and they are my wife, my son and my daughter. Nothing could ever tempt me to leave them or to be unfaithful in thought or deed.

Dr. Macari is the epitome of intolerance. Her brand of therapy is abusive as she weilds her credentials and seeks to wreck homes in the name of helping people live as she believes they were created to live.

The truth is that I am not here to try to convince the Dr. Macari's of the world that my life is legitimate.  Leslie and I are simply sharing our story so that the individual out there who has found gay life to be as empty as I found it can know there is hope for a better life.

Change IS possible and my life is but one of thousands that proclaim that truth.

This isn't shame---this is bliss. 

Dr. Jim Kennedy is Home!

Our very dear friend, Dr. D. James Kennedy, went to be with the Lord last night.  He was a pastor, friend and leader, but most of all he was a husband and father.

Dr. Kennedy will be greatly missed.  Learn more about who Dr. Kennedy was and how he helped to change the world.

Our prayers go out to Mrs. Anne Kennedy, their daughter and her family.

View the Orlando Sentinel article on Dr. Kennedy and sign his guest book.

I Forgive You

In the early 1990's I was a participant in an Exodus Member Ministry and was negatively affected by Darlene Bogle's decision to go back into homosexuality.  To have a leader who had written a book, led a ministry and spoken at conferences make such a decision was challenging for me in those early days.  I was disappointed and mad.  But, I also understood as an adult that we all make mistakes and that just because Darlene went back didn't mean that I couldn't make it.  I appreciate the apology she made, but I don't think she was apologizing to people like me.  Nonetheless, I forgave her a long time ago for saying things that she now indicates she didn't mean and for causing many to doubt that change was possible.

As for Michael, a man that I genuinely like, I think you have said everything about Exodus that needs to be said.  You were involved in an integral part of Exodus in the early days and for that I will always honor you and be grateful as will thousands of others.  Exodus helped save my life and you are a hero for pioneering this great work.  But, you left very shortly after you came and truth be told, I have now been a part of Exodus far longer than you.  I, and so many others, are the ones who have chosen to remain faithful to the mission of this ministry.  I encourage you to move on--live your life.  People are choosing to live their lives how they see fit---just as you are.  You chose something different than me and so many others.  Like Darlene, I don't think your apology was for people like me, but I do think both of you  owe one to those you hurt when you left this ministry.

To all three of you: Darlene, Michael and Jeremy, your time with Exodus is over and you have said your peace.  I encourage all of you to serve the Lord, live your lives and respect the fact that others have, can and will continue to choose a path different than the one you all are on respectively.

I am thankful for Exodus International and the leaders like Frank Worthen, Bob Davies, Joe Dallas, Sy Rogers, Andy Comiskey, Pat Lawrence, and countless others who have shown that people can live beyond homosexuality and that freedom is possible.

International Day Against Homophobia

Today is the International Day Against Homophobia.  And, you might be surprised to learn that I support this effort.  Homophobia does exist.  Irrational fear of those who are gay or lesbian is a real problem in our culture.  While I believe we have come a long way, I still see true homophobia at work each and every day.

People often call me homophobic, which is ridiculous.  I am not afraid of gay people nor do I hate them.  I don't even dislike anyone based upon their sexual identity.  For that matter, I can't think of anyone that I even dislike.  Forgive me as I digress, I ran out of Ritalin last week.

One of the primary focuses of Exodus International and one of my missions in life is to help the Church come to see those who are gay -identified or who struggle with homosexuality  as people whom Christ died for and loves equally.  The Church should be more welcoming to these folks than the local gay bar.  Gay and lesbian identified people should be able to find more help within the Church than they can outside of it.  It has long been my goal to so impact the Church with the message of truth and grace that Exodus would be able to go out of business.

So, when it comes to the evils of  homophobia, bullying, name calling, hatred and violence where those affected by homosexuality are concerned, I stand with all decent human beings who are fighting and praying for an end to the ignorance and ungodliness that cause them.

Join me, won't you?

Jerry Falwell has Died

Dr. Jerry Falwell, Chancellor of Liberty University, Pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church and dear friend of Exodus and me went to be with the Lord this morning after suffering from some type of cardiac arrhythmia.

We send our love and prayers to the Falwell family as well as the members of Thomas Road Baptist Church and Liberty University who have suffered a great loss today.