For the past 18months I have been working on a Taskforce of 8 InterVarsity Staff workers from around the country. Our job was to create the next policy concerning issues of Sexuality, specifically relating to the GLBTQ community. The last one was written in 1995. A lot has happened since 1995!
Let me tell you why this Taskforce was formed,
I think it is very interesting.
At Urbana 09 (IV’s Triennial Global Conference) Alec Hill, IV’s President met with a bunch of Chapter Presidents attending Urbana'09, from around the country. At one point Alec asked the group: “What are 3 issues that concerns you on campus that IV is not talking about?”
#1, practically unanimously was ‘Helping us understand GLBTQ issues” the other 2 were not even close! As a staff team throughout the country we were shocked. I think we thought the issues would be vocation, spiritual direction, evangelism, etc. Boy were we ever wrong!
The 2nd thing that happened at Urbana’09 was we invited an IVP author to give a series of seminars on GLBTQ issues, Andrew Marin, wrote Love is an Orientation, filled every seminar room we gave him. There were hundreds of students who attended, and he sold a ton of books! Our eyes were opened. His refreshing look at this issue was a challenge to students and staff.
Our team of 8 on the TaskForce, recruited other assistants and submitted our proposal, in November 2011. It included 30 documents we created, over 100 other (outside) resources, over 600 pages of information. It is now in the hands of the Board of Directors and the President’s Cabinet and should be ready for final editing by Jan. 31.
You probably know this is a very sensitive issue. There is major upheaval in the Christian community over it. Denominations are splitting. Ministers are leaving the church, and changing denominations. The Church is very confused. Many things, good & bad have happened since the taskforce started meeting. Each time a news story hit we had to review it and sometimes we had to change statements that we have worked hard to compile, but we tried to get to the right place.
Even the 8 of us did not agree on the various tenets of the policy. We worked hard on consensus, but at the end of the day we just had to agree to disagree on some things.
These are some things we were looking at:
1) How does InterVarsity's Vision Statement and Doctrinal Statement relate to our witness in this community?
2) What can we do to be proactive with the campus administrations when campus policies appear to be opposed to Holy Scripture, & InterVarsity’s Positions and choose to remain on campus?
3) Can we have a code of ethics that allows for working with individuals and groups from the GLBTQ community?
4) Can we resource staff, leaders & students who are trying to speak the gospel everywhere on campus, but may not understand ALL the issues?
Personally, I have had opportunities to relate to people who have been broken by the issues related to homosexuality. Some I have done well in helping see a bigger picture of Christ, some I have messed up by concentrating on “fixing” the sin rather than dealing with the person.
I realize that God does not do that with me. I hear the Gospel every day and then He makes me aware and convicts me of my sin. I have a choice to repent or ignore… Sometimes I can do either one.
But if you came along and tried to convict me of my sin, I wouldn’t receive it! Conviction of sin is difficult. It has to come from the right source and be given in the correct context. I have to know where I am falling short (hear the truth), without being pounded with it. You are not the Holy Spirit. I am not the HOLY SPIRIT!
When asked why they think Homosexuality is wrong many sincere Christians reply simply: “Because the Bible says it is.” Every one of the traditional verses about homosexuality can be and is easily refuted by the current revisionist critics of hermeneutics (Bible interpretation). I am sure that is the way that most religion faculty at secular schools handle it. We have to be careful we do not fall into the trap of being seduced by the sweeping statements of theological liberal academics who do not highly regard the scriptures.
We need more background to good Biblical interpretation of these Biblical passages. Let me say, I believe in the Inerrancy of scripture. I believe the Bible is Divine & Human at the same time. It speaks in culture, throughout history and it speaks to us today! It is amazing and it speaks clearly to the sacred and profane!
It is incredible to realize that in every case where the Bible talks about Homosexuality it is condemned. Not just because it is pedophilia, or violence, or rape it is condemned because it distorts God’s plan for sex.
Sex is God-created for marriage between a man and a woman. It was made for celebration, creating a family and unity between a man and a woman. There is no better way to communicate than sex! God made sexual union for a purpose – the uniting of husband & wife into one flesh in marriage. The Lord condemns anything that corrupts that perspective. We need to keep that perspective.
Dave Kinnamen: in his book Unchristian says the #1 reason 18-30 yr olds are leaving the church is intolerance related to homosexuality.
Once I began to realize this, my heart was touched by the reality that the church was making a huge mistake. The church was ‘quick to judge and slow to love.
And the church was me. As I walked around campus I saw the evidence of the GLBTQ community and I was doing nothing to speak the Gospel to this community. For me it was fear. I felt ashamed. We all need the Gospel. And yet we are so reluctant to share God's love to those who are not like us!
We have made mistakes and I believe we must walk into this community and begin to correct those errors. The GLBTQ community needs the Gospel just like any other community. I believe we avoid it because we are afraid.
There are 2 things we must do. Two things that do not naturally go together
1) We must exhibit the very love of Christ Himself.
a. Eradicate our negative responses to homosexual people
b. Stop the queer jokes & insults
c. We must choose to love.
d. Ask real questions of our friends in the GLBTQ community. Listen!
e. Pray for Jesus to give us the capacity to love!
2) We must fearlessly proclaim the truth that Christ proclaimed and embodied.
a. Speak the truth at appropriate times
b. Strive to be truly loving when you do speak
c. Make sure you do not exclude your personal sin or your hidden sin, when you speak abt truth.
d. Do you speak the truth to your best friend who is watching pornography on their computer, or your student leader who spends the night at their boyfriends or girlfriends room, apt?
e. Are you evaluating your own brokenness related to sexuality or judgement?
God does not need us to proclaim the Gospel, He allows us. And our community can begin to overcome the pain that we have enacted over the several generations.
