Oh, Larry...

Last night I sat in bed flipping channels and stumbled across Larry King Live. He was having a discussion about gay marriage with two homosexuals and two heterosexual "Christian" voices. It was quite a heated discussion. The proponents of gay marriage seemed to be well-spoken, patient and agreeable people, while the opponents seemed to to be overly condemning and confident as they looked down at the homosexuals. Larry King, like most media moguls, was out to make the Christians look like bigoted jerks who wanted nothing more than to ruin the lives of these great homosexual citizens. As the callers called in, they were very upset with the Christians who chose to make a stand for what they believed. It was an interesting dialogue to say the least.

It brought me back to another Larry King I saw months ago with Joel Osteen. Joel is doing many great things with the Lakewood Church that I have written about in the past, but on the show Joel refused to say there was one way to heaven and he got many Christians upset who believed he had not been strong enough in his beliefs on the show.

Where and how can we build bridges in this society to a world of people who do not know Jesus Christ? There seems to be no way to be a bridge builder with the liberal media without giving up the most vital parts of our faith. There is only one way to heaven, but how can that be said in our society that is so filled with intolerance for the intolerant. What should be the stance for Christians in politics and on shows like Larry's? I agree with these Christians last night that there is only one way to heaven, but I disagree with the way they said it. I also disagree with Joel for not being strong enough in his statements, but I applaud the way he sought to build bridges. Where is the middle ground? What would Jesus do?

This morning I received an e-mail asking me to join a group at ACU on the internet site "Facebook" called "Keep 'Brokeback Mountain' Off of Our Ranches." The group's intent, though mostly to be humorous, is " to complain about all the gayness in movies and to help people dealing with enough problems of 'brokeback people' just being around. I know many of the people in this group and many of them harmlessly joined just to be funny, but as I decided to reject my invitation, I thought what does that say about us as Christians? Gay jokes are easy and have been since elementary school, but is that the way of Christ? Is that this mission we are about? It is when I see things like this that I begin to ask myself, "Is the liberal media more correct about us as Christians then I want to believe?"

My political views are in flux at the moment. I grew up a good Christian Republican home (catch the sarcasm), but as I think more about what it means to be a Christian in all facets of life my views have begun to open up. Surely God is not Republican or Democrat nor does he care to join either side. And I am sickened by the right's "Christian" agenda. In this post-modern, post-Christian world, we must stand up for what we believe, but we must also never equate legislating morality with the great commission. Legislation is not where the battle for hearts and souls can or will be won.

I'm not sure where I am on the subject of voting and politics yet. I know I never want to support and candidate from the pulpit, but what are we called to as Christians in the political arena? And how would I begin to build bridges while standing firm in my beliefs as a Christian if I were called someday to be the "Christian" voice on a liberal media show such as Larry King that seems out to get me. These are questions worth pondering and discussing.