Jars of Clay vocalist supports gay marriage

***Update (4-26-14): The day after I wrote this, Dan Haseltine posted an apology for his egregious miscommunication. I still believe the principles/overall theme I've written about are correct, but would probably amended some details if his response had been posted sooner. All that to say, there is a link to his response following this post. Definitely worth the time to read his side of the story. I'm not sure that it's a complete reversal, but I was at least happy to know that he made an effort to clarify.***

Rules. Every household has them.When I was growing up, my sisters and I were only allowed to listen to Gospel/Contemporary Christian music. So for this reason, I am (or at least used to be) well acquainted with the group Jars of Clay. 

Flood was my personal favorite of their songs. I know it's fluffy, but I was in middle/high school, ok? Cut me some slack. And besides, they really do have some great songs. Even my sister who broke the rules and preferred "secular" music liked them. Their first album was listened to many a time in our house.

I really haven't even thought about Jars of Clay for years, until today. I saw on facebook today that their lead singer Dan Haseltine has come out in support of gay marriage, so I looked it up for myself. This and other articles confirm the claim, as well as Haseltine's twitter account.

 If you scroll back on his feed, you can see that the original tweets seem to be an articulation of his thoughts after watching 12 Years a Slave. I haven't seen the movie, but from a read-through of all of his comments, I get the impression that he is equating racists to those who consider homosexuality to be a sin.

His first tweet on the matter was "The treatment of people as less than human based on the color of skin is crazy... Or gender, or sexual orientation for that matter." Actually, I don't disagree with any part of that statement. It makes me so angry to hear people of any race, gender, sexual orientation, political party, religion, etc. belittle the worth of someone who disagrees with them. When it comes to the value of a person, we are all the same. Most people would agree, even though they seem to forget this truth when it comes to heated arguments over controversial subjects.

Unfortunately, though, the tweets didn't end there.

Here is the first one that I'd like to address. "Because most people read and interpret scripture wrong. I don't think scripture 'clearly' states much of anything regarding morality."

First off, who determines who "most people" are? Do I fall into this erroneous category? Does Haseltine? Or is he the one who determines who is or is not interpreting Scripture correctly? I'm not so sure he thought through that sweeping generalization.

Second, if Scripture doesn't "clearly" give us guidelines for morality, then why is he reading it? Why has he made a career singing about Jesus if He made false claims about morality? And how do his other tweets line up with that claim?

"It is perhaps less important to know what is 'right and wrong' morally speaking, than to know how to act toward those we consider 'wrong.'"

"I don't particularly care about Scriptures stance on what is 'wrong.' I care more about how it says we should treat people."

Um.... The subject of how we treat someone that we disagree with is a moral issue. And if he doesn't care about what the Scripture says on one moral issue, then why, pray tell, does he care about the moral issue of our treatment of others? Not to mention, what Scripture has he read to give him the impression that classifying something as a sin is the equivalent of treating someone badly? Jesus did it constantly. He actually said, "Go and sin no more." (Helpful pointer: This means people do sin, but that there is hope.) His whole ministry revolved around helping others by physical healing and instruction on what it means to honor God.

I guess I just find it ironic when anyone accuses people of pointing fingers by pointing fingers. Essentially, they are unintentionally proving that it is OK to confront sin. And it is.

Here's where you might assume I was going to start addressing the issue of homosexuality, but I have no desire to discuss  that in this post. The issue at stake here is much bigger than that. (Not to mention I'm so tired of Christians singling out homosexuality as though it were the unpardonable sin. Confront some other issues for a change!)

What I consider to be one of the biggest problems with this whole situation, and countless others like it, is that the privilege and task of Bible study has been largely overlooked by the church (at least here in America). I don't just mean in liberal churches. Conservative ones are just as guilty. Oh, sure, in depth Bible study may be preached as an ideal, and we talk about how great it is. But talk and reality are two very different matters. In my experience anyway, most of us struggle with consistency in this area. Even when I've attended organized Bible studies, the majority of the participants haven't completed their weekly studying. Sometimes I fall into that category myself.

So my questions are...

Do we really dig into the meat of Scripture like we should? Do we value it as God's redemptive story, or do we just see it as a helpful book that we sometimes get around to reading? Do we seek its truth diligently, or do we skim over it because we've read it before? Do we eagerly anticipate God's message when we read, or are we more interested in checking the task off our to-do list?

I honestly believe that if Christians, not just churches but individuals, would return to valuing and searching out the Word of God, then we would stop having so many stories like this one. The Bible in its original transcript should either be highly regarded in its entirety, or thrown out completely.

(And before someone accuses me of eating bacon, I'm not talking about following Old Testament codes here-I'm talking about studying why those codes are no longer necessary. "Why" is such an important question in all areas of life.)

This isn't the first time that I've heard someone simultaneously preach love and dismiss morality. The hypocrisy of it all is what's so frustrating for me. When someone is an atheist and chooses their own moral code, then he is not acting hypocritically. If there were no God, then we would all have no choice but to decide what was right for us. It's when men pick and choose haphazardly based solely on their own opinions that really gets to me. I think this is why God says He would rather us be hot or cold. It's the lukewarm that He will "spew out of his mouth."

And I'm not saying that we as Christians should all agree on everything all the time. We don't. We never will. And that's OK. There are so many trivial issues that folks get all huffy about! But dismissing Scripture by claiming no moral codes are clear in it? Hmmm, not so much OK. If "love" is all that's clear, then I find it especially ironic that Haselstine isn't defining it correctly. I Corinthians 13 is a very helpful tool to define it (and he even mentions this in a later tweet). Nothing in that passage promotes not calling out sin. Quite the opposite in fact. Love doesn't rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth. But really the whole of Scripture is necessary to define love, which leads to the solution to our root problem.

We have got to dive into God's Word, and we've got to go about it the right way.

There are some critically important things to remember when we're reading the Bible. Before we even start reading, it's important to pray for God to make us receptive. So many, non-Christians and Christians alike, search the Bible with an intent to prove something rather than an intent to learn something. When we seek wisdom from God, we find it.

And right along those lines, we need to be open-minded when it comes to Scripture. Right off the top of my head I can think of three major issues that I believe were incorrectly taught to me from the Bible as a child. The reason I changed my mind about them is that I challenged what I was taught. There may be just as many issues that hold up to scrutiny, but the important thing is to study them as though any belief is a viable option. That's just a basic way to determine what the Bible actually says.

Context is of utmost importance when it comes to determining what the Bible has to say on any issue. Really that's not just a Bible study tip, it's a generally good principle to follow in life. Don't make a decision about anything before you know the whole story. The Bible needs to be taken as a whole, not just studied in piecemeal fashion. It's a beautiful story of redemption, but it needs to be read cover to cover to even begin to understand the story. And don't just take someone else's word for it. Commentaries can be helpful, but what the Word actually says is infinitely more important.

Sounds like a lot of work, right? It is. Many people have studied the Bible their whole lives, and they still don't understand it all. Let's not let that discourage us! We can continue to learn more and more about God's extraordinary plan for this world when we apply ourselves diligently and consistently. We can learn what God values and places emphasis on throughout Scripture, and we can discern which matters are simply based on man's opinions.

I genuinely hope that Christians will take the time to consider this story on a deeper level, rather than just googling Bible verses on homosexuality to tweet at Haseltine. He makes some very good points in the discussion as a whole, including...


"Interesting how Christianity was both a proponent of slavery and the force behind abolishing it."

 Another example in which Christians were ignorant of what Scripture has to say.

"If we know or do not know the particulars of a persons 'wrongs,' we should love them the same. Correct?" 

By the definition of love as patience, kindness, humility, etc.? Absolutely!!

"Wow this escalated really quickly! :) I am simply asking questions. Don't quite know how I've offended so many."

This last one says so much about the response he's been getting. Let's not live up to the hateful reputation that has been thrust upon us as Christians. It's OK for people to have questions. In fact, it's desirable. But with those questions, I pray that those who find themselves on one "side" of any issue will seek truth, not proof.

Our lack of regard for the importance of studying God's Word is a big, BIG deal. I pray that God will help me to lead by example. I pray that God will ignite a burning desire within us to learn from Scripture each and every day, and that this desire produces faithful obedience. I pray that we will recognize that the heart of this story, the real problem, is not homosexuality. It is our own failure as a church to remain faithful to what God has called us to do.

"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." II Timothy 2:15

***Dan Haseltine's response: http://danhaseltine.com/blog/2014/4/25/reset-contexttangentapology.html.

Our Almost Big News

Most people who know me have heard my story about our giant pain in the butt house that we’ve been unable to sell for six years. It hasn’t been on the market that whole time, so it’s not that bad. We’ve rented it out off and on. But now…

Turned out that fourth time was the charm for us. The first week we re-listed the house, we got an offer! And it was a great offer! The whole thing was surreal for a few days, but then it finally sunk in- we sold the house!!!!!

We marked the closing date on our calendar and prayed fervently that all would go smoothly up until that point. The inspection came and went, and it was great! There was some minor work to be done, but it was taken care of quickly enough. And then. Then. The appraiser came.

Turns out our house is a trailer. Oh, we got a loan for it as a stick-built house. We were told it was a stick-built house. The appraiser certified it. The county approved it. We paid (and are still paying) lots of money for it. But it’s considered a trailer. We knew that a house had been built around a trailer, but as youngins, we just believed the good folks who assured us that it was no longer considered a trailer for all legal purposes.

Burned.

Honestly, we don’t know at this point what the heck happened all those years ago. It may have been an honest mistake. It may have been a purposeful deception. All we know is that it hurts. It’s frustrating and bewildering and deeply disappointing. Not only is this deal going to fall through, but no one will ever be able to get a loan for this house (trailer).

So I was sitting on the couch feeling sorry for myself this afternoon, and I decided to drown out my thoughts with my facebook news feed. I was numbly scrolling along when I got down to this status: “We need to pray for a miracle- they say there is nothing to do for Coleson. If we get out of the hospital it will be waiting till the Lord takes him. We could hope for a year.”

Coleson is an infant with some major heart and other health problems. I don’t know him, but I came across his story last night and joined the facebook group to pray for him. He had an important surgery today, but it didn’t go well. That status was the result. 

So here’s me, whining about how our house didn’t sell. And here’s this mom, finding out that her son might have up to a year to live.

House. Child. House. Child. House. Child.

I’m feeling pretty blessed right now. I’m feeling tremendously blessed right now.

 

I’m not going to pretend like all my frustrations disappeared. They didn’t. This evening I had a good cry about this whole fiasco. This is a big deal for us. A thirty year debt (nine down, twenty-one to go!) has had and will continue to have a pretty big effect on our family. 

Not to mention the whole expectations being let down thing. Stinking unmet expectations strike again! And they hurt, big or small. And that’s ok. It’s ok to feel let down, as long as you get back up again.

This status about little Coleson put my world back into perspective. My house didn’t sell, but my kids are doing just fine. Toby fell down some steps yesterday and scraped his head. That’s it, our only medical “problem” we’ve had for some time. What an indescribable blessing! 

God has provided a home, food, church, loving family, comfort, vehicles, private education for our kids, and on and on! When I say those things, it’s not because I’m a bubbly person. Definitely not. I’m also not a naturally optimistic person. When I feel down, I have to pray and make a concentrated effort to look on the bright side. 

So there it was, my bright side. And it’s one heck of a bright side. I am so spoiled here in my Lynchburg bubble, and I can handle this one disappointment. There are MUCH bigger things going on in the world than this. It’s all going to be ok. Not because my house will sell, but because God is in control. He has proven time again in my life that He is good, and He can be trusted.

Time to suck it up and get back to life!

A Christian for Tolerance (Why Matt Walsh is Wrong Again)

In truth, I had already been mulling over the idea of writing a post about how I was for tolerance before Matt Walsh wrote this: http://themattwalshblog.com/2014/04/07/jesus-didnt-care-about-being-nice-or-tolerant-and-neither-should-you/. But I guess you could say his post was the catalyst for turning my thoughts into words.

Most people who spread the idea that Jesus was not a nice guy use the rousing accounts of Jesus overthrowing tables in the temple. Jesus gets angry at how his Father's house is being used as a moneymaker rather than a place of reverent worship. God is holy. We see it time and time again in Scripture, and it's a truth that we dismiss far too hurriedly. His temple was a place to worship God, and his anger was a result of these men making a mockery of his holiness.

(Notice that he never went to the bars and started turning the tables over there. He did not go to the brothels and start flipping over the beds. He didn't even go to the tax collectors and dump out their stolen wages.)

There are also instances recorded in which Jesus called people names. Among other things, he referred to the Pharisees and scribes as a brood of vipers, fools, hypocrites, and whitewashed tombs. He spoke fiercely, and He didn't mince words. But there is a crucial, crucial point here that most people skip right over. Jesus is talking to the CHURCH leaders here. He is speaking to those who already claimed to be following God. Those who, more than anyone else, should have been leading others in the way of truth. It's typically dangerous to make sweeping generalizations, and especially when it comes to the Bible. Name-calling and severity was absolutely not part of Jesus' typical routine.

For example, here are some things that Jesus did not say:

To the woman at the well: "You whore. I can hardly stand to be around you. It's no wonder that you come here to the well alone. No doubt you've got herpes or something. You should probably stop sleeping with every man who will take you."

To the demon-possessed man: "Look what you've done. You cut yourself with stones and run around in a graveyard? Craaaaazy. You opened yourself up to this, and now you're going to have to deal with the consequences. Good luck getting those demons out, sucka!" 

To the disciples: "Everybody get your whips and come with me. We're gonna drive out those heathens from the temple. And when we're done with that, we're gonna go call the prostitutes names! And when anyone insults what God says, we're gonna argue with them to the death!"

Anyone can say that Jesus was not nice, but a glance through the Scripture will reveal otherwise. He was kind and compassionate, a friend of sinners. He spoke to them truthfully, boldly, and kindly. It is possible to be kind and truthful at the same time, and don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise. Jesus told sinners, with the exception of those in the church, to turn away from their sin WITHOUT calling them names. 

It was the self-righteous hypocrites, the church leaders who were responsible for teaching others what God had to say- it was this group that the harsh words were reserved for. It was not the "nice" crowd, or the "worst" sinners, or those who were not religious. Time and time again in Scripture, we see God rebuking his own people and the church. It is we who are called to a higher standard. He proclaimed truth to sinners, and we are to do so boldly yet humbly as well. 

That is why when I use the word tolerance, I don't mean that I accept sin. If the definition of tolerance is that we'll all be ok if we do whatever we want, then I retract my previous statement- I am not this kind of tolerant. What I mean is that I don't reject and despise people who are sinners. I don't call them names, consider myself superior to them, or think of their salvation as a conquest. I mean that I recognize that my battle is not against flesh and blood, but rather against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. It means that I try to see people as God sees them, and not as people to defeat with witty proclamations. It means that I recognize in humility that, but for the grace of God, my way of thinking would be just as muddled. It does not mean that I sugarcoat the truth. I can boldly speak truth and still be friends with someone who disagrees with me. Jesus did. 

In fact, here are some things that He did say:

To the woman at the well: "Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water...The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true...I, the one speaking to you, I am [the Messiah]." John 4

To the demon possessed man (after casting out the demons): "Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had compassion on you." Mark 5:19

To the disciples and the multitudes: "But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also... But I say to You, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you...Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the law and the prophets." Matt. 5:39,44, 7:12

Jesus doesn't sound quite like the rabble-rouser He's been made out to be. A couple incidents of cleansing the temple makes this behavior the rare exception, not the rule. He was quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to wrath.

John 3:17 is another helpful verse. "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." I don't include this to imply that the whole world will be saved, that Jesus danced around the truth, or that God does not judge sin. (Just check the rest of Scripture and this post.) The point is that Christ's goal on earth was not condemnation, and neither should ours be. See, Jesus didn't view his time here on earth as an opportunity to win some arguments. (Though He did win them, since those Pharisees just wouldn't give up trying to trap Him.) He could have righted every wrong, made every person He came in contact with look like a fool, forced them all to grovel at his feet, overthrown the government, the list goes on and on. He did not do that because He came to give his life as a ransom for many. He came to serve. He told us that the greatest in the kingdom of heaven would be the one who was the servant of all, not the winner of the most arguments. 

Why are we even having this conversation? Because of the culture we live in. Tolerance is just a buzz word. It's not important whether or not we agree on what that word means. What is important is to decide as Christians how we are going to engage a culture that persecutes our beliefs.

Peter fought back. He was ready to defend his Savior with any means he had. He swung his sword with boldness! And what did Jesus tell him to do? To put away the sword. And Jesus proceeded to heal the wound that Peter had so foolishly inflicted. Hateful words can do just as much damage as weapons.

This is why it should be the TRUTH that offends, never us! Never our cruelty, hatred, or bitterness! We are asked to love, and people will hate us because of it. Jesus even told us that the truth would act as (ironically enough) a sword. It will divide even friends and family, because truth is divisive. When we call names or we’re rude, then people have a legitimate reason to hate us. But it is the exclusivity of the Gospel and the fault it reveals in us that will make our enemies- we need not help them along.

When it comes to getting all fired up and motivating people to fight, take a moment to consider the idea of “outrage porn.” (http://www.challies.com/articles/outrage-porn-and-the-christian-reader) Here is a little snippet. “When we respond with outrage to every little offense, eventually we become hardened to the things that actually matter. If everything is outrageous, nothing is outrageous.” He makes fantastic points, including the fact that we often delude ourselves into thinking that getting all fired up about something is the equivalent of actually doing something to right the wrong we’re claiming to feel so strongly about. The outrage itself doesn’t count for anything in the long run.

 

Consider another example (similar to one from a blog that I sadly can’t credit because I don’t remember what it was.) Here is a picture of a home that was set on fire by a group of gay rights activists. The homeowner simply made the mistake of putting the well-known "one man + one woman" bumper sticker on their car.  And so, rather than demonstrating the tolerance they so loudly proclaim, this group set the man’s home on fire.

 Fortunately, no one was hurt, but the house was almost completely destroyed, along with everything in it. All because this man stood up for what he believed in. It angers me that people could do something so hateful! All of their pictures, clothes, keepsakes, gone- just like that!

Did it anger you, too? Can you believe that didn't get any media attention? How can these people who proclaim tolerance for all do such a hateful thing, and how can people just ignore that?!

I hope it angered you for the sake of my point, but you should know that I just made up that story. Didn't happen. This was a picture I found on the old interweb. No idea what the story actually is behind this fire, but it wasn't the one I just told. Doesn’t quite “incite” the same emotions, right? 

We have got to recognize the tendency within ourselves to seek out this kind of finger-pointing, anger-rousing behavior. I think we often forget that when Jesus denounced sin and spoke these brutally honest words, He was talking to us. He was speaking to you. He was speaking to me. The responsibility of myself as a Christian is to first ask God to search my own heart, long and hard and honestly, and only then to concern myself with the faults of those around me. I take out my beam, and then I can see clearly to begin working on the splinters of others. 

 The problem is not always with someone else. 

As a general rule, the world knows what we are against. People like Walsh are very clear about that. The Bible preaches against homosexuality, gossip, adultery, etc. (Notice I wasn’t afraid to include homosexuality in that list as a tolerant Christian. I've just alienated some people, and that's ok.) But people also need to know what we’re FOR. What are we for? 

Well, what is God for? When He lives in us, what is the result?

Love. 

Joy.

Peace.

Patience.

Kindness.

Goodness.

Gentleness.

Faithfulness.

Self-control.

No small things. That is what I want my life to embody. Not sensationalism. Not rudeness. Not harshness. Not self-righteousness. Not arrogance. If this is how the Spirit of God acts in me, then I have a hard time believing that Christ came to earth and exemplified the opposite. 

We're asked to speak truth with love, and that's what I plan to do. I don't want to be a clanging cymbal, and that's what we become when we let our emotions get in the way of the Spirit. So by all means, STAND for truth. Don't back down, and do it with the help of God in you. Show the world that God takes all that we proclaim as bad and replaces it with good. He loved us first, so that we could love.  

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters." I John 3:16