Contrary to popular opinion, homosexuality or the 'gay issue' is not often mentioned from Hillsong pulpits; for or against. On
Sunday 18 August 2013, Hillsong's Senior Pastor, Brian Houston, preached a
message that was broadcast to all Hillsong congregations around the world
in over 100 services. What was significant about this sermon was that during
the message he publicly began a conversation about the Hillsong churches
need to come to grips with the 'gay issue'. You can read the relevant extract
below.
Facing
reality
Hillsong,
like many Evangelical/Pentecostal churches, is coming to terms with the progressive LGBT changes in our western world. Whilst there have been right
wing anti-gay preachers, particularly in the US, many church leaders in
Australia hoped if they just closed their eyes or buried their head in the
sand, eventually the issue would go away. I've often said that the problem
is not so much homophobia but subjectaphobia; they would rather just not go
into the volatile space of
faith and sexuality. Possibly this is why Hillsong refused to comment on same
sex marriage when approached recently by the mainstream media about it being an
election issue. Other Christian groups were predictably quick to condemn Prime
Minister Rudd's promise to make marriage equality a reality in 100 days if
re-elected. But now churches like Hillsong are facing the reality looming on
the horizon, that in some countries, gay and lesbian couples may come into
their churches who have a recognised, legal marriage. Some will be parents.
They are no longer gay, lesbians or "homosexuals" they are believers,
committed church members and families. What do they do about that?
Also,
Hillsong has always been a church that has reached out to people outside the
church. If churches continue to hold on to the outdated Christian belief that
homosexuality is a sin then it makes them increasingly
irrelevant to those who have gay and lesbian friends, family members and
work colleagues. The previous Christian labels of unnatural, perverse, evil and
even abominations not only do not fit, they are offensive to many straight
Christians with gay friends and family.
The
longer churches put this issue on the back burner the further behind the
developing world and western society they become. Considering the progress made in scientific research, changes in the law, and that homosexuality has not been classified as a mental disorder since 1973; some churches are 40 years out of date on the issue of homosexuality. I would hope that they catch up and make it a
priority. Here
are 5 reasons why.
Facing
the harm
For
a long time many of us have known of the tremendous
harm experienced by gays and lesbians in Christian churches. This is
something I wrote about in detail to the National Executive of the Assemblies
of God in 2005 when Brian Houston was the president (you can read that letter here). It is good to finally have
this acknowledged publicly. Maybe the recent statements
from Exodus of the damage their message had on individuals and Alan
Chambers and Randy
Thomas's apologies have also encouraged this.
I
am pleased that Pastor Brian Houston has acknowledged the weight of this personally and, as
a church, but as I mentioned to him recently "I know only a handful of
pastors who are actually aware just how deep and extensive the harm is. And the
reason they know is that they opened their churches to gay and lesbian people
and listened to their stories."
Conclusion
When
working with churches,
leaders and denominations I let them know about the 10 separate issues they
will face in order to become not just a welcoming but also accepting and
affirming church. This is not a once off meeting or workshop it is a journey that
will take several years to complete.
My
hope and prayer is that this will be an ongoing conversation that takes ALL
churches to a place where gay and lesbian people are treated with respect and
equality. People of colour were once told to go to the back of the bus. Women
were once told their place was in the home. A paradigm change has happened in the world re
people of colour and also women's equality that is now happening about sexual orientation.
When mega-church pastor Delman Coates spoke to his his 8,000-member Mount Ennon Baptist Church in Clinton he said he “apologized for participating in this conspiracy of silence,” and that “The people in the pew, are further along on this issue than those of us in the pulpit.”
Come on
church.....catch up.
Update: Press Conference in New York, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2014
"It's an ongoing conversation" (Pastor Brian Houston)
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On Sunday 18 August 2013, a sermon, 'Scandal of Grace' preached by Pastor Brian Houston, was broadcast to all Hillsong Church campuses around the world. Below is the relevant extract.
"The one elephant in the room for churches around the world at the moment is the gay situation. What would Jesus do? What would Jesus do? You need to pray for church pastors and leaders around the world because whichever way you turn the scandal is there. You can turn one way and you can tell there would be a great scandal amongst the Christian Church. You can turn another way and you would just cut off so many people. There's lots of hatred out there but in the middle of it all you know there are three things: the world of the times we live in; the weight we live with; and the word we live by.
Think about that! The world has changed quickly. The world has changed and so I'm not saying that the church ever should be ruled by the way of the world but the reality is we are in a world which is changing fast. Here in Great Britain the laws have passed. The world is changing. We've got the world we live in to consider.
We've got the weight we live with. You say what's that? Well it's the weight when a young person growing up in a church feels like they are confused in their sexuality. They feel like "maybe I'm gay" and they go to a youth leader and they are rejected. At that moment a great hatred comes in. At that moment some of them have gone so far with the rejection and gone to parents who didn't understand and ended up committing suicide - That's the weight we live with.
There's the world we live in. There's the weight we live with and there's the word we live by. And they don't all necessary align. With the word we live by, many people have various convictions. In the middle of it all know that Jesus when it comes to people would let nothing stop Him from breaking through a divide to help hurting, broken, everyday normal people like you and I.
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LATEST NEWS
Pastor Carl Lentz of the New York branch of the global
Pentecostal Hillsong megachurch says Jesus never condemned gay people so he’s
not going to either READ
STORY HERE
Other previous statements
Australian Broadcast Corp., Australian Story/August 1, 2005 Pastor Brian Houston
"I
think that the homosexual question and sexuality generally is one of
the most challenging questions there is for the church in the 21st
century. And it’s one where I feel conflict myself, as a believer in the
Bible and specifically the New Testament, I think that marriage is
God’s idea, and I think it’s for a man and a woman. But I also represent
a God that’s merciful and gracious and kind, and having to connect
those two things I think is one of the great challenges for me as a
church leader."
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Media Statement on Issues of Sexuality 2008
As a church we always endeavour to treat people compassionately whatever they may be facing in life.
We
are a Christian Church and as such believe the Bible provides us with
clear teaching on sexuality and sexual expression - heterosexual and
homosexual. But I do not believe this is about rules and regulations as
much as God wanting what is best for each of us.
The heart of God is toward people, and I believe that is also the heart of our church.
God
has created each of us as sexual beings, and I do not believe it is His
will for it to be complicated. However, I recognise that people face
very real issues in regards to sexuality. I have seen this both in my
wider family, our church and society more generally.
This
is a global challenge that most of the world’s churches are grappling
with, and we, like them, are trying to balance theology with compassion.
We
do not profess to have all the answers, nor has the church worldwide
always got it right, but we will continue to try and connect people to
Jesus because we know that hope and answers for every situation and
circumstance can be found in Him.
Pastor Brian Houston
Senior Pastor, Hillsong Church
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@BrianCHouston Tweet 12:09 PM Apr 25th 2009
STOPPRESS:Hillsong
r not preaching against gays. We r not stooges of the right nor
teachers of excessive wealth. Just helping+loving people
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© Anthony Venn-Brown
Anthony Venn-Brown is the co-founder and former leader of Freedom2b, Australia’s largest network of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) people from Christian backgrounds. He is also an educator and consultant on LGBT/faith issues and leader in deconstructing the ‘ex-gay’ myth. Anthony’s autobiography 'A Life of Unlearning', details his journey from married, high profile preacher in Australia’s mega-churches to living as an openly gay man. Anthony has been twice voted ‘One of the 25 Most Influential Gay and Lesbian Australians’ (2007 & 2009) and was one of four finalists for the 2011 ACON Community Hero Award. He is also the founder and director of Ambassadors & Bridge Builders International.
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