More than two decades after Scott Anderson told his California congregation that he was gay and therefore must resign as its pastor, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) is preparing to welcome him back. Anderson will be ordained Saturday as the denomination’s first openly gay minister, marking the latest mainline Protestant church to move toward accepting homosexual relationships. During a recent interview at his new church in Wisconsin, the 56-year-old Anderson recalled keeping his personal life a secret from 1983 to 1990. He told his congregation the truth and resigned after a couple learned he was...

The church’s call to exclusion is ‘killing its soul’.  Those are the words of Dr. Joretta Marshall of Brite Divinity School talking about the upcoming trial of lesbian pastor Rev. Amy DeLong in the United Methodist Church. Watch this: The soul of the church is what’s at stake, according to Marshall. The soul of the church deserves to be set free. Thoughts? Share Sign up for our Weekly Email for Church...

Many people don’t know it, but one of Oral Roberts sons was a homosexual and eventually took his own life.  Now, his nephew, Oral Robert’s grandson, who is also gay, has made a video about his uncle and his current view on life. Take a look here.  [profanity alert] I’ve said for a long time that homosexuality will be one of the (if not THE) major social issue the church will deal with in the next decade.  Just in the past few weeks, I’ve heard new allegations of bullying by the church of homosexuals (bullying is the new politically correct buzzword, I guess). If you...

According to the Houston Chronicle and a new Gallop poll:  Christians and people from other religious traditions have grown more tolerant of gays and lesbians. The percentage of Catholics calling gay relations “morally acceptable” has increased by more than a third in the past five years, up to 62 percent. More Americans also favor legalizing gay marriage. More from the article: Although America’s stance on homosexuality remains a contentious social issue, nearly split nationwide, gays and lesbians are moving towards equality in some of the country’s mainline...

With special thanks to Frank Lockwood (The Bible Belt Blogger), take a look at this pastoral letter from Episcopal Church presiding bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori to the Anglican Communion… A pastoral letter to The Episcopal Church Pentecost continues! Pentecost is most fundamentally a continuing gift of the Spirit, rather than a limitation or quenching of that Spirit. The recent statement by the Archbishop of Canterbury about the struggles within the Anglican Communion seems to equate Pentecost with a single understanding of gospel realities. Those who received the gift of the Spirit on...

Well, I kinda pegged this one last week… Ted Haggard’s launch party for his new St. James Church happened last week.  A few interesting observations about the first service… 1.  According to media reports, only 160 people attended the first service of this new church.  That’s with nation-wide media coverage that it was going to happen; and in a town that is nearly the evangelical mecca of the United States.  Seems like a whole bunch of people just don’t care about Ted these days.  Even an LA PR firm wasn’t able to drum up a crowd. 2.  People that...

Remember Ray Boltz? It’s been nearly seven years since Ray ‘came out of the closet’ and took a hiatus from Christian Music… But now Boltz is back with a new album, and a new belief.  And a call for Christians to not discriminate against homosexuals. Here is one of the lyrics to a song called “Who Would Jesus Love?” Would He only love the ones Who looked the same as me Would He only offer hope When He saw similarity Would He leave the others waiting Like a stranger at the gate Would He discriminate. Or, part of the lyrics of his song “Don’t Tell Me Who...

Given the interest in the Jennifer Knapp story here at MMI yesterday, I thought this would be a great follow-up, and I’d really like to spark some additional conversation around this topic because I think it’s vitally important.  Meet Constance McMillen.  Constance is an 18 year old high school senior from Fulton, Mississippi (but she might as well be from your town).  Constance is a lesbian.  She’s been ‘out of the closet’ since eighth grade. It’s prom time, and Constance wants to take her girlfriend to the school prom.  School rules state that...

A defiant Christian Singer Jennifer Knapp takes on a pastor of last week’s Larry King Live… Watch the video, then let’s discuss: First of all, while I do think that homosexuality, biblically, is a sin, I think Jennifer makes a couple of good points: 1.  She is correct when she asks why this one sin is chosen to debate.  Homosexuality is the big taboo sin in Christian culture these days.  I’m not saying that is a bad thing; but it is seen as a much greater sin than any number of other sins combined:  lying, cheating, divorce, living together before marriage,...

The Cathedral of Hope in Dallas will host “Corpus Christi” for five performances, June 4-6.  The play casts Jesus and his disciples as gay men. Tickets will be $30-50.  You can read more on this here… Thoughts? Todd