"There is a big difference between 'Single Minded' and 'Narrow Minded'."
A large part of my blog, especially at the beginning, was aimed at explaining the oxymoron of being a gay christian. I viewed homosexuality and Christianity as mutually exclusive until I was 40. (The fact that I am both was simply inconvenient.) Then events in my life involving both forced me to do the math, work my way through the conflict between them and resolve the issue once and forever in my own life.
Even still, it is a little strange to spend Thursday evening talking about the impact of Christ - His teaching, His sacrifice, His leadership and calling - on a bunch of orphans half way around the world and then spend Friday night at the gay bar enjoying the bartenders, dancers and contestants in the Mr Gay Oklahoma competition.
As if to emphasize the apparent disparity between these two evenings, I got an email at 12:44 Saturday afternoon from the pastor of my church asking everyone to get the word out about a fundraiser to be held Saturday evening. Let's see, a pastor asking for fundraising help. No news there. The twist is that the fundraiser was last night at one of the local gay bars.
I tried to get a mental picture of any other pastor I've ever had sending an email to the congregation inviting them to participate in an event at the local gay bar. The result was hilarious. I can just see the looks on their faces if they were asked to do such a thing.
My most recent pastor (who thinks a gay christian is indeed an oxymoron, who is a convicted bank robber, who destroyed his church by leaving his wife and running off with the choir director, who despite these things is a pretty good guy and really smart and really understands the grace, providence and love of God) would have cut off his arms before sending that email.
I don't want to be a two-faced, double minded, flake. I know several of these people who are friends when you're looking and laugh at you when you're not.
And I'm Not! I'm the same guy at the bar on Friday night as I am at church on Sunday morning. I love Christ and all that he stands for, and believe in Him as the link between us and the universally right, pure, true and good nature of everything.
I see potential sons of God in every gay guy at the bar, just like I do in every man that stands in church on Sunday morning praising God. The only difference is that I see most of the guys at the bar following a tragic course that leads to someplace besides the knowledge and intimacy with Christ for which the whole universe suffers greatly to facilitate in each of us.
A double minded (two faced) man is unstable in all of his ways. I am a single minded man that happens to enjoy cute drummers, shirtless bartenders and eye candy at the bar now and then. Is that an oxymoron?
Anyway, if you're new to my blog and haven't at least scanned the Christian Math label, please feel free to. Go to the oldest posts and work your way up. At least entertain my thought process. Even if you don't need it yourself, someone else may need to hear it - maybe even a pastor who thinks a gay christian cannot exist.