So, the question was, “How?”
• How do we reach out in love?
• How do we reach out without offending further?
• How should such an outreach look?
• How do we specifically “fashion the Gospel” for this specific people group?
• How will we be received?
In all honesty, our answers to the “How?” of this outreach took a great deal of prayerful consideration, consultation and re-re-re-thinking.
The greatest help, by-far, in the planning process, was having my awesome wife (Miki Kinkead) to help and to suggest and to pull-me-off-the-ledge as we kept hitting roadblocks and obstacles. We were on the same page: She had friends who were ‘un-churched’, not because of their thorough examination of the faith and a choice not to believe. But, because they did not find a place of peace, for their specific situation; in many who claimed the name of Christ. So, she was a valuable support in this outreach and enough can not be said of her humble-greatness and loving-care for others. Without her, this would not have happened, and GOD used her to make this a success.
So, first we talked to our friends. Looking for support & thoughtful suggestions: We told them about our hopes for the outreach and we asked for support in finding the answers to “How?”… We talked to everyone, clergy, lay, conservative, liberal, folks of various denominations, ministers, Christians, un-churched friends, gay, “straight”, you name it…. This is a testament to a good, diverse and inclusive circle of friends. I once heard someone say, “If all your friends are Christians; you don’t have enough friends!” I think this goes for any “adjective” – If all your friends are ___(white, rich, straight, educated, etc…)__; you don’t have enough friends!” So, having a diverse pool of people to consult, is a great thing and a blessing from GOD. But, even in this diverse group, we immediately found that we had waded into a stream that was neither easy to ford, nor peaceful to float:
Of course, there were a few who immediately said they were willing to help in any way. These are the true outreach-warriors; those who will go to any end to help a neighbor, shine the light of Christ or stretch out a loving hand to someone in need. For these folks we thank GOD and are blessed to have this handful of Christian friends in our circle.
But, what came as a great shock to me was the ‘push-back’ from so many ‘brothers & sisters’ in Christ. The sentiment, that this group of Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgendered and Questioning people is, not unlike the lepers of old, completely untouchable and unworthy of such an outreach:
• I had e-mails from local clergy who said that there is no good and holy way to do such an outreach, because of the potential violence that could ensue.
• Many voiced a fear for our personal safety. Something that had NEVER crossed my mind to consider. We were going there in peace and were planning on meeting a peaceful people & we had no fear. But, this was a true concern of MANY who offered an opinion.
• I was also told, by a fellow clergy-man, that to reach out the LGBTQ population, you have to do it one-on-one so that when you tell them that their lifestyle is sending them to Hell, they can confront your message ‘without backup’.
• A well respected clergy-man friend even told me that he predicted nothing by “disaster” from such an outreach and that if we did not go in loudly “calling them out of the sin of Sodom”, we would not be honoring GOD with speaking the “true” Gospel.
• One dear, but un-thinking lady said, “No, that’s just too sick. I’m tired of hearing about them.”
Now, you could easily say that I should not have been surprised by these reactions. I have been doing out-reach ministry for some time and am familiar with not getting a lot of support from fellow members of congregations, or even the wider Christian community. I was once told, while a part of a fairly wealthy suburban parish, that “these folk would rather through money at an issue than to do anything about it.” In that church, we found that to be sadly true, generally. People in all Christian settings, I suppose, will gladly sit and hear the stories of missionaries and foreign ministers and will watch cleanly edited film footage of need, and read glossy brochures about the poverty and deprivation either in a far-flung part of the World, or even right here at home. Some will take the need to heart and write a check or give a donation, but VERY few will get out their beds on a Saturday morning to minister to the needy, or travel to a mission site or march in peaceful protest for the cause. This is a sad and far too common indictment on the Christianity of modernity & something I pray we find a cure for, in this generation.
A “cure”, for it is a deadly disease:
• Wealthy Christians will travel the African grasslands or Indian countryside to explore nature, yet never step off the bus to “be Christ” to the impoverished locals all around them.
• We will gladly walk past the homeless man, on the street corner, in winter; while we guzzle our 36oz, $6 cappuccino and never offer the poor man a dime.
• And, our “Brothers & Sisters” in their comfortable and well adorned beds will do nothing to offer even a clean mat for an orphan, in a 3rd world county to rest on.
It seems that our dedication to the “Great Commission” gets more and more diminished as time marches on & there will surely come a time when the call to “go and share the Gospel & baptize” is replaced with, “I wish someone had done something…” Very sad & constantly perplexing to me!
So between the disparaging calls to reconsider this outreach and the inaction of those not moved enough to help; GOD did bring us a core group of wonderful people who were able and willing to offer the support and help we needed to take this outreach to the streets. And truly, this was a diverse group… “Diversity in unity” was what saved and empowered this outreach & GOD used the effort and, with our rag-tag group, GOD touched us & we KNOW that He touched others through our efforts.
To be continued……
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