A BLESSING FOR HOMOSEXUALS AND THOSE WHO MINISTER TO THEM

A BLESSING FOR HOMOSEXUALS AND THOSE WHO MINISTER TO THEM
To Cynthia Lapp, Mennonite Pastor
Thank you so much for coming out to Central Plains and blessing us with your thoughts
and burden for the poor, the oppressed, and the homosexuals among these groups. I do
not want any differences we have to preclude a blessing, and I have attempted to write a
blessing for you and those under your ministry.

In the name of the Lord, I bless you with the same blessing I give to military chaplains
and those under their ministry, recognizing God is at work everywhere and grace is
available to ALL who call upon God in truth.

In the name of the Lord I bless all homosexuals in lifelong, committed relationships with
the same blessing I give to polygamous families in Africa and Asia who have come to
faith in Christ, without judging how they need to live out their faith, whether to remove
some family members or all stay together, whichever way love demands and the Spirit
leads. I give all such relationships my blessing with the understanding that moralistic
prescriptions regarding sex, violence, or human equality are nothing more than laws that
cannot save us.

I realize you may find my blessing problematic, but this is what I can give. If you do have
a problem, I have one too, and here is my problem:
I see the demand for blessing upon same sex relationships to derive more from the best in
American culture rather than from what scripture appears to say. The principle value of
current American social theory appears to be that of equality, deriving from the current
understanding of the American Constitution and various declarations of human rights.
Implicit, though not stated, is an apparent assumption that having sex is a basic human
right, and sees individual human happiness and personal fulfillment to be an ultimate
human value dependent upon this right. I do see God at work both in the lives of soldiers
and in the lives of people with variant sexual arrangements, but that does not change the
Biblical ideal in either case.

Equality of all persons as imagined by most Americans is not a Biblical value excepting
in this: All are equally lost in sin, and all may be equally forgiven. The fundamental
Biblical value is that of oneness. The couple in the garden were one. When two people,
two races, two genders, yes any two groups are one there is no competition and no
comparisons. Equality and inequality are comparisons, and people truly in love don’t
make comparisons. Instead each elevates and extols his or her beloved. The New
Testament ideal is that all who are equally forgiven become one as they elevate and extol
the one who forgave them. Jesus said this is what will convince the world to believe
(John 17).

Yes, there is a blessing for all, but all blessings are not equal. Some social arrangements
are more Biblical than others, and some may be accepted, but not encouraged. When the
primogeniture system of first-born rights in Israel broke down (Genesis 48), Jacob
blessed all his sons, but they did not all receive the same blessing. In the New Testament
all had gifts, but not all gifts were equal. The American ideal of equality fails to achieve
the fabric of right relationships (righteousness) God requires. I fear the syncretism of
Mennonite peace and justice ethics with American social theory as much as I fear
Evangelicalism’s seduction by the spirit of nationalism.

There is a place for your ministry to practicing homosexuals in the Body of Christ—that
is my blessing. There must be a place for you among us, just as there is a place today in
African churches today for polygamous families; and in recognition of God’s manifold
grace, there needs to be a place for people in military service as well, even in a
Mennonite church. As to the application of all this I do not know how the Spirit will lead
us, but we know that God will lead if we trust him and move ahead, each in obedience to
the light and the opportunities God gives us.

Currently in Central Plains we have open, practicing homosexual members in some of
our churches, but we do not credential them for leadership. We do not feel it appropriate
to give that degree of encouragement to this social arrangement. Who knows whether we
may not also have polygamous members in the future, and with the large numbers of
immigrants like Hmong and Somali in Minneapolis, for us this is not impossible. If this
should come to be, I hope we can give them both acceptance and encouragement
appropriate to their deepest needs, while also confronting the sinfulness of the situation.
Please pray for us as we continue to struggle with you in behalf of the gospel, and my
prayers do follow you and those God has given you.