UCC or CoC

As a member of a church tradition called Churches of Christ I have been approached perhaps a half a dozen times within the past week asking if I'm a part of the United Church of Christ. The reason for the question is that the United Church of Christ announced a new resolution that was passed that affirms same sex marriages.

"Is that you guys?"

The short answer is no. That might be the best long answer as well, though I find myself wanting to say more. In a day when polarization occurs on almost every imaginable topic, it seems that if you aren't "for me you are against me."

However, I think that the matter is not simply thumbs up or thumbs down. If you play the game that way, any answer except yes for gay marriage is understood as homophobic. That's why I think that it is time to reset the game clock and put the ball to play on a different field.

For example, earlier today I wrote the following:

In spite of may look like a cold and distant theology, members of Churches of Christ are people who take seriously the call of Jesus Christ. If Jesus is really Lord, then we must follow his lead. For persons who are serious about the model of Jesus then the question is not merely about who we will accept and embrace—Jesus has made it clear that his followers are to embrace any and all comers. And you will find, among Churches of Christ, people from all walks of life—including homosexuals. What may be the distinguishing character is the steady refusal to let any political point of view, or race, or sexual orientation be attached the way of Jesus.

To explain, when a person says I’m a gay Christian or I’m a Republican Christian, then something less than Christianity is being asserted. Don’t misunderstand, I don’t think that a person can be simply a Christian without acknowledging all the other influences and sources that inform and shape life. But the Christian life is a life that is constantly called on to relinquish political and ideological identities and embrace more fully a devotion to the way of Jesus.

All in all, it seems to me that Christian people, like Paul, need to see each other through Jesus Christ, the new creation. From that point of view, all of names, tags, and labels mean little or nothing. And for those who keep insisting on their rights as a gay person or, for that matter as a Democrat, or whatever other tag or label you can imagine, then I would suggest that there is a little more work to be done on the nature of taking up the cross and following the crucified one.

Comments

[Keith Brenton]

I'm glad you didn't succumb to the temptation to answer the UCOC / COC question (as I am) by saying, "No, we're not very united."

[Ralph McCluggage]

If I bring my neighbors Kim, Sarah and their daughter Zelda to church will they be embraced or will they get the response Mr.Mosby received in 1962 when I took him to church in Hazen, Arkansas? They forgot to tell this Kansas boy not to invite blacks to the gospel meeting.

True story: A newspaper in New England mistakingly identified the local Church of Christ preacher with the United Church of Christ. He wrote a letter of explanation to the editor which was printed. The letter was signed "John Preacher, Church of Christ (Not United).

[Brian Ikeda]

"Jesus has made it clear that his followers are to embrace any and all comers." - Amen!
If only we could focus on bringing the world to Christ, open the door for them to walk through and let God transform their lives.
Which is the prefered scenario: A gay person stuggling to let God transform their lives (as we all are), or a gay person struggle to get away from from a "Christian" condemning them to hell.