The Sins of Exclusion and Hypocrisy

Is loving someone of the same sex a bigger sin than hypocrisy? Is it a bigger sin than willfully demonizing members of your own flock? What about hating yourself? Is that what God asks of his followers?

Rev. Paul Barnes, former pastor of a Denver evangelical mega-church, surely grappled with these questions as he resigned his position on December 10th after confessing to having sex with other men. The Rev. Ted Haggard, former President of the National Association of Evangelicals and pastor of a Colorado Springs mega-church probably asked himself the same questions, when, in early November, a male escort's salacious allegations revealed him to be an adulterous hypocrite.

The Episcopal Church U.S.A. has been grappling with these questions for a couple of years now. Ever since the ordination of Bishop Gene Robinson, many conservatives in the church have been seeking to splinter a small minority away from the majority's clear support for full inclusion. Unfortunately, this week several Episcopal churches in Virginia made the decision to divide instead of unite, to give into fear instead of love and to turn away from welcoming all of God's children to take part in his communion.

And, all of this has left good people of faith wringing their hands and wondering who will be next. Others have questioned how deep the problems of hypocrisy and duplicity run among Christian fundamentalists who declare from the pulpit that homosexuality is an abomination, but secretly relent to what must surely be the Devil's bidding.

These scandals arise during a larger identity crisis among Christian conservatives. Recently, it was revealed that the Christian Coalition voted to accept the Rev. Joel C. Hunter's resignation as its new president before he even took office, because he had a larger vision for the organization that involved a return to the core teachings of Jesus. And, in modern terms, that means working on key issues like AIDS, poverty, and the environment. It was simply too radical an idea that this Christian lobby should expand beyond its obsession with same-sex marriage and abortion.

For further evidence of how evangelicals have lost their way, look no further than to the flap over Pastor Rick Warren's invitation to Democratic Senator Barrack Obama to discuss the global AIDS crisis on a panel at his church. Christian conservatives were apoplectic that the pro-choice Senator should be allowed to participate in the event. Some even called Obama "evil."

Meanwhile, with the recent elections, evangelicals who mix politics with preaching are likely to find that their anti-gay policy agenda will fall on deaf ears in the new Congress. In truth, as former White House aide, David Kuo, himself an evangelical, recently revealed, that may not be much different from the status quo; Kuo writes in a tell-all book that the Bush White House holds evangelicals in such low esteem that, while it pays them lip-service, aides privately call them "nuts", "goofy", and "ridiculous."

The two thousand year old question of "what would Jesus do?" is ringing through evangelical pews all across the country, and while many evangelicals stand steadfast in their anti-gay personal and political beliefs, many gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender evangelicals are coming to realize that Jesus would embrace them. Love is not a sin. And, these GLBT evangelicals are refusing to choose between their faith and their core identities. After being kicked out of their places of worship - sometimes after years of service and dedication - they have come to realize that the politics of their church won't trump the message of their faith. As a recent New York Times article pointed out, they are building online communities and meeting in small groups on their own. They are pioneers in creating a new way to be inclusive and evangelical.

People are struggling in the twenty-first century for the correct interpretation of the word of God. In a world where GLBT identities are increasingly visible and affirmed, how can evangelical churches properly address their relationships with their GLBT congregants? It is no longer enough to love the sinner, but hate the sin. That is a meaningless tautology that disconnects GLBT people from their church and from God. Excluding anyone from a communion with God and his followers sounds like the true abomination.

With homosexuality and transgender issues now debated regularly in the policy arena, evangelicals must rethink if they are following the most important calls to action from Jesus, who never once mentioned either. Jesus would be more concerned about the poor, the sick, and the fate of the world. Isn't that, after all, what he spent most of his life doing?

It is truly a Copernican moment for evangelicals. Will their core ideology and basic sense of identity crumble if they embrace all of their flock? And, what if they treat homosexuality as no more sinful than eating shellfish or mixing cotton with wool? The Catholic church found a way to stay not only relevant, but incredibly integral to hundreds of millions of people long after it agreed that Copernicus and Galileo might be on to something. The Earth was not the center of the universe, but God remained central to the lives of the faithful. Evangelicals can and must evolve. I believe that they can weather this crisis and find that they are still true to God's vision.

Besides, we need their help. We need their charity and compassion in the fight against AIDS. We need evangelicals to minister affirmingly to GLBT Christians who seek to be a part of their community. We need evangelicals to participate in politics and find common ground to make our country stronger and safer and more peaceful. And, most of all, regardless of what we believe, we all need the message of love and compassion to guide us in everything we do.

For more about the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Religion and Faith Program, go to: www.hrc.org/religion