One side screams about the sexual sins we’ve systematically permitted and supported in our country (pornography, entertainment, family values, gay marriage, trafficking) that have been or will be our “downfall.”

One side screams about the financial sins we’ve systematically permitted and supported in our country (embezzlement, injustice, economic disparity, greed, heath care) that have been or will be our “downfall.”

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the validity of  both sides and it led me to consider the following scriptures. I won’t write much. I’ll let the scriptures speak for themselves.

Separate But Equal Sins

First, I find it interesting that Paul would often list sexual sin and financial sin together.  Theses sins are separate but equal in God’s eyes. Both condemn us to hell. “Such were some of us,” as Paul says. Such is some of our country.

Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. I Corinthians 6:9-11

But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Ephesians 5:3-5

Disqualifying Sins

Secondly, both sins disqualify someone from being an elder (or leader) in the church. Paul tells Timothy and Titus to to examine potential leaders’ lives before appointing them as elders.  They must be beyond reproach sexually and financially in order to be an elder.

Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. I Timothy 3:2-4

An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined.  Titus 1:6-8

Prostitutes and Tax Collectors

Finally, I love that Jesus spent time with both types of people: the sexually immoral and the financially immoral. Some of the most dramatic stories of life-change that we see in the gospels is Jesus renewing the lives of prostitutes and tax collectors. Both were hated by various groups of people, just as they are in our day, but welcomed by Jesus.

Can we, like Jesus, see both sins as devastatingly harmful for individuals and culture? Can we, like Jesus, call individuals and our culture to repentance while at the same time loving them? This is a task I am eager to embrace.

Justin Christopher is the national campus director for Campus Renewal Ministries and the author of Campus Renewal: A Practical Plan for Uniting Campus Ministries in Prayer and Mission. He facilitates CRM’s Partnering Campus Project and also gives leadership to the Campus House of Prayer and the missional community movement at the University of Texas.

Short and Sweet

I say this every week, but this time I’m really going to keep this one short. It doesn’t do to sign off with a monologue. During both this series of blog posts and my previous series, The Gospel Rants, I have made many references to prayer. I’ve described it as the most important aspect of a believer’s life, with regards to missionality. At the end of every post, I’ve included a short prayer, to give the reader exposure to the way that I pray personally.

But that doesn’t make it any easier for you, reader, to actually pray. So let’s discuss the two biggest roadblocks in my heart to prayer—I think they’ll be reasons that surprise you.

#1: Cold Feet

In some ways, I’m just terrified of commitment. Whenever I consider prayer, fear is always a challenge I have to overcome—and why? It’s because I’m putting all my eggs in God’s basket rather than my own. I remember this thought actually floating through my head a few months ago: But if I devote all this time to prayer, and nothing happens, won’t I look like a fool?

Fear is a big reason why people don’t pray. My response to this is simple: Don’t be afraid. Revivals have happened through prayer; nothing has happened through lack of prayer. Don’t fear your prayer—rather, fear your lack of prayer!

#2: Cold Faith

Look again at the thought that I had a couple months ago: ‘But if I devote all this time to prayer, and nothing happens, won’t I look like a fool?’ What kind of faith do you think is demonstrated in this statement? Faith that saves, or faith that falters?

Another reason why people don’t pray is because they don’t believe their prayers are powerful. So I challenge you: Take God’s dare and pray, then see what happens. And don’t forget to look! So many times in my own life, God answers a prayer of mine, and I just go about my day without really stopping to give Him the worship He deserves. If you haven’t already, start praying for big things, and give Him thanks when they happen.

That’s All, Folks!

Thank you again for your readership. God bless you, and don’t forget to write!

Lord, I thank You so much for Your mercy and Your love. I pray for faith to come to Austin—Lord, glorify Your name in the way that we long to pray to You. I pray that we would have the courage that we need in order to rise above our fears and pursue You with everything. Please humble us, give us greater love for You, and please show us the power of our prayers through Your Spirit. Thank You so much for the time I have spent with CRM and for these blogs—may You bless them both. In Jesus’ Name,

Amen.

But it’s clear that there’s got to be a line between the art and culture of our churches and the art and culture of the world, and I’m going to spend some time looking for that line in this blog; in other words, I’ll be stepping on the other side of the aisle today, speculating about the boundaries which should divide redeemed forms of art and culture from its unregenerate counterparts. For questions, comments, or spasms of profanity directed against me, email me at scott.tipton@campusrenewal.org.

What, Exactly, Is The Issue?

Culture. Culture is key. In all of your relationships, in all of your classes, in every situation you’re in, take a week and observe how established culture plays a part in determining what tone and what nature the interactions between members of a social group take. In a class with a professor who asks for student participation, the culture becomes open to response during his lecture; the students are more alert, more attentive, and there’s a sense that any questions may be asked freely. In a class with a closed professor, the students react to the culture which has been set up by the instructor and become closed as well.

Also, take your friendships: If you set up a friendship where you’re subtly teasing a friend, a culture of sarcasm and put-downs in the name of a good laugh, you will reap what you sow. Godly growth rarely comes from such relationships—they generally harm both sides. But if you take the time to watch your tongue, carefully cultivating a respectful, uplifting friendship, both parties will benefit.

Thus, culture. But what importance does this principle have for the Church today?

The Movement to The World

Christianity has noticed its own false, superficial church culture (which I mentioned in the first paragraph). Now, the Church is shifting away from that and pursuing a new culture—one based more on the institutions of the world. In some ways, this is good. Paul says clearly that change on the part of a missionary to model the target culture is necessary for a mission to be effective.  But in other ways, it’s possible for the Church to go too far.

Of course, this should be obvious. As a servant to a group of international students around whom the debate concerning missional contextualization rages, I’m familiar with the verses: “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot” (Matthew 5:13). What does this mean, other than that the Church must be distinct from its parent culture?

And again, in Revelations 2:6, in Christ’s letter to the Church in Ephesus: “But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.” There is disagreement about this, but it is believed by most that the Nicolaitans were a group of believers which had blended with their parent culture to the extent of losing the salt that should have been their witness through their godliness. Christ says that He hates over-contextualization. Again, the Bible is clear.

So Where Is The Line?

I think there are three places where over-contextualization could become a problem for the Church in its current spasm of identity crisis. The first is art, and by ‘art’ I mean all forms of art—painting, writing, musical expression, filmmaking, blogging, etcetera.

I believe the line for art must be hope. There is a false idea within the world: The idea that expressions of hopelessness are what makes art beautiful. This is simply false, yet it is prevalent throughout academic society, and it bleeds into the paradigm of the common man. This, in turn, bleeds into the Church. Christian artists may be under the false impression that they need to replicate the hopelessness of the world in order to create art that is beautiful.

Nothing could be farther from the truth. It should be the joy and hope expressed through our music which sets us apart, as through our books, paintings, films, etcetera. Hopelessness does not make an artist great—it makes him fruitless. Just ask the Lost Generation. It is Christ which makes a Christian great, and the hope which Christ has given us.

Second is in our interactions with one another within the Church. The bar for these interactions must be purity—absolute, diamond-clear purity. The world picks on its friends, says things that it doesn’t mean in a slighting way to get a laugh, or values comedy or coolness above the sum of a relationship’s love.

But the Church has been called into its own service. Every Christian on the planet is required, by the bonds of Christ’s sacrifice, to serve his brothers and sisters as he would have them serve him—this means no false words, no fake love, and no coolness. So pay attention to the cultures of your relationships. Are they truly God-honoring? If Christ were standing next to you rather than ‘merely’ living inside you, would you act the same?

Third may be a surprise: prayer. I believe that these days it’s possible for a Christian to consider prayer in the same way he would consider a bank transaction—I deposited my check, now it’s in my account and I’m done. I asked for it once, so the transaction is complete. This is nothing more than secularism, with a root sin of unbelief.

When you read about an old dead saint who God used to do something great, prayer always stands out in their life. I guarantee it. I don’t mean popcorn prayer for a few minutes every hour, and I don’t mean half-distracted prayer while they were grocery shopping (both of which are forms of bank transactions, I think). I mean they had two, three, or four hours every day that they set aside to pray to God about everything happening in their life without distractions, just them and the Lord on the mountainside (but with friends too, often—corporate prayer is a beautiful thing).

Is it possible that Christians today have secularized our prayers? Why don’t Christians pray for one thing over a period of weeks anymore? And I don’t mean prayer for a material object, I mean a focused pursuit of one aspect of the Holy Spirit which they want to incorporate into their life, or the salvation of a friend. Why don’t we take a week to pray for more love, or take a week to pray for Jim to come to Christ?

So this is my challenge to you, Christian: If you make art, make art with the hope of Christ. It may take time to get it good, but you have time—generally, the people reading these blogs are in their early twenties. We have plenty of time to give, if the Lord wants to take time with us.

And another challenge: Watch your cultures, and have the courage to change them. Set all of your friends on a path to Christ rather than coolness. Be bold, and pray. Christ will be with you always.

And a final challenge: Pick one principle and one friend and, starting tomorrow, pray for those two things every chance you get for a solid seven days. Meditate on them both day and night. Memorize verses regarding the principle; reach out to the person by asking them to be with you for coffee or something to give legs to your prayers. And God will work in your life, guaranteed.

Lord Jesus, please humble me. Show me the true nature of my relationships, and glorify Your name in my life—I pray that I would become true salt and true light to the world. Please break me down, that You might build me up in Your Spirit. Lord, I submit my entire life to You. Please make me new. In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

2 Peter 3:13 – “But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.”

Shutting Down

For as long as I can remember, I’ve hated change. It’s just not my thing. My roommate, Sarah, loves change. She always looks forward to new adventures and experiences. She likes figuring out the world from a new perspective or outlook. I am not like that.

When I know change is coming, I shut down. During the fall of my Senior year of high school, I would have at least a panic attack a week about where to go to college. I remember one night I was watching Gilmore Girls (a great show, by the way) for a little relief and in the show, Rory (the main character) started getting worked up about where she should go to school. I felt so panick-y that I had to turn off the TV. That image of me turning off the TV is how I often respond to change. I don’t want to think about it, I don’t want to talk about. I just want to shut it off and pretend it’s not real.

I am now a Senior in college and while I’m not graduating (I’ve got one more semester), most of my friends and roommates are and most of them are moving away. I’ll say goodbye to my old friends. I’ll move into a new house with new roommates. I’ll finish up college. Then (hopefully) I’ll move on as well.

Change is coming and there’s nothing I can do about it. The world as I’ve known it for the past four years is about to explode and I might as well face it, because there’s no use in hiding.

Wired for Eternity

Lately, God has reminded me why I hate change so much. I think that my disdain for change and my desire for stability and coherence has a lot to do with Jesus. God tells us in Ecclesiastes that He has set eternity on the hearts of men. We were created for eternity, we were created to live forever with Him in perfect unity. That’s how my soul is wired—it is made for stability, for eternity. I so yearn for stability because Jesus has created me for a stable place.

Jesus has called me to an eternal home, that He has already prepared for me. I hate change so much because I was created for a place that doesn’t change. I was created for Jesus, and He certainly never changes.

Waiting

It’s hard and not fun that I still have to endure change and upheaval while waiting for heaven. But that’s part of the fall, unfortunately. So all I can do is ask that Jesus continues to give me peace through the change. That He would give me strength to endure the waiting. That I would not be afraid or anxious. That I would see change as an opportunity to learn new things about Jesus.

We can have hope because even though our surroundings change, Jesus will never change. He will endure, and we’ll endure with Him. God is constant and we can hold tight to Him knowing that He will stay with us throughout all of our earthly transitions.

Annie Paige is a media intern for Campus Renewal Ministries. She is a Senior at the University of Texas, studying English and Radio-Television-Film. She is also involved with Sigma Phi Lambda, an all-female campus ministry.

These are the two “arms” so to speak of a pastor thrown into the sea of ministry.  To swim, or at least to swim straight, we have to move both arms.  However, we usually have one arm overdeveloped while the other remains weak if not completely atrophied. As a result, we just wind up swimming in circles.

It has been my experience that college pastors and college students are weakest in prayer. It’s our left arm, so to speak (sorry lefties). It may be different in your circles, but in my circles it is fair to say if one of the two gets neglected, it tends to be prayer.  This is radically limiting our impact. It must be addressed.

If this is true of you and your ministry, may I encourage you do one or more of the following things.

Exercise Your Left Arm

It’s simple. If you wan to build up your left arm so you can swim straight, you have to exercise it. That means you need to calendar time to pray, personally and corporately. If you are not praying enough personally then you must change your schedule. If your staff team is not praying together, you must stop all of your planning and start praying together.

Almost all of the speakers at this conference referenced a time in their lives when they realized the busyness of ministry snuffed out their time with God. They use to spend time with God daily, or fast weekly, and used to go on prayer retreats but the demands of ministry swallowed up these times. They described how they realized they were drowning and had to make changes – to “do the things you did at first.” (Revelation 3)

It sounds simplistic, but the way to grow in prayer is to actually make time to pray together.

Quit Using Your Right Arm

I used to be an amateur body builder. Most people do not know this, but one of the ways judges score a contest is on “proportion.” If a contestant had overdeveloped chest but underdeveloped biceps they could easily could lose to a guy who was smaller than them but not in better proportion.

To work on proportion, a body builder has to quit doing some exercises and focus on their weakness. If they tried to focus on their weakness while continuing to do the same exercises on their strength they will continue to remain out of proportion. Making changes to your schedule to make time for prayer must include sacrificing some of the priorities that have led to your imbalance.

As heretical as this may sound, study the Bible less (or learn to pray it as you study). Stop meeting for Bible study, fellowship, and or planning and learn to pray together instead. Cut out some of your sermon time and have the congregation pray together instead. You not only need to schedule prayer, you also need to “unschedule” other things or you will continue to remain out of proportion.

Learn From Lefties

One of the best things you can do to grow in prayer is to expose yourself to others who are more experienced and more passionate about prayer. Read books, listen to podcasts, go to conferences and make friends with those who emphasize prayer more than you tend to do. I’m sure you believe other should read your books on missions, evangelism, or church planting. Don’t you think you should read books on prayer and befriend those who emphasize prayer and a means to revival and transformation? This is why CRM believes we need to be in relationships with one another – to learn from one another and grow in humility.

A few months ago I was at another conference that was more focused on missional living. While I enjoyed the conference (given that missional communities is one of CRM’s ventures and is a HUGE part of my life and work), I was bothered by how little time was spent praying and how only two of the dozens of speakers spoke about prayer or the work of the Holy Spirit in missional communities.

BOTTOM LINE: Acts 6:4 teaches us that we need prayer and mission. One will not do without the other! You’ll just end up swimming in circles. We need prayer and we need the word. Mission without prayer is dead. So is prayer without mission.

Which is your weak arm? What can you do to grow where you’re weak?

Justin Christopher is the national campus director for Campus Renewal Ministries and the author of Campus Renewal: A Practical Plan for Uniting Campus Ministries in Prayer and Mission. He facilitates CRM’s Partnering Campus Project and also gives leadership to the Campus House of Prayer and the missional community movement at the University of Texas.

The Tragedy

The bombing at the Boston Marathon last week was, of course, a tragedy. As Christians, we mourn with those who are hurting. But, as Christians, we also need to mourn with those who, despite having nothing to do with the cause of this tragedy, will face hardship, trial, and discrimination.

This national tragedy is similar to 9/11 because it encourages Americans to bind together in unity. However, when a group binds together this process naturally excludes, leaves out, and turns “outsiders” into “others.” I have been shocked and saddened by how some have responded to Middle Eastern individuals throughout this situation.

If you are not familiar with the story of the young Saudi Arabian student, let me tell you. This man was hurt at the scene of the Boston Marathon, taken to the hospital, and then quickly became a “suspect” because he was there, because he was running away from the explosion, and—we have to assume—because he was Saudi Arabian. This student’s home was searched, his roommate was questioned, all while he was laying wounded in a Boston hospital.

Nothing came of it, and he was quickly cleared. Because he was simply, like so many others, an injured spectator. Yet, this man was racially profiled and targeted because of what he looked like and what we decided about him based on his appearance.

Jesus Wasn’t American

Often, I think it is easy for Christians to join in this desire for national unity and, in doing so, to want to lash out at Muslims or Middle Easterners. This is because our concept of what it means to be “American” is so often confined to a small portion of the community. We easily award that title to those we think “look” American, usually letting it come down to a simple issue of race. If you’re white, you’re American and we’re not afraid of you. Clearly, this simplistic mindset reduces the American identity to a small portion of the population and excludes the rest.

Because many of us like to believe (or hope) that to be an American also means to be a Christian, this reduction and stereotyping and exclusion has intense ramifications for how we as Christians are viewing Middle Easterners. If we so associate Christianity with our American national identity, not only are we doing a disservice to the tons and tons of Christians who are not American, but we are doing a disservice to Jesus (because He wasn’t and still isn’t American).

Our Response

This mindset—one that is so quick to judge and categorize and exclude—exists in opposition to how Jesus lived His life. He was willing to draw near to anyone, despite what perceived earthly barriers might have existed. We must live like this. If we ever exclude, judge, or ridicule someone based on what we perceive as some irreconcilable difference, we are not living like Jesus. We are letting fear rule our hearts.

In Romans 12:2, God commands us, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” It’s easy to want to let ourselves join in the wave of American nationalism and exclude all the people we decide are outsiders. These practices are usually not done with explicit intension. Rather, we let these mindsets seep into our heads and hearts and change how we act towards others, think about others, and love others.

We must resist conforming to the patterns of the world. As Christians, it is our duty to love like Jesus. This means that we must stand up for everyone who is persecuted or judged or despised. We must respond to the Boston tragedy with sympathy and love and support for all men and women, no matter where they come from or what they look like. We must let Jesus transform and renew our minds.

Annie Paige is a media intern for Campus Renewal Ministries. She is a Senior at the University of Texas, studying English and Radio-Television-Film. She is also involved with Sigma Phi Lambda, an all-female campus ministry.

It was fun to finally meet Eric, because I had prayed for him many times during the period Scott was sharing the gospel with him. As he shared his spiritual story with me, I was struck by three simple things that made all of the difference in his life. These three things can be practiced by any student as they attempt to live on mission in the classroom.

Help In The Classroom

Scott and Eric met during an intensive summer program in the Arabic Department. They had class eight hours a day for several months and the classroom environment was very competitive. Eric was falling behind in the class and feeling extremely stressed.  Scott noticed Eric, and asked him if he needed help studying.

That was it. While the rest of the class was busy and trying to out perform others, Scott simply asked if he could help. Eric was blown away by Scott’s willingness to help and by the fact that he was not concerned about being better than everyone else in the program. This offer to help him study was what peaked Eric’s curiosity about Scott’s faith, and so he began to ask Scott questions. His questions, at first, were really hostile.

Buy A Meal

One day Eric forgot to pack his lunch for class. The lunch break was short during this summer program so Eric could not go home to get his lunch. Eric’s finances were tight and he did not want to buy lunch either. Scott heard about the situation that day and simply said he would buy lunch. Eric asked, “Why?”  Scott said, “It’s all Jesus’s money anyway.” You’d have to know Scott personally to get how normal it is for him to say something like this.

This little act of kindness and generosity caused Eric to question even more. He was curious about the reasons behind Scott’s continued generosity. His questions grew less hostile and more honest. Soon thereafter Eric put his faith in Christ!

Don’t Be A Hypocrite

After Eric put his faith in Christ, he joined a Bible study in his fraternity. He became very disillusioned when the guys who spoke about Jesus in the Bible study each week were hooking up with girls and partying the rest of the week. He very nearly left the faith were it not for the example of another friend, his roommate Michael.

Michael was the “real deal,” as they say. He talked the talk and walked the walk. He was the one shining example of a real Christian who truly lived for Jesus in the midst of his wild fraternity. Michael’s integrity kept Eric faithful to God and hopeful that he could change his heart and the heart of his friends.

Justin Christopher is the national campus director for Campus Renewal Ministries and the author of Campus Renewal: A Practical Plan for Uniting Campus Ministries in Prayer and Mission. He facilitates CRM’s Partnering Campus Project and also gives leadership to the Campus House of Prayer and the missional community movement at the University of Texas.

I’m afraid that I won’t get into grad school. I’m afraid I won’t find a job for the summer. I’m afraid I’ll be lonely when my friends graduate and leave Austin and I have another semester here. I’m afraid of the unknown.

Today I ask simply that Jesus would take care of me.

Our Identity as Fearless

I worked as a camp counselor for many summers. One of my favorite weeks ever as a counselor was a week in 2010. My co-counselor was one of my very best friends. We had a cabin of 9th and 10th grade girls. We had a lot of fun and deemed it the unofficial “Lizzie McGuire” week and won the spirit award. We also talked a lot about fear. I had just finished my Freshman year of college, as had my friend, and looking back, I wonder if either of us knew what we were doing. Probably not, in all honesty. But luckily the Holy Spirit knew what He was doing.

That week we talked a lot about fear. The girls were afraid of talking to their friends about Jesus. The girls were afraid that other people would judge them. The girls were afraid that they would fall back into the same sin patterns when they went home.

Throughout the week, we talked about fearlessness. We desired, so earnestly, to be fearless. We wanted to trust that God would take care of us. To trust that God went before us. To trust that God was protecting us. But it was difficult. Because it required setting aside our own doubts and insecurities and trusting that even though we didn’t know something, God did and He does.

One day, towards the end of the week, we painted the word “Fearless” in big block letters down the side of our legs. The whole cabin went through the day like that. (Luckily, this sort of action is acceptable at a camp.) The words painted on our legs served as a visual reminder of the identity that Jesus had given us.

We had no reason to fear, because God had called out us out of fear. He has called us out of our old, scared, guilty, not-good-enough identities, and He has given us new identities. New identity that is found fully in Him. New identity that is one of trust and intimacy with Jesus.

The Unknown

Most of the time that I am afraid of something, it is because I do not know or understand something. All of my fears I listed above are for the future and for the unknown. I wish that I knew the answers to these questions because then, I would be in control. Ultimately, my issues with fear come down to issues with control. I want to be able to make sure that everything works out for me. It again becomes about making sure that my own efforts are good enough, rather than trusting that Jesus is good enough.

I constantly need God to remind me of the heart of the Gospel. I can not work hard enough to achieve salvation or righteousness. In the same way, I cannot work hard enough to make sure that everything works out just the way I want it. This mindset is silly for a number of reasons. It makes earthly comfort and safety my main concern. It places my own efforts as more important than God. It says that I know better than God does. Obviously, this is silly and sinful and wrong.

If we believe the Bible, we have to believe all of the Bible. That’s really hard for me some days. I can believe, easily, in the cross. I can believe that God loves me. I can believe that God calls me to serve and obey Him. But it is hard for me to believe that God is going to provide for my future. It is hard for me to believe that God is going to take care of me. Because of these doubts, the fear creeps back in.

The only answer to eradicating this fear is to humble myself before the Lord and to trust in Him. Because I cannot fix myself. I cannot force myself to stop being afraid. Like everything else in our spiritual walk, all I can do is ask the Holy Spirit to teach me how not to fear, to teach me how to trust in Him. All I can do is ask Jesus to take care of me.

Annie Paige is a media intern for Campus Renewal Ministries. She is a Senior at the University of Texas, studying English and Radio-Television-Film. She is also involved with Sigma Phi Lambda, an all-female campus ministry.

Christians typically have a difficult time knowing how to respond to these conversations. I certainly do. While I don’t claim to have many answers, it has helped me to think in terms of three postures toward the homosexual community on our campuses.

Condemn

While this might not be the posture most Christians personally take toward the LGBTQ community, it is certainly the way they feel we have responded. They feel that we have condemned them as outcasts, unwelcomed in our community let alone society at large.

There are certainly pastors, politicians, and talk show hosts that clearly condemn the LGBTQ community. Those who speak in a condemning way speak as if homosexuality is a sin of greater magnitude, something that is condemning our nation.

At least two scriptures strike me as particularly important for those who hold to a condemnation posture.

The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ Luke 7:34

Jesus was the friend of sinners. He befriended the outcasts and immoral people of his day, namely tax collectors, prostitutes, and “sinners.” Somehow they did not feel condemned by Him. They wanted to spend time with Jesus and He with them.

What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. I Corinthians 5:12,13

Paul did not want the church to try to hold those outside the Christian community to their moral standards. Rather, he wanted believers to judge each other, in a way that would purify the church. We need to focus on sin within the church (such as being judgmental even) and not expect people with different beliefs to live like us.  Why would they?

Condone

There is immense pressure in our society to be “tolerant” of everyone’s behavior. Tolerance is fine, if by it we mean we allow others freedom to make their choices, but this is not what tolerance means today. It means we have to agree with the beliefs and behaviors of everyone. When defined this way, “intolerance” is truly the chief sin in our culture. In our day, there is almost nothing worse that you can do than tell someone you disagree with them, that you believe they are wrong and you are right.

The fear of appearing intolerant has led many believers to condone homosexuality. They no longer believe it is a sin, meaning a behavior that goes against the character and commands of God.

At least two scriptures strike me as particularly important for those who hold to a condone posture.

Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. I Corinthians 6:11-12

We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me. I Timothy 1:8-11

Homosexuality is listed among the many other sins that separate us from God. It is lumped in with things we think are “little” sins like slander, greed, and drunkenness and with things we think are “big” sins like murder, perjury, and slave trade.

Homosexuality is no worse or no greater a sin than anything listed here, but none of the sins listed here can be condoned. If we condone homosexuality then we then need to condone everything else listed here, don’t we?

Come Near

I am not claiming that I know how to do this personally. Far to often I find myself wavering between condemning and condoning postures, but I am challenged to read the gospels and see how Jesus was able to stand somewhere in the middle or perhaps somewhere above it all.

He had a standard that was impossible. He said, “Be perfect as you heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). How could He say something like that and yet still have broken people come to him without feeling condemned? He was able, like Rick Warren’s quote above says, to disagree with someone yet still love them well. This is what I want to learn to do.

Jesus’s ability to do so is seen so clearly in John 8 when the crowds bring a woman caught in the act of adultery to her (I always wonder why the man was not brought too). They basically ask Jesus, “Are you going to condemn her or condone her?” Jesus calmly writes something on the ground and asks the person without sins (like on the list of sins above) to be the first to throw a stone at her. One by one they leave until it is just Jesus and her.

Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” John 8:10-11

Amazing! He did not condemn her nor did he condone her behavior. Oh how I wish we could learn this third way. I believe we can have convictions and be compassionate. I believe it is possible to disagree with someone’s beliefs and/or behaviors yet still be near to them in relationships.

This is something the Christian community needs to learn to do with the LGBTQ community, and visa versa. But we should be the first to attempt to do so.

Justin Christopher is the national campus director for Campus Renewal Ministries and the author of Campus Renewal: A Practical Plan for Uniting Campus Ministries in Prayer and Mission. He facilitates CRM’s Partnering Campus Project and also gives leadership to the Campus House of Prayer and the missional community movement at the University of Texas.

It has probably already been established throughout my blog posts that I am a literature nerd. I love reading. I love books. God is really cool because He uses this love to teach me new things about Himself.

Last semester, I took an Ernest Hemingway class and it was one of my favorite courses that I’ve ever taken. Hemingway lived a really exciting life, but he’s ultimately a very tragic figure. He was an ambulance driver in World War I. He lived for many years in Paris. He traveled to Africa and Cuba and various countries in Europe. He hunted big game. He watched bull fights. He liked to have a good time.

Yet, his writing suggests that none of this satisfied him. Throughout his work there is a reoccurring theme that to escape death or escape boredom, you need to keep moving. He spent most of his life moving, trying to find something to fill him up and satisfy him. He was married four times. He had three children. He was an acclaimed literary success and a celebrity. But in the last years of his life, he had a growing dependency on alcohol and eventually committed suicide.

I believe that Hemingway felt, deep inside of himself, that there was something else. Something he was missing out on. I think a lot of the time when telling others about the Lord, we tend to think of the conversation as a battle. We want to win them to the other side. In viewing evangelism as a battle, we turn the non-believer we’re talking to into the enemy. Obviously, this mindset is silly and flawed. I firmly believe that everyone on this earth has a longing, deep inside their hearts, to know Jesus.

Like Hemingway, people feel that there’s something more to life. They want to feel satisfied. They want to feel full. They want to be whole. They want to be restored back to God. Unfortunately, other things get in the way and block up their hearts. As proclaimers of the gospel, we have been included in God’s mission to unblock their hearts. Thus, we should not view evangelism as a battle. But rather, we should view it like we’re offering food at a fine dinner. These hearts are hungry for something that they don’t even know. Let’s feed that hunger.

A Moveable Feast

After World War I, Hemingway joined the rest of the Lost Generation and other American ex-patriots and lived in Paris for a number of years. He worked on his writing, visited French cafes and museums, and hung out with a lot of other really important people like F. Scott Fitzergald and Gertrude Stein and James Joyce and many more.

Of this time, Hemingway once said, “If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.” What Hemingway meant by that is that the experience of Paris filled you and sustained you and satisfied you, like a feast. But it wasn’t a one-time only event. Instead, this feast continued to sustain you. It stuck with you for the rest of your life. Because when you were feeling empty or hungry, you could think back to that experience, and be filled once more.

I think this is a beautiful idea. I know that I have experiences that I often think back to and find just as filling and satisfying as when I last visited them. I think that Jesus gives us these moments as a way of reminding us of His faithfulness. In the Old Testament, we see the Jewish people repeatedly going through a pattern of forgetfulness then remembering, forgetfulness then remembering. God reminds us of the faithfulness that He’s shown to us in a different time to encourage us in our present hardship. He reminds us of our previous feasts to give us strength in our current famine.

The Holy Spirit: The Ultimate Moveable Feast

And of course, we have the ultimate moveable feast with us: the Holy Spirit. It is not only through events or good moments in our life that God encourages and feeds us. He feeds us daily through the Holy Spirit because God “set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come” (1 Corinthians 1:22). The Holy Spirit goes with us always and feeds us always.

When we are feeling empty or unsatisfied, we must turn to the Holy Spirit for comfort. When we feel spiritually distant from the Lord, it is easy, I think, to try to respond to those feelings by fixing ourselves. As humans, we like to be able to take action and be in control. So when I feel spiritually far away from the Lord, often my first response is: I need to take action to solve this! I need to stop sinning or go to church more or read my Bible more or join another Missional Community or find another accountability partner.

These things are not bad in themselves, of course. They’re very good. But they must only come after we have made peace with God, through the Spirit. The Holy Spirit wants to restore us back to Himself. So let’s stop fighting Him so hard for control. Instead, let’s sit and pray and let the Spirit do its work. For the Holy Spirit is a moveable feast.

Annie Paige is a media intern for Campus Renewal Ministries. She is a Senior at the University of Texas, studying English and Radio-Television-Film. She is also involved with Sigma Phi Lambda, an all-female campus ministry.