Why do you wear a cross?

The cross...
We all know what they look like and they come in a variety of sizes and substance. You have the three-nail design, the giant wood crosses on necklaces, crosses to hang on your wall, crosses to hang on your ears, slap on your car, etc. You get the point. Catholics like the crosses that still have Jesus hanging there. It's a little tiny Jesus for their little tiny sins I guess... I digress.

I recently had a conversation with a friend of mine about crosses. He said "so do you have a Church that has, like, crosses everywhere?" I gave my signature look of confusion mixed with a little intrigue to signal him to explain what he meant. "You know, like some Churches have these huge crosses for everyone to gawk at".

Coming from an LDS background, I understood what he was getting at. I shared a few points with him as to why the image of the cross is important to us and I'd like to share those here. Before I do, let me clear the air that YES, I do understand that people, many times, treat the cross as either an image to wear like a good luck charm (violating Exodus 20:4), or equally bad, worn as a mere decorative fad.
Like this:

If a Mormon describes these frustrations to me, I have no argument. So really, the question Mormons want to know the answer to is why Christians feel justified in wearing an instrument of torture. Worse, an instrument of torture meant to refer to the day it was implemented on the Son of God. I've heard my LDS friends tell me how much they love Jesus, and the image of the cross only conveys sadness. "After all, why would we be happy thinking about our loved one suffering?"
It's actually a very understandable question. But before I can help you understand why the reminder of the cross is precious to Christians, I need to explain the distinguishing beliefs we hold.

The cross, no matter what you background, represents 1 of 2 things.
Either it represents tragedy or it represents victory. Plain and simple. If Jesus dying on the cross makes you sad, I have to say that the reason for that is that you don't really understand why he suffered there. Maybe you know the information, but you really don't believe you're worthy of such a sacrifice. Perhaps you don't think your sins are bad enough to deserve a punishment that severe. But bottom line, the Bible is clear that Jesus died on the cross as our holy lamb. He spilt his own blood to seal the New Covenant (covenant means cutting BTW). His blood is what cleanses our conscience (Heb. 10:22). Jesus said himself that there is no greater love than this, that a man should lay down his life for his friend. In Rom 5 Paul says that one will scarcely die for a righteous person, though for a good person one would dare even to die- but God shows his love for us in that while we were sinners Christ died for us".

What Jesus did on the cross was exclusively for sinners; dirty, nasty, murderous, adulterous, lying, thieving, rebellious, drunken, perverted, tainted, hateful, spiteful, angry, raging sinners. That's what it took. You'll have to forgive us for lifting high and shouting for joy to our great God who displayed his love in the cross. If your loved one did something fantastic for you as a display of love, would you conceal it? No, when something is praise worthy it is lifted high!

The cross

The cross is a reminder of the love of God! You see blood and suffering, I see Jesus Christ  willing to bear the wrath of the Father in obedience to Him so that I could be saved. Every stroke of the whip, all the jeers of soldiers slapping his face, pressing a crown of thorns into his head and finally lead to hand naked in front of self-righteous men who taunted him even at his death... and his statement is "Father, forgive them they know not what they do". It says in Hebrews 12:2 that we ought to fix our eyes on him, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame. It was joy which led him there! He DESPISED the shame! This means that detested any ounce of shame that would creep into his conscious. He embraced the pain. He received the wrath as if he deserved all of it. Why? Because he was taking it from you. He was taking it from me.

We do not look to the cross as an image which can bring us fortune or as something cute to go with those jeans.
We look to the cross as a representation of every ounce of our hope. It is because the sinless savior died, that my sinful soul is free.

So, is it victory or tragedy? It's victory if you see the cross as the pinnacle moment of Jesus' awesome victory over sin. It's tragedy if the cross is only a display of how mean people can be.

You deserve what he got. He took it for you. Praise Him!

"Do You Welcome Homosexuals in Your Church?"

As a Pastor you more than likely have (or will have) heard this question - all Christians will. Although the question seems straight forward, the way you answer it speaks volumes to the interviewer in ways you'll only know later and hopefully not in the paper. Suffice to say, I first want you to know that as a believer, you don't need to answer this question. When Jesus knew people were asking questions with the intent of twisting his words, he would respond with another question. Most people asking this question are ready to pounce on your answer, with few exceptions.

Here's how this conversation goes down for most of us:

Bill says: "Do you welcome homosexuals in your church?"

Bob replies: "Well, I suppose."

Bill: "What I mean is: would you allow them to join your Church?"

Bob: "Well, no."

Bill: "Why not!?"

Bob: "Well because homosexuality is wrong."

Bill: "How can you be so judgmental? They were born that way..." Etc.

Bill has an agenda. He wants Bob to say that homosexuality is wrong and then attack Bob for being so judgmental.

WHY?

When Bob says homosexual, what he means by that word is the behavior deemed sin by God's Word. When Bill says homosexual what he is referring to is the person doing the behavior.  Now Bill is going to write an article in the local newspaper about how Pastor Bob hates people who happen to be gay and he'll use the conversation he had with him as evidence. Even if Bob claims to never have said that, most people would hear it Bill's way.

This reality will cause two reactions, which is the purpose of this article. The first is a common knee-jerk reaction I will deem:

BATTON DOWN THE HATCHES

In this reaction we Christians rally together and form allegiances with other like-minded people. We post verses on facebook and twitter and make statements about not being ashamed of traditional marriage. Pastors begin railing on homosexuality and even add the "stance" of traditional marriage to their doctrinal statement. Already, I see this spirit in a recent article by Al Mohler addressing how we're going to handle a SBC Pastor and Church in California that has recently taken a pro-gay "stance". Al Mohler challenges us to decide if this church should be removed from the Southern Baptist Convention. Well, of course they should and, no doubt it will come out that they were kicked out for being pro-gay. But, they will not be booted for being pro-gay, they'll be booted for failing to believe and teach God's Word. That's not how the world will see it.

Consider the second reaction to this supposed "important issue":

NOTHING

What says more to a bully: reacting to them, or ignoring the bully as if he were not there? Look, if churches like this decide to change their view on marriage because they fear man more than God, that's their choice and they will be judged for it. A pastor who decides to avoid the topic of homosexuality, or embrace sin in his teaching is only exhibiting the fruit of disbelief. A church turning pro-gay is a symptom of a bigger problem: Their lampstand will be extinguished and they must now fade into obscurity.

As far as the world of sinners is considered, we must consider the consequences of what we say to certain people. There may be 12 year-old boys or girls in your congregation right now who are struggling with same-sex attraction. Have we considered how making stances or railing on the sin of homosexuality would effect their willingness to be transparent and look for help? Those weak and weary sinners need a Church that teaches the whole counsel of God's Word and exalts the great God of it! That is the kind of Church that a sinner (of any flavor) will find others who were the same and found grace in repentance.

Do you remember what Jesus said on the cross? "Forgive them Father, they know not what they're doing". Forgive who? Jesus was asking God to forgive those same men who twisted His words. It doesn't seem Jesus had a "me against them" motivation. So many Churches are making this homosexual issue an "us against them" battle. Think about that. Us against who?

As believers, our lives are defined by how we relate to others. We ought to be known for many things: our Godly character, behavior, kindness, gentleness, self control, goodness, etc. These are fruits of the Spirit, and you will notice that anti-homosexuality isn't one of them (Gal. 5).

ANTIDOTE

1. Next time someone asks you your stance on homosexuality ask them some questions before answering. Ask them what they mean by "stance" , what do they mean by "homosexuality". Ask them why they're asking it. Are they asking because they are homosexual? Do they want to know the answer or do they want to argue about the answer?

2. Be aware that there may be someone close to you struggling with same-sex attraction. Be sensitive to how you talk about this issue, because coming across "anti-gay" will not translate (in their mind) well.  You are not the person they're going to come to with questions on how to deal with it. You're anti-gay, meaning you're anti-them.

3. Churches have business as usual to attend to. This business is to do exactly what our master Jesus Christ commands by knowing His Word and communing with the Spirit. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. We hope that people trapped by the deceitful and destructive sin of homosexuality will repent and experience true joy in Christ. Therefore, some of us need to pray that our heart for homosexuals and those who approve of their lifestyle changes from an angst mentality, to a 'For' mentality. We're for homosexuals. We're pro-gay people, and we love the LGBTQ community.  We invite them to come and hear of the the one who can wash them clean and empower them to holiness - not traditional marriage, but holiness.

It's not about not being gay; it's about wanting Jesus. When they want Jesus, they'll be willing to give it all up for Him. So let's be like Jesus.