Journey Into The Unknown, part 2

In my last post I said that I'm starting on a journey into the unknown. It's not quite like Star Trek. It's not a place where I really haven't gone before. A number of times in my life, I've made a decision that led to changes I hadn't anticipated.

A few times the decisions have been made by others, and I've just had to respond to the situation as best I could. In 1985 I was the Director of Metro Baptist Campus Ministries in Denver. Then the organization that employed me ran out of money and eliminated my job, along with several others. I hadn't expected that. I was unprepared for a job hunt. I just said to the Lord, I don't know what you have in store for me, so I'll just have to let the search for a job be the way You reveal Your will to me.

It didn't turn out anything like I even imagined. Instead of leading me to another full-time ministry position, the Lord closed all those doors that I thought were open and He led me into real estate sales. It has turned out to be a way to support my family and to use the ministry gifts He gave me as well.

I am, in effect, practicing what I preached to college students from 1970 to 1985: "the Lord doesn't care where you get your check, every one of us is supposed to be a minister." I've been able to preach, teach, counsel, and be involved in a variety of ministries for which I haven't been paid. I often tell folks who ask about my background that Paul was a tentmaker to support his missionary work. I don't make tents, I just sell them (or houses, at least).

The situation which has put me on this journey is another of those times when I’ve had to respond to a decision made by others. This time it is related to my church, not my job. The church I’ve been a member of for the past 8 years voted last Sunday on a “statement of inclusion” (see below*). At a later point in this series I’ll address that statement in more detail. For now, I just want to say this:


(1) On the surface, who could object to a statement which is designed to show that the church “welcomes and affirms all people as children of God…” and then goes on to name 10 different groups which are to be included? It almost sounds churlish to object to that. Yet I do object to the statement.


(2) But my objection is not just with the statement. It’s also not just with the fact that the only reason for initiating the statement was to show how welcoming and affirming the church is to one specific group (the “LGBTQ Community”).


(3) I do have problems with the statement. But even more, I have problems with the interpretations of Scripture that were given to support the statement—interpretations that differ considerably from what Christians have taught for two millennia. I am, for better or worse, more conservative and traditional than the majority of the church.


(4) When the church voted by a 74% to 26% margin to adopt the statement, I could only conclude that I am not a good fit there. As part of the 26% minority, I seriously disagree with the direction the church is going. And, since my continued presence would not change that direction, it is better that I leave.


I don’t know where I will go. It is indeed a journey into the unknown. I do know that I need to step out in faith like Abraham.

“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.” Hebrews 11:8 (NIV)

What will come of it, only God knows. I do expect that just as in 1985, the Lord will open a door and enable me to use the ministry gifts He gave me. I just need to be obedient to what I understand to be the Lord’s will for my life.

* "Calvary welcomes and affirms all people as children of God from every cultural and religious background, sexual orientation, family composition, physical and mental ability, economic means, race, age and gender."