The willingness to say we blew it

While I was critical of World Vision's recent decision to hire "Christians in Gay marriages" I applaud their willingness to acknowledge two days later that they were wrong. Too many organizations and individuals are unable to make that humble statement and it takes humility. They did it and I applaud Rich Stearns and his board. They did the right thing and we should take them at their word and move on.

I have seen elders in local churches do some unfortunate things and on occasion I have seen them own those decisions in front of congregations and say they were sorry. That not only takes courage but it is the right thing to do. I applaud them and their congregations ought to be the first to let go of their anger, forgive and move on together.

As a leader I know that it is not easy to say "I blew it" and sometimes I have had to take responsibility for things that happened on my watch even when I was not directly responsible. But it is the right thing to do - hard as it is. It is interesting that in a few cases, no matter how many times I apologized for certain actions people did not let go of the "offense." 

All of us blow it. All of us need from time to time to own our stuff and ask forgiveness, apologize or make amends. When someone does, we need to celebrate that they did the right thing and move on. The lack of forgiveness among some evangelicals is a sad thing. If I don't forgive, why should I be forgiven and none of us is above that need. So, I hope that believers will not abandon World Vision or the work they do or the kids that are impacted. Let's move on.

(Posted from Milwaukee)

World Vision reverses its decision to hire Christians in Gay married relationships

It took World Vision just two days to reverse its decision to hire Christians in Gay married relationships. It will take years for it to recover its reputation - if it ever does. See the latest here.

(Posted from Milwaukee)

World Vision USA will now hire individuals in Gay marriage relationships

In a move that will certainly move World Vision USA away from many traditional evangelical churches they have announced a new policy that they will hire Christian individuals in Gay marriage relationships. This will certainly only add to the perception among many that World Vision, while committed to poverty alleviation, is little more than a secular NGO with a Christian background. 

Internationally it is well known that World Vision hires unbelievers in its development efforts. I find it ironic that just as World Vision is courting evangelical churches for partnerships it is choosing to make a statement about Gay marriage that runs against the grain of the vast majority of evangelicals in their understanding of what marriage constitutes and its implications for society.  

I am not anti-gay, some of my best friends are gay! What is at stake is the institution of marriage and what it means and how God designed the family and defined it. When major "Christian" organizations agree to redefinitions implicitly or explicitly we have a problem. I suspect that World Vision will discover that it is not ahead of its time but that they have literally put a "hole in the Gospel" to use a phrase they use. Gospel holes can be those things we neglect or those things we re-define.

See the Christianity Today article here

(Written today from Milwaukee)