Supreme Court Decision
May 26, 2009
The California Supreme Court has ruled in support of the voter-passed constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman. That is good news! But brace yourself. The next election will be another showdown on the issue. Poll results are mixed on the direction the vote will go, if the election were held today. It will be close whenever it is held. Those of us who value traditional marriage will once again have the challenge of making our case in a compelling way that values marriage, confronts sexually inappropriate behavior, and doesn’t degenerate into a confused debate about so-called civil rights. It will be quite a challenge.
The Court also refused to invalidate the marriages of approximately 18,000 couples in California who are in same-sex marriages. That is a confusing result, and will prove to be a challenging circumstance for employers and others who must navigate the consequences. It will also provide fodder for same-sex marriage advocates who will trot out their “trophy couples” to support their case for changing the marriage laws.
It is easy to get caught up in the legal or personal dimensions of this issue and miss the moral issue at the core. The moral issue is this – some sexual behavior is destructive. God outlaws it for our good. He expects us to control ourselves – to avoid adultery, rape, incest, and other sexual expressions that harm us, our relationships, and our culture. One of the reasons Christians have lost their authoritative voice on homosexuality is we are often guilty of other sexual sin and failing to confront it – even in the church. May God give us the grace to be consistent – demanding moral purity of ourselves and other believers! Then will we have the moral authority to speak to the culture on issues like this.
<< Return to Archive
Bay to Breakers
May 18, 2009
About 70,000 people participated in a Bay to Breakers, a running event/parade through San Francisco this past Sunday. It was a beautiful day in Baghdad by the Bay – sun shining, sailboats out, families enjoying a huge community event. But this is San Francisco, the home of “San Francisco values,” so there had to be something off kilter about the event.
Bay to Breakers has developed an event within the event called Bare to Breakers. Men and women come from across the country to run the race completely nude. I know what you are thinking – topless or skimpy or some other definition of “nude.” Wrong! Nude means nude, naked, au natural. Nothing on but the skin God gave them plus whatever body paint or tattoos bringing attention to themselves or their cause.
You might assume this is some form of protest or a prank like “streaking” when someone crashes an otherwise wholesome event. Wrong again! This is large numbers of people running through the public streets of a major city naked, for the fun of it. Their participation is allowed by the organizers and ignored by the authorities. My reactions vary based on different perspectives on the problem.
On one hand, it makes me angry. A male member of my extended family, while high on marijuana, publicly urinated in a city park. Some children saw him and informed a passing policeman. He was arrested, charged, and convicted of indecent exposure and other related crimes. What he did was wrong. My family member went to prison for his public nudity. It makes me angry he went to prison for what is promoted as family entertainment in San Francisco.
On the other hand, it also makes me sad. People who exhibit themselves in front of thousands are emotionally needy – to a point of profound desperation for significance. Hurting people act in bizarre ways. My heart goes out to them, recognizing their behavior is wrong on every level, but motivated by personal pain.
But mostly (on the third hand?), it frightens me. Our culture in the Bay Area has reached the point where we not only tolerate immorality but give hearty approval to it. This is the final step, according to Romans 1, of a debauched society that is too far gone to escape God’s judgment. Immoral behavior isn’t the indicator of impending judgment. Immorality isn’t new or uncommon or unique to our culture or time in history. But when communities and governments give formal sanction to aberrant behavior, even celebrating it in the name of diversity or civil rights, their hearty approval is a frightening harbinger for the future.
God help us.
<< Return to Archive
Do we need seminaries?
May 11, 2009
The question, “Do we need seminaries?” might seem a bit unusual to be raised by a seminary president. Yet, this is the question we asked when we began a two-year strategic planning process in early 2008. We started from scratch in our planning process, asking ourselves if there was a need for Golden Gate Seminary to continue to exist. Our answer was “yes,” but not without some frank discussion about the challenges we must meet to thrive in the future.
Our recruiters enjoy talking to people about Golden Gate. But, in recent years, they find themselves explaining the need for a seminary education before they can even promote Golden Gate. Why is this? What has happened that makes prospective students shy away from seminary training? Several things!
First, many large churches now operate their own training programs, including certification programs in their brand or style of church. These programs make a positive contribution but some mistakenly believe copying someone else’s program is the same as theologically sound, original strategic thinking. It is also ironic how many mega-church pastors have one or two earned seminary degrees which helped them learn to think theologically and strategically, but think every else can bypass that foundational training and just copy them. How short sighted!
Second, many unaccredited degree programs (often little more than degree mills) have sprung up and are an appealing short cut to credentials. Being told your “life learning” equals multiple years of formal training is an ego stroke many can’t resist. Life learning is good, but often lacks the depth and breadth of learning in a highly accountable environment where you are forced to study people, books, and issues you might have otherwise avoided.
Third, seminaries have a reputation for being “out of touch.” A favorite punch line on the conference speaker’s circuit is “They never taught me this in seminary.” When I hear that, I am always embarrassed for the speaker. Of course the seminary didn’t teach you everything you would learn through your experience in ministry! Our seminary requires a full year of mentored training to teach students how to learn from their
future ministry settings. Life is curriculum – learn from it.
Seminaries don’t exist to chase the latest ministerial trend. We leave that to seminars and conferences held almost every week across the country by denominations, mega-churches, para-church organizations, etc. By the way, I speak at multiple venues of this type annually. They are a positive encouragement to leaders. But seminaries don’t compete with these meetings. We teach
timeless biblical and theological truth and universally applicable ministry principles to equip students to diagnose the needs in their ministry setting and design an appropriate ministry plan.
Fourth, seminaries are perceived to be a slow detour from “getting to the field.” Funny, we don’t think a three year law school or a seven year medical training program is a detour! We demand excellent training for attorneys and physicians, but don’t seem to care if pastors and missionaries bypass formal training. My formal training, both what I learned and what I learned from the process of learning it, have been valuable to me every day in three decades of ministry leadership. The foundation has served me well.
So, we have decided to stay in business. We intend to thrive, believing we are offering a service for God’s Kingdom that, in the long run, will make a profound difference. We are moving toward the end of our two-year planning process and preparing to launch on a new decade of service taking us toward our 75th anniversary in 2020. Stay tuned. It will be quite a ride!
<< Return to Archive
It all comes back to landscaping
May 4, 2009
Last Saturday, I preached to about 500 people at a major conference for college ministers in Nashville, Tennessee. As part of the event, my publisher gave every participant a copy of my book,
Is God Calling Me, to promote the book as a tool they can use to help young adults sort out this important issue. Distributing this book also promotes the seminary. This event was a primary recruiting venue for the Seminary, not so much recruiting new students but “recruiting the recruiters” who influence seminary choice. By every measure, it was a success for us as we networked with many key leaders.
While I was on the platform and my name is on the cover of the book, the event is a good reminder of the team effort it takes to achieve success for the seminary. While I was only there for a few hours, our recruiting team traveled to the meeting and spent three days working the booth, meeting hundreds of people and answering question after question about our school. Other staff prepped the documents and shipped the materials for the booth. Those contributions are somewhat obvious.
But more people had a role in this successful event. Writing a book and having time to travel to distant events takes TIME. Part of the reason I have time to do these things is a solid staff in the President’s office. But beyond that, I also no longer do my own yard work. That’s right. I don’t cut my own grass.
Living on campus means the President’s home is maintained by the seminary. A few days ago, while at home in my “writing cave” I heard the mowers fire up and the guys go to work. They mowed, trimmed, raked, and blew debris until the place looked awesome. While they wrote, my fingers flew over the keyboard trying to crank out a chapter of my next book.
At my last house, I not only did my own yard work, I put in the landscaping when we built the house! Literally, from the ground up, I did it
all. Now I don’t do it
at all. The guys on our team who maintain my place give me the time to do my job – developing messages, books, and other communicating tools to tell our story.
Ministry is almost always a group effort. It’s easy to view the person “out front” and give them too much credit. My role as seminary spokesman is clear. God has called and equipped me to do it. But the whole team makes it possible. Our school’s current success is a product of what we are all doing together.
So, in a way, it all comes back to landscaping!
<< Return to Archive