Anne Jackson comments on Ted Haggard’s recent television interviews. He talked about going to some pastors and leaders to discuss his issues of same-sex attraction and seek direction. These “leaders” and “pastors” (I use quotations intentionally, because they demonstrated neither leadership or shepherding) withdrew or suggested he just work harder for God. There are a lot of comments about the Church choosing to ignore sin, or keeping secrets. But I think there’s a different problem. I posted this comment:

“I actually think this post highlights a different issue. While I’m sure there are many churches who choose the option of keeping some sins secret, I think this is really an example of the Church not making an effort to find a credible response to homosexuality. We’ve painted ourselves into a black and white corner, where Christians can not be gay. Then, when confronted with a gay believer, we just have no answer, so we ignore or change the subject. We’re completely unprepared, uneducated, and ignorant of changing perceptions. And really, it’s as if we don’t even care. Except we recognize that our views make us look bad, and we care about that, but just don’t know what to do about it.

The issue isn’t going away, and we harm the cause of Christ by passively clinging to outdated and cliche soundbites about hating sin but loving those gay sinners. To be clear: I’m not advocating acceptance. But the Church needs to be proactive in finding and taking a stand on this issue – one that’s intelligent, biblical, clear, realistic, and most of all – compassionate.”