If you have been paying attention to the news recently, you may have noticed some reports about Rick Warren being asked to give the invocation for the presidential inauguration of Barack Obama.  If you are not sure who Rick Warren is, here is a little reminder.  He has a huge evangelical church called Saddleback.  He wrote a bestseller book called “The Purpose Driven Life”.  I recommend it.

Up until recently,  the Saddleback church had a written doctrine of not accepting gays to join.  The way it was stated was that any gay person could not join the church unless the were repentent of the sin of their gayness.  This has been recently removed from the church web site.  So it isn’t too surprising that when Warren was chosen to give this invocation, the LBGT community was not happy.

First let me address the political side of this.  In asking Warren to give the inaugural invocation, Obama is symbolically reaching out across a chasm he has to breach.  Remember that little thing about him being a secret muslim?  Also, Obama did promise to bring people together.  And the way you do that is by including others who do not necessarily agree with you on all things.  By including Warren in the inauguration, Obama is sending a message to evangelicals that they are part of the broader community also.  The other thing to realize is the Warren got some heat from his followers for accepting the invitation.  So, it isn’t all in one direction.  By Warren accepting, he is extending an olive branch in the other direction.

Now let’s get on to the good parts.  I think Saddleback church is dead wrong on this issue.  If it is still their policy or not, I have no idea.  But I see this as a flaw in their ideology.  They don’t get it.  Jesus never preached that we should be evaluating anyone before trying to minister to them.  In fact he preached the opposite.  How many times in the new testament does it say how Jesus was hanging around with tax collectors.  And the community thought it was scandalous.  I suspect that if Jesus were here today, he might very well be hanging out in the midst of homosexuals.  Sure.  why not?  Now my point here is not to equate tax collectors in Jesus’ day with homosexuals today.  No.  My point is that if one is to truly follow Christ, one must put aside all notion of who is socially acceptable.  Be humble.  Realize that we are not better than them.  Whoever “them” is to you.  Even if you have the insight that someone else isinful, realize that you are sinful as well.  And you cannot measure your sin against another’s and say that yours is less.

Luke 6:42

How can you say to your brother, “Brother, let me take out that splinter in your eye,” when you cannot see the great log in your own? Hypocrite! Take the log out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take out the splinter in yours.

And…

Matthew 9:13

Go and learn the meaning of the words: Mercy is what pleases me, not sacrifice. And indeed I came to call not the upright, but sinners.’

If Rick Warren and Saddleback church really believe that homosexuality is a sin, then they should be trying to get as many gays  into their church as possible.

Stop saying that I am righteous and you are not.  Stop saying that I am good and you are bad.  Stop saying that I pray and go to church and you don’t.  These are not things that lead to God.

And this is why I think that no one gets it.  They have all entirely missed the point.