APPLICATION AT HAND

On Sunday our pastor handed me the application materials for the ministry position I am considering. It is part time and I would have to work my regular job a bit less...errhh...you don't have to ask me twice.

I will be asked to express my views on a few topics including:

Homosexuality
Women in the church
Speaking in tongues

and a few other things.

I am excited to express my heart's thoughts on these matters. Homosexuality is a big issue these days - especially in churches. I won't go into a huge dissertation here but my initial thoughts are that as a Christian, I am called to love my neighbors. It is God's place to judge - not mine. I don't feel it was God's plan for men to be with men and women to be with women. But, you know, it doesn't surprise me that a man would love a man in a romantic way or that a woman would love a woman. How is it that we are able to love those who have harmed us? I can't say. I don't totally understand love but the older I get, the more I see how deeply complicated it is.

I have been reading the blog of a pastor in Texas. His site is www.reallivepreacher.com and his essays on homosexuality and the Body of Christ are good food for thought on this matter.

I'll move into how I feel on the other subjects later.

This application is my first step into something I've been considering for the past year. It's like I always knew I'd be here. This feels so familiar to me. Strange. But really beautiful too.