| Thursday, May 28, 2009 |
| the Church of Scotland General Assembly... |
Whether you are a part of the church or not, you've probably been aware of various decisions made (or in some cases not made) during the GA... The News and papers have certainly reported enough about it (and not always correctly)... Typical media huh?
But yeh. I'm not going to comment on the GA. But its taken up a lot of my time watching it on its live web stream, following the debates and following it on Twitter. If nothing its nice to know that the church is moving forward in its use of technology. LOL. But it has been interesting to be able to see what happens and how things work and hear the various reports that were given. =)
That aside, at my church, we arrived the other week to find that the church now has a big screen and fixed projector in the Sanctuary *grins* and also a new fixed projector in the smaller hall *grins* - wonderful huh??? Certainly makes my life a lot easier not having to faff around with portable screens and projectors all of the time, and more importantly means that there's no possibility of children tripping over cables or knocking a projector etc (something which i was always wary of). Exciting times *grins*
But work is winding down a bit now which is nice =) means i'm not running around like a headless chicken all of the time. I even had a whole day off on monday for the bank holiday - was wonderful. Did very little *grins*.
So aye. In conclusion, techology when used well is wonderful, days off are wonderful, and the GA, well the less said about that the better. heh.Labels: church, Church of Scotland, day off, General Assembly |
| posted by TLT @ 5:04 pm |
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| Wednesday, May 06, 2009 |
| Who do you think you are? |
Ok.. so thats a question isn't it. Can been a simple question or a loaded question. Part of me would love to ask that question to folks who simply accuse people of lacking grace and love if they do not agree with them when it comes to controversial issues.
I don't often blog about issues like this, but this is bugging me. Not the actual issue itself, but the accusations which are floating around it with regards to which side of the fence you are on so to speak.
At the moment there is a big debate going on within the Church of Scotland, which has been put to the General Assembly in a couple of weeks time for them to debate. Basically an openly gay minister who lives with his partner has been appointed at a church in Aberdeen, and this has been challenged at presbytery by other ministers who do not agree with the charge. So... it goes to the general assembly to debate on the issue and decide whether they feel that it should be allowed or not. In anticipation of this, an online petition has been published for those who feel that this appointment is not in line with biblical principles. http://www.confessingchurch.org.uk/general-assembly-2009/ga09-support/
Now i'm not going to start quoting bible passages with regards to homosexuality being 'right' or not. But one thing that is bothering me amongst all of this is the fact that some seem to think that if you sign the petition against the charge being allowed, then you lack grace and love. That really saddens me. Over 7,000 people (including whole kirk sessions etc) have signed this online petition, and I can guarantee that all of those that i know who have signed it do not lack grace OR love when it comes to this very confusing, sad and hurtful issue.
Things like this often make me wonder that if Jesus was here in this place then how would he handle this situation? In some ways it's an easy question to answer, in others not so easy. But is that because we have made the Christian faith an ineffective faith? One which just rolls over to what the world demands?
In Romans chapter 12 verse 2, Paul says..."Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."
Sometimes I think that when it comes to issues like homosexuality that folks get so worked up about 'what MY rights' are and the fact that we need to treat each other with the grace and love that God has shown us, that they come to the conclusion that we almost have to ignore their faults, or even almost encourage them in them - in fact in some instances it feels that if you do not agree with them then you're made to feel that you're wrong to voice that opinion in any way. My understanding of Jesus' teachings across the gospels is that he does not condon sin, in fact quite the opposite. In many cases he is very accepting of the individual that has sinned and tells them to 'go and sin no more'... So when did our faith become something that we couldn't stand up for scriptural truth? Yes there is no need to isolate individuals who are affected by various sins, but I sometimes wonder if those who accuse people who do not agree with those sins of lacking grace are actually more at fault. In John's gospel, (13:35) Jesus says 'Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.' Does disagreeing on a controversial issue such as this mean that I am lacking love? No. If i were to conduct myself in an unloving way, then yes. I believe that although I do not agree with homosexuality and I do believe it to be a sin, I too have sinned in other ways, but by the power of Christ can still show grace and love to those who find themselves affected by homosexuality.
Now I'm aware that some would argue that homosexuality is not a sin, and quite frankly like i've mentioned before, I'm not about to get into a debate about that. In my current understanding of the world, the bible and in my relationship with the Father, this is the conclusion I have come to so far. Please respect that and stop accusing me of lacking grace and love just because I don't agree with you. tah =)Labels: Church of Scotland, General Assembly, Homosexuality |
| posted by TLT @ 4:31 pm |
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| About Me |
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Name: TLT
Home: Glasgow, United Kingdom
About Me: I'm a youthworker with a church in the North of Glasgow... I enjoy watching films 'n surfing the net 'n hanging out with friends...
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