Ministry

Legal Protections for the Church in Light of SOGI Rights and Laws

Kirk E. Miller 1 Comment

Gavel

The following is a paper submitted to Dr. Robert Priest and Dr. Stephen Roy in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the course ME 8000 Contemporary Sexualities: Theological and Missiological Perspectives at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, December 2015.

** Note: This is not an opinion piece. And, therefore, I do not express my opinions about same-sex sexuality, gender dysphoria, and contemporary laws related to them in this paper. Thus, you will note, I refer to differing views on the subjects without expressing my approval or disapproval. Please do not interpret my silence in this regards as either an endorsement or condemnation of any of the herein mentioned views.

Introduction

Recent U.S. legislation and court decisions regarding sexual-orientation and gender identity (from now on SOGI) rights create a new frontier of potential legal concerns for American churches that affirm a traditional, historic view of marriage, sexuality, and gender. Although only time can tell what implications such laws will have for religious liberties,[1] as Justice Roberts said in his dissenting opinion of the Obergefell ruling, “Today’s [i.e., the Obergefell] decision . . . creates serious questions about religious liberty.”[2] From potential loss of tax-exempt status[3] to non-discrimination suits,[4] churches have reason to demonstrate concern. For example, think of the following scenarios that are now imaginable:

  • A discrimination lawsuit is filed against a church that refuses to accept a practicing gay man into its membership.
  • A church is sued for discrimination when it denies a gay couple’s request to host their wedding.
  • A church disciplines a member for unrepentant lesbian activity. She sues the church for malpractice and discrimination.
  • A church discovers that an employee is undergoing sex-realignment surgery. Is the church legally able to discharge them on these grounds?
  • A church’s pastor is sued for malpractice by an ex-counselee due to claimed damages caused by counsel to “repent of your homosexuality.”
  • A church with a housing ministry is sued for discrimination when it restricts applicants to heterosexual couples.

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Preaching Christ in the Old Testament: A Look Forward to the Upcoming Table Talk with Dr. Scharf and Dr. Luy

Kirk E. Miller

This post was originally published at Rolfing Unshelved.

On Wednesday, November 11 from 12-1:15 pm at the front of the library, Dr. Scharf and Dr. Luy will be facilitating a discussion on preaching Christ in the Old Testament. We will be examining some of the different perspectives and issues involved in that endeavor. Because of the complexity of this topic and the many subjects it raises to our attention, Dr. Scharf and Dr. Luy will begin the Table Talk by making some brief introductory comments. These initial remarks will serve to focus subsequent discussion. And after discussing these matters in groups, we look forward to a time of interaction with Dr. Luy and Dr. Scharf on further questions and group observations.

I hope that you will bring your lunch and join us!

This blog post seeks to introduce you to the subject at hand–preaching Christ in the Old Testament–and to expose you to some of the issues involved in that conversation.

As Dr. Scharf recently wrote me in an email,

The practice of preaching Christ in the Old Testament raises a host of questions and subjects the preacher to significant perils as well as offering great promise. Navigating these waters requires that the preacher have a defensible theology, a valid hermeneutic, and exegetical expertise (enriched ideally by a grasp of the history of interpretation of the preaching text) as well as a love for his or her listeners, the required spiritual gifting, and prayerful reliance upon the Holy Spirit.

You’ll immediately notice from his statement that the issues involved here are multi-faceted.

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RECOMMENDED: Q&A with Sam Allberry on Homosexuality (ERLC)

Kirk E. Miller

The ERLC has shared several videos in which Pastor Sam Allberry tackles difficult and important questions regarding the church and homosexuality.

You can see the full collection videos at ERLC’s website.

Below are a few samples.

Why Is Saying “Same-Sex Attraction” Is A Choice So Problematic?

Can You Have A Heart Of Repentance For A Desire You Don’t Control?

Is Same-Sex Attraction A Sin?

How Do We Work To Establish Language, In The Church, That Does Not Alienate Same-Sex Members?

How Should A Church Develop A Culture That Deals Openly With Same-Sex Attraction?

How Can Christians Minister To A Same-Sex Attracted Member Who Is Experiencing Loneliness?

Is Living Out One’s Sexual Desires Necessary To LIving A Happy Life?

How Do Families Explain Same-Sex Attraction To Their Children?

RECOMMENDED: Vanhoozer and Kruger on the Pastor-Scholar (or Vice Versa)

Kirk E. Miller 1 Comment

An (Unintentional) Introduction

Within the span of a few days, I ran across two media, one by TEDS‘ very own Kevin Vanhoozer and another by Michael Kruger over at RTS, both addressing this idea of a pastor-scholar (or vice versa).

This topic of pastor as scholar is particularly interesting to me because I originally wanted to go into academia but have since change my plans and now desire to go into pastoral ministry. I suppose my reasons for shifting directions are more complex than I will explain here in this paragraph (see this post for further elaboration). But in short– My reasons for doing so are not that my concern for scholarly or “deep things” has somehow lessened over time or that I value such things to a lesser degree than I once did. Hardly. If anything my concern to become more studied has increased now that I want to be a pastor and feel the weight and breadth of that task. Nor is this because I now have become more of a “people person” (if you know me well, you might laugh at the thought of that) or more pastoral or that I now value pastoral matters more than I once did. Hardly. When I wanted to be a professor, that was what I wanted to do primarily. That is, that’s what I wanted to do to make a living. And I wanted to serve in the church as a lay elder-pastor. Now I just want to be a pastor as my primary “gig.”

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RECOMMENDED: On Recovering a Practice of Devoting Ourselves to the Public Reading of Scripture (Article by Scott Newling)

Kirk E. Miller

I just read/listened to this article by Scott Newling, “Devoted to the public reading of Scripture,” advocating a recovery of the actual practice of devoting ourselves to the public reading of scripture in our churches.

As 1 Timothy 4:13 says,

Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture….

Scott Newling says,

Let me be blunt: when we reduce the Bible reading in order to privilege something else in our meetings we are shifting the congregation’s understanding of what church is. When we choose not to read some bits because we deem them inappropriate, we forget that God wrote them—and that in his wisdom he knew what he was doing when he did. When we choose not to read parts because they seem irrelevant or unclear, we teach our congregations and ourselves that God’s word isn’t eternal or understandable. When we choose to not read the Old Testament because it is ‘unfamiliar’—how else are we going to get familiar with it? The non-Christian world certainly isn’t going to help us. If we find Scripture to be boring, it’s not God’s fault, and the solution isn’t to silence God! If we find a part boring, we must ask God to give us interest in it, because we love him and want to know what he has to say. The Bible is well aware that some bits are harder to understand than others (2 Pet 3:16-17). But where did we get the idea that the solution to this is to stop reading?

When we choose to reduce Bible readings for something else, do we then in effect say that our means, our words, are better than God’s to grow people?

I loved this article. It reflects a lot of my own convictions on the matter and thoughts I’ve been having for a little over a year now.

You can check it out over at Matthias Media’s The Briefing. Click here.