welcome Archives - New Joy Lutheran Church & Preschool https://newjoy.org/tag/welcome/ Welcome. Grace. Faith. Promise. Tue, 07 Mar 2023 18:49:30 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 Welcoming LGBTQ+ People BECAUSE of Jesus, not IN SPITE of Jesus https://newjoy.org/2023/03/06/welcoming-lgbtq/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=welcoming-lgbtq Mon, 06 Mar 2023 19:09:28 +0000 https://newjoy.org/?p=10900 SESSION 4 LGBTQ+ Welcome and the Bible. The fourth and final session explores why explicit welcome of LGBTQ+ people is faithful to the Gospel.

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SESSION 4
LGBTQ+ Welcome and the Bible

Welcoming LGBTQ+ People BECAUSE of Jesus,
not IN SPITE of Jesus

On Sunday, February 12, we began a four-week Bible Study series on LGBTQ+ Welcome and the Bible. The fourth and final session – held on Sunday, March 5 – explored why explicit welcome of LGBTQ+ people is faithful to the Gospel. Each week we will publish Pastor Chris’ notes from these Bible Studies. These notes are edited and updated following the class. Still, these notes are not fully fleshed out essays, and they are certainly not everything that can be said about these important topics.

 

Jesus never says, “Welcome LGBTQ+ people into your lives.”
Jesus always says, “Welcome LGBTQ+ people into your lives.”

You will not find those words in the Bible.
Yet, you will find this imperative in everything Jesus says and does.

Over the centuries the church has done great harm to members of the LGBTQ+ community, pushing these beloved children away from the church, its ministry, and the Gospel it strives to proclaim. In its error-riddled hubris, the church has failed to bear witness to the Gospel of love, mercy, and grace to LGBTQ+ people. The church has forced LGBTQ+ people to the margins.

It is with boundaries, margins, and borders in mind that we approach today’s study. Each of the following stories and vignettes, in some way, give us insight into how Christians are called to engage the boundaries of our faith communities. Boundaries of faith communities are liminal spaces, bearing qualities of both the “inside” and the “outside,” populated by believers, seekers, pilgrims, curious onlookers, and adherents to other faiths. How are we to manage, live, engage, and be the people of God in these places?

Let’s take a look.

 

The Futility of Gatekeeping

Mark 9:38-41, 10:13-16

Disciples have an impulse to control the movement Jesus is leading

In Mark 9, there’s someone who is casting out demons in the name of Jesus, but he “is not following us.” Because he is not one of them, the disciples want to stop him from his holy, healing work. The disciples believe that their fellowship, their movement is the only act in town.

In Mark 10, there are parents who bring children to be blessed by Jesus. The disciples want to stop them, since Jesus shouldn’t be bothered with children. Jesus responds, “Let the little children come to me.” The disciples are not to impede anyone who comes to Jesus.

The disciples’ impulse to gate-keep is not in keeping with the way of Jesus

Furthermore, Jesus lifts up the faith and affect of a child as exemplary. Children do not know hate, division, discrimination, or bigotry. Neither should we.

 

 

How We Treat Others is How We Treat Jesus

Matthew 25:31-46

Let’s return to this passage, often called “The Judgment of the Nations” (we spent some time here during Session 2, on Welcome)

In one of his final teachings before his execution, Jesus describes what Judgment Day will look like. Yikes. Many Christians find Judgment Day to be a difficult topic – which makes sense! Jesus himself warns us of the danger of judging others (Matthew 7:1). We should approach this topic with great care and humility.

  Jesus describes Judgment Day as that time when the King will separate people into two groups – one group he welcomes into his kingdom, and one group who is rejected. Those who are welcomed into the kingdom all share one trait – they treated others with mercy, love, and care. Those who are rejected from the kingdom also share one trait – they treated others with neglect, scorn, and disregard.

  Love is the primary ethic of Christian living. Nothing else comes close.

Note what key Christian trait is not named in this passage – faith. The importance of faith in God is lifted up throughout the Bible, of course. Faith in Christ and in his promises is the lifeblood of Christian living and the wellspring of Christian hope. Yet, many stories – including this story of the Judgment Day – also speak of God’s blessings and promise coming to those who act righteously without any reference to faith.

  Note also that the acts of love described by the King are done for people who dwell at the margins of society: the hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, sick, imprisoned. We are called to act in love toward our neighbor, particularly toward our neighbors who are suffering in some way.

 Jesus identifies with the marginalized and the suffering of this world. Jesus welcomes into his kingdom those who act in love toward those who suffer.

  The margins of the Christian community are governed not by creed, but by love.

 

Who do we Love?

Luke 10:25-37

 A religious leader asks Jesus what must be done to inherit eternal life. Jesus asks him what the law of Moses says. He responds with this summary: Love God, Love Neighbor. Jesus accepts this summary of the law, and encourages him to keep it.

  But the religious leader pushes Jesus on the definition of neighbor. “And who is my neighbor?”

  Jesus tells a story of one person’s righteous, loving act toward another who is suffering and left for dead on the side of the road. The person who responds with love and care is an outsider to Jewish society, a Samaritan – a group which was looked down upon by the Jewish majority of his day. Jesus makes the reviled outsider the example of righteousness, the paradigmatic neighbor.

  We are to “show mercy” to our neighbors. Love is not dependent upon creed or ethnicity or status. Love is an action, not an emotion.

  Again, Jesus heralds an outsider, someone at/beyond the margins of the established faith community, as a true example of righteousness.

Breaking Conventions, Honoring the Outsider

John 4:1-42

Jesus talks with a woman, a Samaritan woman – all against the norms

What is her marital status? Jesus says she has had five husbands. Is “husband” a euphemism for lover here? Has she had really bad luck with husbands who keep dying on her (assuming the word “husband” is used literally here)? The church has traditionally understood women such as her as being of ill-repute – a prostitute, for example. We do not need to speculate. We do not need to condemn. We do not need to perpetuate the trope of the scandalously promiscuous woman. What we know is that she is alone, at the hottest part of the day, drawing water (not when most people would choose to draw water). She is a vulnerable woman in a marginalized community.

Against all the norms of the day, Jesus welcomes her theological questions, her faithful inquiry, and her testimony. She demonstrates her faith, and comes to believe Jesus is the Messiah. In fact, she leaves Jesus to go tell others and bring them to Jesus. She is among the first evangelists in the Gospels – an outsider, marginalized, Samaritan woman.

Jesus chooses to stay in Samaria for two days, blessing the people and proclaiming the Good News.

Jesus chooses to break the norms, honor an outsider, and expand the boundaries of his community.

 

Large Crowds Gather without Distinction

 

We did not get to these passages in our lesson, but they were in my notes. I’m struck by the large crowds that gather around the preaching, teaching, and wonder-working of John the Baptist and Jesus. These are crowds that gather without distinction. Jews and Greeks. Pharisees and common Jews. Men, women, and children. Neither John nor Jesus engage in gate-keeping, limiting who can come to hear them teach and preach. The words and works of God are for all people.

  Mark 1:1-8; Luke 3:1-20 – John the Baptist gathers “All of Judea” to repentance

  Matthew 14:13-21 – Feeding the Five Thousand

  Matthew 4:23-5:2 – Crowds gather around Jesus’ words and deeds

  Jesus is not creating a movement based on purity or some sort of uniformity, but based on invitation, grace, and hope.

 

The church is called to have an incredibly porous, permeable boundary. It is not in keeping with the Gospel to reject members of the LGBTQ+ community, or anyone one else, based on who they are as people made in the image of God. The church is called to bless and honor and welcome all of God’s people.

Does this mean that “All are Welcome”? No. Not everyone is welcome. A Nazi, for example, is not welcome in our church – unless they seek to repent of their sins. Then, yes, by all means, let us walk to the cross together in prayer and repentance. People who are committed to ideologies that demean, dehumanize, or revile people based on their race, ethnicity, gender, or religion are not welcome. Such behavior, such ideologies, are an affront to the Gospel and have no place in the church of Jesus Christ.

Love God. Love neighbor. That’s the rule.

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]]> Radical Welcome Next Steps https://newjoy.org/2023/01/24/radical-welcome-steps/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=radical-welcome-steps Tue, 24 Jan 2023 21:56:20 +0000 https://newjoy.org/?p=10546 New Joy is planning a four-week Bible Study and a few experiences to learn from members of the LGBTQ+ community and from members of LGBTQ+ affirming congregations.

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Radical Welcome Next Steps

Last Fall New Joy hosted two conversations with local LGBTQ+ advocates and educators (GLSEN of Central Indiana and Indiana Youth Group), providing members of our congregation with important opportunities to learn. This Spring we are planning a four-week Bible Study and a few experiences to learn from members of the LGBTQ+ community and from members of LGBTQ+ affirming congregations.

This is all part of our Exploring our Radical Welcome initiative.

 

Sunday Morning Bible Study:

LGBTQ+ Welcome and the Bible

All Sessions are following worship at approximately 10:45 am

February 12, SESSION 1
We’re Talking About THAT?
Overview of Christianity and Human Sexuality. 
Setting Terms of our Discussion - safety, honor, humility, love for neighbor
Gathering Questions

 

February 19, SESSION 2
What it means to welcome “All People”
Review New Joy’s 2002 Mission Wheel and 2015 Mission Statement. 
Read Scripture around Welcome & Hospitality. 
Do we need to get specific, or does “all” truly cover everybody? 
Topics from Session 1’s “Gathering Questions”

 

February 26, SESSION 3
But the Bible Says …
Understanding certain Bible passages that (may?) address same-sex sexual activity
Examine certain social norms in Biblical and contemporary contexts
Topics from Session 1’s “Gathering Questions”

 

March 5, SESSION 4
Affirming Because of - Not in Spite of - Jesus
Jesus’ call to fully affirm and honor LGBTQ+ people
What it may look like for New Joy
Topics from Session 1’s “Gathering Questions”

 

Questions? Attend the classes, contact Pastor Chris at pastor@newjoy.org, or call the church office at 317 896-1402. Thank you.

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]]> Radical Welcome https://newjoy.org/2022/12/06/radical-welcome/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=radical-welcome Tue, 06 Dec 2022 18:12:51 +0000 https://newjoy.org/?p=10309 New Joy’s vision was to be a congregation that “welcomes, accepts, values, and nurtures all people wherever they are in their relationship with God.” “God does not discriminate, and neither do we. New Joy happily welcomes all, without regard to race, income, or sexual orientation.”

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"God does not discriminate and neither do we"

Twenty years ago the Holy Spirit gathered dozens of people to charter a new Lutheran congregation in Westfield. New Joy’s vision was to be a congregation that “welcomes, accepts, values, and nurtures all people wherever they are in their relationship with God.” Welcome has always been a cornerstone of our life together. “God does not discriminate, and neither do we. New Joy happily welcomes all, without regard to race, income, or sexual orientation.”

 

This vision, these values were the starting line of our faithful walk as people of God. And it was a bold starting line for 2002! Before the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in 2009 officially welcomed LGBTQ+ leaders into ordained ministry or honored the love and commitment of same sex couples, New Joy proclaimed an explicit and radical welcome to our LGBTQ+ neighbors and friends.

Our Lord's Radical Welcome

This welcome was rooted in the Gospel. Our Lord is one who welcomes all people into his grace. In fact, his ministry is marked by an explicit outreach to those whom society leaves behind or pushes aside. When custom dictated that he not speak with a Samaritan woman, Jesus not only spoke with her but blessed her to be an evangelist (John 4:1-42). Jesus often directed difficult words to the “proper” people – religious leaders and the wealthy (Luke 6:24-25; Matthew 23:1-36; Mark 10:17-31; among others) – and extended healing, mercy, and honor to those often cast aside – the hungry, the poor, the sick, the unclean (Luke 8:26-39; 17:11-19; 19:1-10; among others).

We have walked with Jesus for these twenty years, and the Holy Spirit continues to gather faithful disciples at New Joy to live into the joy and justice of God’s kingdom. In 2015, one year after I arrived as pastor at New Joy, we crafted and adopted a new mission statement. “Radical welcome” remains a cornerstone of our congregation’s identity

The Gift of Diversity

New Joy has been blessed by the faith and gifts of LGBTQ+ siblings in Christ. Many of you have family members and friends who are members of the LGBTQ+ community. More than one household has interviewed me prior to joining New Joy, making sure that my preaching and our walk of faith would not condemn their LGBTQ+ family but instead affirm them. Our younger generations are growing up in a world of greater diversity than most of us adults knew when we were young – a wide diversity of race, culture, religion, and sexuality. Our schools have Gay-Straight Alliance clubs, and Carmel hosts a festive Pride celebration attended by some of our New Joy households. This is a vibrantly more diverse world than the one in which many of us were raised.

The Gospel Confronts Prejudice & Animosity

Yet acts of prejudice – both overt and subtle – persist and increase in our community and our nation. As explicit prejudice and animosity continue to fester, explicit honor and welcome must rise to meet and exceed them. Christ our Lord is the “light [that] shines in the darkness, and the darkness [does] not overcome it” (John 1:5). We are the Body of Christ, shining light that scatters the injustice of prejudice and affirms God’s beloved children.

Reconciling in Christ

Reconciling Works LogoNew Joy is on a path – a path of discerning the opportunity to become a Reconciling in Christ congregation. This designation is for Lutheran congregations who have accepted the call and adopted the resolve to explicitly honor and welcome LGBTQ+ members and households into their midst. Explicit rejection must be met with explicit honor, welcome, and love.

How does this work? Back in August about 15 New Joy members met with leaders of GLSEN of Central Indiana, a Westfield LGBTQ+ advocacy and support group. Following up on that initial conversation, approximately 30 members of our community have signed up to participate in a training this Thursday, December 8, with Indiana Youth Group, an Indianapolis organization that advocates for and serves LGBTQ+ youth and young adults. This training – dubbed “LGBTQ+ 101” – is intended to help us learn about “key issues facing LGBTQ+ youth and how those issues may create barriers” in our ministry of care and welcome.

What's Next?

After the New Year, we will hold a variety of small group conversations and Bible Studies to explore what an explicit welcome could mean for us and for our community. In these gatherings we will seek to engage a broad swath of our congregation to read Scripture and explore possibilities, listen for questions and concerns, and take note of our commitments and continuing questions as we walk this path. THIS work – with the widest possible participation of New Joy members and friends – will determine what happens next. Examples of next steps could include:

   meeting in person or online with leaders of Reconciling in Christ congregations,

   additional workshops on LGBTQ+ culture and welcome,

   working with local LGBTQ+ groups and attending events,

   a study of our church’s 2009 social statement on human sexuality,

   a series of audits and reviews of our ministry to discover if and how our words and actions may unintentionally exclude LGBTQ+ believers, and/or

   Bible Studies/lessons on human sexuality and Christian faith, including the oft-cited passages of Genesis 19:1-38; Leviticus 18:22; Leviticus 20:13; Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; 1 Timothy 1:9-10; Jude 6-7

At some point this path arrives at a decision by the congregation to make explicit our welcome of LGBTQ+ neighbors and friends, and join the 1002 Lutheran ministries that are committed to Reconciling in Christ. Whether we become a Reconciling in Christ congregation, and when, will be determined by the congregation itself. Ultimately, any decision to become a Reconciling in Christ congregation would be made at a congregational meeting by voting on a resolution that requires a supermajority to pass.

This is not an easy process - it isn’t meant to be. These aren’t easy conversations. Yet we have confidence that our Lord is walking this path with us. Jesus is the one who carries our burdens – including the burden of difficult discernment – because his yoke is easy and his burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30). Let us walk with Jesus, and trust him with our questions, hopes, and dreams for our mission together.

Peace be with you.
Pastor Chris Duckworth

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