Half of Pastors Worry Speaking Out on Social Issues Will Offend People

“According to a comprehensive new religious freedom and pluralism report released by the Barna Group this year, 9 out of 10 Christian pastors say helping Christians have biblical beliefs about specific issues is a major part of their role as clergy.” - Christianity Today

Discussion

The article notes:

Close to half (44%) of Christian clergy say they feel limited in their ability to speak about homosexuality by people within their own churches.

Too bad. Speak out anyway! Be kind, loving, compassionate but firm. Would you feel “limited” to preach about divorce because of divorced people in the congregation? You must tackle these issues. I recently preached about abortion, and have sermons about homosexuality and trangenderism coming later this year, along with resource recommendations.

It’s hard, but you owe it to your congregation to shine light on these topics. Just do it!

Tyler is a pastor in Olympia, WA and works in State government.

No kidding; my family and I had dinner at a little restaurant/bar in Wisconsin called “The Golden Frog” last night, and one thing I noticed in the bathroom right next to the bar was a warning that the easiest way to spread HIV was through unprotected anal intercourse.

Word to us; a small town bar in Wisconsin can warn about the perils of promiscuous homosexuality. And we cannot? Really?

(and yes, I know that for some odd reason, heterosexuals sometimes do that too, but still, it’s primarily directed at homosexuals)

Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.

Bert wrote:

No kidding; my family and I had dinner at a little restaurant/bar in Wisconsin called “The Golden Frog” last night, and one thing I noticed in the bathroom right next to the bar was a warning that the easiest way to spread HIV was through unprotected anal intercourse.

That is crazy. Do you think you may have stumbled onto a gay bar/gathering spot? Or were there other families eating there? To me, I would hate to have to explain to young boys what this meant, and it certainly would not pique my appetite.

May have been an incident, and, instead of confronting the offenders, they put up a notice. Stop the planet — I want to get off it!

"The Midrash Detective"

[Ed Vasicek]

Bert wrote:

No kidding; my family and I had dinner at a little restaurant/bar in Wisconsin called “The Golden Frog” last night, and one thing I noticed in the bathroom right next to the bar was a warning that the easiest way to spread HIV was through unprotected anal intercourse.

That is crazy. Do you think you may have stumbled onto a gay bar/gathering spot? Or were there other families eating there? To me, I would hate to have to explain to young boys what this meant, and it certainly would not pique my appetite.

May have been an incident, and, instead of confronting the offenders, they put up a notice. Stop the planet — I want to get off it!

I’d be surprised for a couple of reasons. First, it’s a small town bar—you’d have to have an amazing concentration of homosexuals there to support it. They advertise on the radio, and it’s fairly well known among Winona State students from just across the river due to “all you can eat” specials on Tuesday and Thursday. The sign appears to be from the state health board and may be required in bathrooms by bars—or possibly it’s not anymore, but the owners know it will annoy homosexuals so they won’t make it a gay bar?

Another interesting fact is that it was in the bathroom by the bar, but not in the bathroom by the main dining area. So it was targeted, really, at those with an abundance of ethanol and hormones in their blood, and inadequately developed inhibitions to maybe prevent them from making a life-altering bad decision.

Regarding the kids, well, you’ve got to have kids that know what “unprotected anal intercourse” means, no? In my mind, it’s nowhere near as nasty as the condom machines that you used to find in country gas stations and truck stops, where the language used was exactly what a kid would learn on the school bus. I’m all for protecting kids’ innocence, and stopped watching football because I’m still not willing to explain the legal disclaimer for the Cialis ads to my kids, but there is something about using the clinical language that will tend to make some pretty explicit language less “available” to the young.

Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.