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In the comments on yesterday’s post, some of you questioned my motives and my “agenda” for discussing Bible verses that directly address the subject of homosexuality. Well, let me lay it out plainly for you.

To be perfectly honest, this is not something I would prefer to talk about. It has never been an issue I’ve considered deeply or had to deal with much on a personal, social, or pastoral level over the course of my journey. Like most everyone else, I have known gay friends, neighbors, family members, coworkers, and acquaintances, but we’ve never had in-depth conversations about sexuality. For most of my life gay rights wasn’t a culture war issue that had any strong resonance in the communities in which I lived, at least not in the way it has today. I’ve counseled individuals and couples with a variety of sexual questions and concerns, but never with regard to homosexuality or same sex attraction. I have had more exposure to GLBT communities as a chaplain, I’ve ministered to gay patients and their friends representing a variety of lifestyles: I’ve prayed and worked and taken communion with gay pastors and church members, I’ve wept with homosexual men and women who were mourning the loss of life partners, and I’ve served in the homes of gay patients who were thoroughly invested in immoral patterns of life. However, my experience is still slight.

Frankly, I must admit that the amount of time I have spent thinking about homosexuality and related matters has been miniscule. Gay issues have not affected me personally to any great degree. And homosexuality is not a “hot button” issue for me — never has been.

However, in ministry, we don’t always get to choose our issues, and this issue is front and center these days. As a candidate in the ordination process of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), one area of inquiry I think I should be prepared to discuss is this whole homosexuality debate. My denomination provoked a lot of controversy a few years ago by deciding to deal with the issue the way they did. Though I’d prefer not to have to devote time and energy to studying or discussing this right now, it’s what’s on the current ecclesiastical agenda for ministerial comment.

All of that probably sounds cold and uncaring to a number of our GLBT readers, because this is personal to you. Too many of you have been seriously wounded by churches and Christians who have not welcomed you, tried to understand you, or shown you the character of Jesus in the way they’ve treated you. The Gospel as you’ve heard it has not been good news for you. You have been making your voices resound in unprecedented ways in recent years, and people like me have been deaf or not paying attention. You see your situation as the arena for one of today’s primary struggles for justice and civil rights. If it’s possible that I am going to reenter parish ministry in today’s world, perhaps it’s time for me to clarify my thinking so that I can serve you better.

And then there is this: If the steady stream of studies coming out these days is any indication, the ways in which we think and talk about sexuality, especially homosexuality, is a significant concern for the young people among us. Rachel Held Evans’s recent post “How to Win a Culture War and Lose a Generation” is a good example of the kind of pushback that Christians, churches, denominations, and Christian organizations today are getting from the upcoming generations with regard to GLBT concerns. She cites David Kinnaman, who wrote,

“The gay issue has become the ‘big one,’ the negative image most likely to be intertwined with Christianity’s reputation. It is also the dimension that most clearly demonstrates the unchristian faith to young people today, surfacing in a spate of negative perceptions: judgmental, bigoted, sheltered, right-wingers, hypocritical, insincere, and uncaring. Outsiders say [Christian] hostility toward gays…has become virtually synonymous with the Christian faith.”

As a Christian, and as someone who may one day be back in parish ministry, announcing the Gospel to a multi-generational community, I can’t ignore that. I had better be able to talk about these matters with love and integrity.

That is why I decided to join the discussion Jeff began last week by writing some posts of my own.

In doing so, I’m not starting from ground zero but from thirty-five years of studying the Bible as a Christian. Nor am I stepping forward to announce that I’ve received some new epiphany giving insight into these matters. My personal views on sexual morality have been and remain consistently conservative, and I haven’t “drifted” toward libertinism. Commenters on this blog have even accused me of being prudish when it comes to talking about sexual matters.

These days, too many people are suspicious when you start to talk about contentious issues like homosexuality. They think you must have hidden motives, that you represent a “side,” that you are going to try and twist the Bible to make it say whatever supports your personal or political agenda. But I believe there is a host of people out there like me, who are being drawn into this discussion because we sincerely want to know how to live and speak the Gospel in this cultural moment. We want to know how to love God and love our neighbors in the real world, not some imaginary world of “positions.” We want to serve the church so that she lives up to her calling to lift up Jesus and look like Jesus. We want to serve the world so that they know there’s a place at the table for all who are hungry.

And that, folks, is my agenda.