Same-Sex Marriage: What Can I Say?
Four pastors discuss the pressures and opportunities of the current controversy.
Forum: Phil Busbee, Tony Campolo, Cheryl Sanders, and John Yates
July 1, 2004
On May 17, the day that same-sex marriage became legal in the state of Massachusetts, Leadership gathered four pastors to discuss the implications. Phil Busbee is pastor of First Baptist Church of San Francisco, California. Tony Campolo is a preacher at Mount Carmel Baptist Church in Philadelphia and a sociologist who has taught at Eastern College and the University of Pennsylvania. Cheryl Sanders pastors Third Street Church of God and teaches ethics at Howard University in Washington, D.C. John Yates is rector of Falls Church (Episcopal) in Falls Church, Virginia. The prospect of same-sex marriages raises both pastoral and political issues. What's the most important thing you want to say, pastorally, to a homosexual couple?
Busbee: Our church is located in San Francisco in an area known as "the gateway to the gay community." We feel that God gave us that location for a reason. We're there to be good neighbors, to interact with individuals not movements, and to live out the gospel and invite people to follow Jesus. Campolo: I speak on about 20 college campuses each year, and no matter what topic I talk on—it could be "Einstein's theory of relativity and the Christian faith"— when I conclude with "Any questions?" one is inevitably "What about homosexual marriage?" You can't avoid it. There's great antagonism toward the church because it's seen as an oppressive, homophobic institution. I love the church, but it's important to admit that at times the church has been homophobic, unjust, and downright mean.   |  | Attitudes speak louder than any position we articulate. There has to be an openness that says, "Whosoever will, let them come." —Cheryl Sanders | |   |
... Sanders: It's important to articulate what marriage is and isn't today. Recently in ...
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