This Is How Bridges Are Built
POSTED IN: Culture, Makes You Think
I’m sure you’ve heard all the buzz in the news about Obama’s controversial choice of inviting Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration. It has stirred up a lot of animosity on the part of gays and lesbians who, through the years, have felt hatred and rejection from the Church.
I recently read a column that singer/songwriter/gay-activist Melissa Etheridge wrote in a local newspaper about Rick Warren (ht: Bryan Allain). It offers an interesting perspective on the whole firestorm around this issue. Here is an excerpt from the column:
I hadn’t heard of Pastor Rick Warren before all of this. When I heard the news, in its neat little sound bite form that we are so accustomed to, it painted the picture for me. This Pastor Rick must surely be one hate spouting, money grabbing, bad hair televangelist like all the others. He probably has his own gay little secret bathroom stall somewhere, you know.
As I was winding down the promotion for my Christmas album I had one more stop last night. I received a call the day before to inform me of the keynote speaker that night… Pastor Rick Warren. I was stunned. My fight or flight instinct took over, should I cancel? Then a calm voice inside me said, “Are you really about peace or not?”
I told my manager to reach out to Pastor Warren and say “In the spirit of unity I would like to talk to him.” They gave him my phone number. On the day of the conference I received a call from Pastor Rick, and before I could say anything, he told me what a fan he was. He had most of my albums from the very first one. What? This didn’t sound like a gay hater, much less a preacher.
He explained in very thoughtful words that as a Christian he believed in equal rights for everyone. He believed every loving relationship should have equal protection. He struggled with proposition 8 because he didn’t want to see marriage redefined as anything other than between a man and a woman. He said he regretted his choice of words in his video message to his congregation about proposition 8 when he mentioned pedophiles and those who commit incest.
He said that in no way, is that how he thought about gays. He invited me to his church, I invited him to my home to meet my wife and kids. He told me of his wife’s struggle with breast cancer just a year before mine.
When we met later that night, he entered the room with open arms and an open heart. We agreed to build bridges to the future.
I’m so glad to have leaders like Rick Warren in the church today who stand firm in their beliefs while responding in love to those who disagree. He sets a wonderful example for Christians today.
This is how bridges are built and the love of God is lived out.
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December 30, 2008
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And the funny thing is that in the next part of her article, she urged her side not to hate, but to reach out.
If only “Christians” would do that…
Rick Warren gets painted with broad strokes because far too many evangelicals ARE as hateful as he is accused of being. He mentioned that he regretted how he said what he did on the video. Imagine how bad so many of us would have it if our words were recorded for all the world to see and analyze.
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December 30, 2008
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Great post Brad! Man, I needed to hear this… I wish that the media would grab ahold of this story.
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December 30, 2008
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That’s awesome. I’m so glad that we have bold leaders who aren’t afraid to “love as Christ loved.” Thanks for posting this Brad.
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December 30, 2008
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I am crying. That is a very moving perspective. My dad is gay and goes to Rick Warrens church. He knows what Pastor Warren thinks about his lifestyle but feels like he is comfortable there to figure some things out about God.
It is such a huge statement of love for Pastor Warren to say those words. The word says that they will know us by our love and he has shown love to the people of the margin and the outset….and lives will be changed by that…but on the flip side people in the “faith” will be upset. because i guess loving the people that God love who are in sin is wrong…
Thanks for that encouraging post. I too am glad that we have leaders that lead like this.
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December 30, 2008
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That was a very moving article she wrote. I have so much faith in Obama and what he stands for that I have to believe he is trying to reach out to everyone to bring us all closer to “one nation”.
I will be glued to my television during the inauguration.
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December 30, 2008
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[...] (Ht: Brad) [...]
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December 30, 2008
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If only we would see the label of “friend of sinners” to be a badge of honor in the way Jesus did, perhaps this article would be the norm and not so shocking.
I long for the day when this will be commonplace, but that day is not today.
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December 30, 2008
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This is a great post, Brad.
Thanks for sharing!
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December 30, 2008
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This is a great post Brad and an amazing article by Melissa. I really love to read when someone can stand up, admit they misjudged someone and look to build a bridge.
This is who we should all aspire to be, bridge builders.
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December 30, 2008
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[...] would encourage you to check out Brad Ruggles blog post on Rick Warren and Melissa Etheridge. So much to learn from that conversation. Christian can [...]
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December 30, 2008
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Thats awesome. I hadn’t heard this about Ethridge. Neat story.
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December 30, 2008
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Great post to read. Thanks for another good one.
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December 30, 2008
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Wow. Thanks for that. Hope I express that kind of love to everyone I meet.
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December 30, 2008
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Totally agree. This is exactly how bridges are built!
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December 30, 2008
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What graciousness and courage Melissa Etheridge showed in this encounter and her willingness to celebrate it. As hard as it must have been for Warren to apologize for his words and speak out of love (and I still strongly disagree with him, even in the clarified form of his position), it must have been even harder for her to even let him have the opportunity. So often, we don’t get a second chance to explain when we have said or done something that is hurtful to others. A model of forgiveness in my mind.
And she’s a heckuva singer, too.
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December 31, 2008
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[...] I stumbled upon Brad Ruggles‘ blog post that pointed me to this article by Melissa [...]
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December 31, 2008
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adding you to my blogroll… your dreams have all come true, hahaha!
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January 1, 2009
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This is a great article and I am glad that things got cleared up between the two of them.
However, this will never hit CNN or any of the other news agencies and for the majority of the American public will largely go unreported. Too Bad!!!!
I wish that Pastors who are in the spot light as much as Rick Warren and others would understand that they are being watched very closely and need to take care with their words.
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January 6, 2009
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This is an amazing article, this gives me more hope than Obama.
Speaking of hope, did you see the South Park episode the night after the election? Pure comedic gold.
Also, I love the new layout. It looks super spiffy.
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January 6, 2009
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Couldn’t have said it better…this show’s the love necessary to build the bridges that are desperately needed in our country and world today!