Middle Ground - A Guest writes:

I have passed the pen over to a guest writer regarding her document on 'Middle ground'. Everything from here on is her work and you are invited to comment as you wish once you have read the various elements (to assist, all mM words are in italics):

With respect to LGBT inclusion, a number of folks on the blogosphere seem to report sightings of the Middle Ground (non-affirming but non-condemning) so if this is not a mythical country, it may be closer than we think. What would it cost us to pay a visit, pitch a tent there, buy a semi?

Also, given that many of us are not seeking to challenge church teaching on sexuality, but are questioning church practice on inclusion, how might the discussion evolve to enable us all to make some progress on this?

The document 'The Middle Ground' (which you will find below) no doubt raises more questions than it provides answers but it does make an attempt at addressing some of the concerns people may have about making a move. Also, it's good to talk. And think. And pray. And let's just keep asking the questions....

Welcome to the Middle Ground
While the current debate on the place of same-sex relationships in our churches is ongoing, the Middle Ground (non-affirming but non-condemning) should seek to offer safe space and a welcoming environment to all people:
• straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered
• celibate, single, in a relationship, civil partnered, married
• church leadership, lay membership, fringe members, non-church affiliated
We welcome any feedback on the following guidelines:

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Our prime objective is to serve God’s kingdom purposes, to see people come to faith, be impacted by his Spirit, be transformed into the likeness of his Son, and for each individual to find God’s plans and purposes for his/her own life.
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In our church community, as far as possible, we will endeavour:
To seek love, justice, mercy, unity, opportunities to extend grace and reconciliation, God’s invitation to faith and a personal relationship, offered to all.
To shun condemnation, criticism, false pride, attempts to evoke in others guilt, shame, fear, diminished self-esteem or alienation from God.
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We acknowledge that we are all a work in progress and that the transformative power of the Holy Spirit is ongoing in each of us. We all have areas of difficulty, some quite personal, painful and private. We respect each other’s feelings, bear with each other’s failings and take seriously issues of mutual accountability and confidentiality.
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With respect to Bible study and interpretation:
We will seek to widen our reading (looking at a range of theological writers rather than only those who support our current viewpoint) and we will seek to deepen our understanding, prayerfully seeking God’s revelation through our study.
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We will seek unity in our fellowships and make every effort to keep the bond of peace. We pray for the Holy Spirit to highlight areas of weakness, criticism and self-sabotage and we will deal with these promptly, prayerfully and with humility.
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We seek to be a community that models a non-ageist, non-sexist, non-racist environment in order that all our members may grow and flourish regardless of age, gender or race. We also take pains to eradicate a homophobic atmosphere, challenging prejudice and discrimination where they arise.
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We acknowledge that for many of us, living in the Middle Ground is not stress-free. We will implement strategies to deal with this stress in exactly the same manner and with similar resources that we would use to manage heightened levels of stress created by our family lives, workplaces and neighbourhoods.
Where necessary we will seek help from others within the church or from other organisations to manage our personal levels of stress in order to avoid resorting to a fight-or-flight response, making a scapegoat of other church members, or undermining and being critical of church leadership.
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Where differences of opinion (on issues of sexuality but also on any other issue) lead to relationship difficulties we will seek appropriate conflict resolution strategies (allowing some breathing space, open dialogue, and mutual listening). Where necessary, an impartial facilitator may be helpful in resolving conflict and working towards reconciliation.
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We honour our commitment to our church communities, understanding that it is often through times of challenge that we may see the most growth in our own and in our church’s journeys of faith. We will commit to those churches that we believe God has called us to, ‘for better or for worse’, seeking God’s leading through particularly testing times.
We are thankful for the positive and supportive relationships we develop in our churches and we seek to be part of that network of support and encouragement.
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We anticipate that our children (aged 4-11) will, at times, have questions regarding same-sex relationships and transgender issues. We will pre-empt our children’s questions as far as possible, having given consideration to age-appropriate explanations.
We will have entered into consultation with parents of children in this age group and arrived at some consensus on these responses, so that the children in our church may receive a consistent message from all its members.
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We will be open to the process of change and development in our own church and seek to learn and grow from new experiences. We will be open to the possibility of sharing and learning from the experiences of other churches throughout our denomination and in our local area.
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Where individuals still maintain a traditional viewpoint on homosexuality, it is to be hoped that they will nonetheless see the Middle Ground ethos as a Biblical response to our changing cultural situation.
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We anticipate that our young people (aged 12-17) will, at times, have questions regarding same-sex relationships and transgender issues and will already be developing their own opinions. For some of our young people these will be quite personal issues.
We will seek to be supportive and non-directive and to that end, will be willing to reflect upon and discuss the multiplicity of approaches and responses currently operating within our churches.
Where appropriate, we will advise on further exploration of these issues via specific internet websites and other materials. Where requested, we will offer prayer support, counselling or mentoring.
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We will speak of other church denominations with respect, avoiding the temptation to hold them in contempt for either (in our view) progressing too far or not progressing fast enough. Other church denominations are still ‘part of the body’, containing members who are our brothers and sisters in Christ, and who are similarly making sense of the tension in this unchartered territory.
We acknowledge the unusual circumstances that we currently find ourselves living through and we will ‘cut each other some slack’ as we make our ongoing journey.
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Our hope is that many of us will view the Middle Ground as an adventure in faith, an ongoing opportunity to deepen spiritual maturity, to develop Christ-likeness and to partner with God in furthering his plans and purposes. We acknowledge that without God’s help, we will undoubtedly struggle, but with his help we will be encouraged, enriched and empowered to live out the Gospel message to all people in our community.
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I was hoping to discuss each of these and put forward my own views but I have realised that there are some who make this impossible and so merely leave you with Jane's document above. If you wish to comment on any of them I am sure she will be happy to read them - just post them on the comments page.

Thanks

Middle Ground - Unity

I encounter a great many problems with 'unity' when it comes to homosexuality and so the point for discussion (by posted comments perhaps rather than emails, although they are welcome) is:

"We will seek unity in our fellowships and make every effort to keep the bond of peace. We pray for the Holy Spirit to highlight areas of weakness, criticism and self-sabotage and we will deal with these promptly, prayerfully and with humility."

Before I try to post my position I think it might be helpful to consider the many positions (not definitive, just a quick splurge off the top of my head) that assault me with regard to 'unity' (and I have many - but mustn't digress) with regard to this topic:

Don't Tell Me
I struggle with those who are happy to fellowship with anyone as long as they know nothing about them or their situation. 'Don't tell' is such a hypocritical place to reside for it permits people to do whatever they like as long as no one finds out! What this means is that they are not happy to fellowship and worse still are happy to permit whatever it is that they don't know as long as they don't know.

The Defining Sin
In many areas, not just the one 'middle ground' is concerned with, there are people who wish to portray an act, theology, lifestyle or attitude as being in possession of, or making incarnate, the 'defining sin'. For some this is being homosexual, for others it is not being homosexual (the sad attitude that considers heterosexuality to be in some way homophobic). What is strange that in every encounter that I can recall with the 'defining sin' brigade they are always more concerned (of gleefully) with the sin of those they condemn than they are with their own shortcomings and double-standards.

Let Me Tell You Everything
The wonderful people who push whatever it is into the light to confront those who they consider oppose their lifestyle choices. The problem is that if one wants to make an issue of something then they really shouldn't be uptight when it becomes an issue! Not only that but it brings about a nasty knee-jerk reaction from the 'don't tell' types and so the battle is really engaged - but peace is never sued for.

Let's All Just Be Happy!
This is the one that drives me bonkers in that I am told that we just need to be happy! One person recently told me that we, "Need to put down our old attitudes and silly divisions that the Bible causes and just love everyone and have a church that is happy!" My problem is that happiness and obedience are two words that go together (obedience begets happiness and vv) and that to assume we can remove the hallmarks of orthodoxy, Stand upon 'The Truth' or revise what the Bible says to support a view so that both sides can condemn others (as so many 'orthodox' and 'liberals' do - there is no monopoly held here by either side it seems) is bonkers.

We should all be happy and this happiness comes from relationship with God through Christ; Through seeing the image of the invisible God made visible in the form of a brother or sister (and that's regardless of who they are, what they think, what they believe or how they live - with the caveat that there are times when we need also to 'restore gently' those who we see caught up in sin).

That'll do for now (there are more but tea is drunk, office is said and 09:00 is fast approaching) and so my views:

We must always seek to live as Church (universal) in a place of peace and concord and this means that we can't expel some without first looking at the beam in our own eyes or without seeing, and acknowledging, the places that we fall short. Unity is not being silent about differences and is not served by the trite utterance of those awful words, "Let's just agree to differ!"

In John 17: 20-23, we find the words:

"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."

Unity is essential if we are to take the Gospel out into the world and have them believe that Jesus is the Christ. Our unity is essential for those who do not believe, it is the remedy for ALL the world's ills and is the path by which others will come.

Unity only works if we are honest with one another. Whatever the relationship, dishonesty undermines and destroys it and Church is no different. The problem here is that pointing out that one doesn't share a viewpoint, doesn't choose to act in a certain way or believe what another believes is so often taken by the other party as a criticism and this is not always because of the way the difference is stated. We need to state our differences in love and look to dialogue and understand where the bumps in the road to peaceful living might be. It could be that some parts of the road just need to be subject to a detour or cones off, but this is the last resort.

Unity is not sitting in a room being shouted at or abused in the hope that eventually the other party will capitulate and surrender (seen that on both sides of the homosexuality 'debate') and neither will it come from the assigning of labels and attempts at humiliating or engaging in the game of 'ad hominem' to defeat the other party. It will not come from dialogue where one party shouts and then sticks their fingers in their ears whilst the other side has a turn (which is pretty much my experience I'm sad to say!).

Unity is reading the Word with the hermeneutic firmly fixed, understanding the context and bringing it with you to the writings of other, not always comfortable or agreed with, authors (best kind - not much fun reading stuff you agree with!). It is taking this and trying rationally to work within our own experience, feelings and situation with love always a forethought and obedience always our guide.

That's what unity is (phone call says 09:15 pick up - so have enjoyed an extra few minutes - hope you will!).

And me? I'm flawed, fallen and struggle with my daily walk on a daily basis. I can do nothing without looking to the grace of God and the indwelling of His Holy Spirit as I try to live out the life won for me by Christ on the Cross.

I pray that this is the same of others and that we will, in unity come to that great day when Christ returns and takes us home to be His Bride - spotless and without blemish or separation.

Pax

Middle Ground - Reading Wider

The first area we consider is that with respect to Bible study and interpretation:

"We will seek to widen our reading (looking at a range of theological writers rather than only those who support our current viewpoint) and we will seek to deepen our understanding, prayerfully seeking God’s revelation through our study."

Dialogue and reading widely are the only way to embrace and understand the issues that challenge and, at times, frustrate the Church (and presumably, us!). To do this we do this we need to understand the intended outcome, baggage and preconceptions on the part of the author, for few write without such, and of the reader who is likewise rarely unfettered or free from opinion.

Problems come when that which is held to be traditional is eschewed on the grounds of God wanting us ‘to be happy’, a warrant that supports many a liberal thinking person it seem! The same is true of those whom I would consider to be fundamentalist ‘book burners’ in that their rigid, joyless and often equally ‘proof-texted’ offerings, being often contextually in the shallows, are more about their reaction than the action to which they respond.

As Christians we are called to be ellenctic – that is to embrace a Socratic form of dialogue whereby one puts their point of view, beliefs and understanding and then the other person puts theirs and offers corrections and issues questions. This done the process is reversed and so the ball passes backwards and forwards across the net until both sides agree or come to a position of respectful disagreement!

Sadly, those who usually seek to ‘read wider’ or do ‘deeper theology’ are often found to be looking for that Philosopher’s stone that will turn that which was previously prohibited into something that bears the warrant of God. There is also to issue that whilst the liberal will seek what might be considered to be ‘liberal’ liberties or extra-biblical revelations (i.e. I was recently in dialogue with someone who revealed that most of the Gospels were the result of editing and by use of form, redaction and other critical methods we could discount about half of the Bible and find that universalism, homosexuality and polygamous marriage were all permitted before the editor’s pen was employed!)

The bottom line is that we should all read widely – I have as many, if not more, books from authors whose theology and views oppose mine and often gain more from those books that find me shouting at them than those that find me nodding.
The passages I find myself coming back to time and time again are (in book order):

Micah 6: 6 – 8
“With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?
Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

Matthew 7: 1 – 5; 12
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.
For in the same way others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

1 John 4: 19 – 21
“We love because he first loved us.
If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.”

Pax

The Middle Ground - A dialogue

Well, I hope it will be a dialogue!

I recently received an email from a lady by the name of Jane regarding a number of areas for consideration and discussion regarding the development of a 'Middle Ground' (non-affirming but non-condemning) during the ongoing debates and discussions over the knotty issue of same-sex relationships.

Hopefully we can kick off some intelligent and balanced dialogue on this (I will also put this on the cavedwellers forum - contact me if you'd like a password as there are a few steps to getting in. Keeps the place nice and conflict free).

So here we go . . . Next blog entry will be the first of many on this: