A Reflection on the Council Action on Same-Gender Marriage

Pastor Chris Smith
Senior Pastor

As reported on SOTV’s website, the Church Council met last Thursday and voted in favor of the resolution to authorize the pastoral staff of SOTV to officiate for same-gender marriages. The vote was six in favor of the resolution, four opposed, with one abstention. I offer here a few thoughts about the vote.

First, I want to offer my thanks to the Church Council. Members of the Church Council spent a great deal of time in prayer and deliberation. They took their task with utmost seriousness and were remarkably honest with one another. Their vote reflects genuine differences in their views on same-gender marriage. But, however they voted, their vote does not detract from their faithfulness to serving the Lord at SOTV. They all worship the same Lord and they all want the ministry of SOTV to make a difference in the world in the name of Jesus. As they serve together on the council they all serve the same crucified and risen Savior and their vote does not change that. In my own humble and bumbling Lutheran way, I am proud of the Church Council for voting honestly but also agreeing on the center of our mission in Jesus Christ and recognizing that that is what unites us.

We live in a highly divided and polarized world and a lot of important things don’t get done because of it. We are also susceptible to becoming divided when the call of God is to be united for the sake of Christ. The extraordinary genius of Jesus was to be able to call followers as different as Nicodemus the Pharisee, the extortionist tax collector Matthew, and the woman at the well with her many failed marriages. All three were remarkable in their imperfections. And yet Jesus still called them together into one mission that is still saving the world. He needs all of us.

I think that, as a community of faith, we have the capacity to do that – to be one people in mission even though we have differences that we need to respect. I believe such unity is possible for our church. I appeal to all in our Body of Christ to let the love of Christ bind us together in worship and service to a world in need. Most important, I encourage us all to pray without ceasing as we move forward as a church.

Churches that succeed best for God’s kingdom keep their eyes focused like a laser on the Lord Jesus. They recognize their brokenness and that the church is not a bastion of the perfect but a hospital for sinners. Their people have strong convictions but they also recognize that they don’t have all the answers. They differ in their perspectives, but they still worship together with joy. They are filled with gratitude for the forgiveness won by Jesus on the cross and they are energized to be ambassadors for Jesus, bringing good news to a hurting world. They gladly serve those in need and give for the sake of others. They value every gift and they cherish each volunteer commitment. They pray without ceasing. They stand together at the foot of the cross. And, they realize that they can do so much more together than they ever can if they are divided. All this is what I pray we can be.

I encourage us all to pray, to worship, to serve others in Jesus’ name, and to listen. Let’s move forward in faith. Let’s do it together.

See You in Church,

Pastor Chris Smith

Please note: All comments made below will be received and reviewed upon submission. Vulgar or offensive commentary will not be posted for public view. You may also send questions or comments to council@sotv.org.   

A Pastoral Letter on Upcoming Council Action on Same-Gender Marriage: Part 4

This is the fourth of a four part series. Please also read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. Council will vote on its proposed resolution on Thursday, November 21, 2013 at 6:30 p.m. All council meetings are open to the public. If you wish to communicate with council prior to the vote, please e-mail council@sotv.org.

Part 4: Two ways of reading the Bible and how they make same-gender marriage such a polarizing issue.

Pastor Chris Smith
Senior Pastor

The Bible is central to our life as a community of faith. We preach from it in worship each week. We offer multiple Bible studies each year. Our vision for ministry is based on core teachings of Jesus in the Bible. For us, as the ELCA constitution says, the Bible is the “inspired Word of God and the authoritative source and norm” for our life and faith. For this reason the Bible has been central in the discussion about same-gender marriage. This letter seeks to address two interconnected questions about the Bible: What does the Bible have to say about same-gender marriage? How can people on both sides of the controversy each use the same Bible to support their points of view?

Let me begin with two images – a chain and a target of concentric circles.* These images represent two different ways to read the Bible.

The chain on the left represents a more literal way to read the Bible. Readers who have this perspective value each verse of the Bible equally and are generally unwilling to regard some verses of the Bible as less or more important than others. If anyone considers a verse or book of the Bible to be less important or even irrelevant, then he or she is in effect breaking a link in the chain and the whole chain falls apart. In this representation, devaluing one verse devalues the entire Bible.

The consequences of this perspective are significant for the question of same-gender marriage. The Bible explicitly prohibits same-sex behavior in two places, Leviticus 18:22 and Leviticus 20:13.** While some may regard Leviticus as less important for our life of faith, those who ascribe to the “chain” view of scripture do not. As a result, readers who abide by the chain view of biblical interpretation may be opposed to same-gender marriage because they value all of scripture equally.

The target on the right represents a contrasting way to read the Bible, one that is based on the idea that there are parts of the Bible that are more important than others. These readers place parts of the Bible that are more important to them at the center of the target. For example, they may place the Gospels very near the center of their target, with John 3:16 right on the bullseye, and they may place Leviticus farther away from the center. The Gospels are more important to them than Leviticus.

The consequences of this perspective are also significant. Readers who use the target model of biblical interpretation will take away from the Gospels core values of Jesus like inclusiveness, the golden rule (“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”) and loving your neighbor as you love yourself. They reason that if a church does not permit same-gender marriage, same-gender couples will not be fully included and will not be treated equally. For this reason, these readers may support same-gender marriage, even though Leviticus specifically prohibits same-sex behavior.

These two basic ways of reading the Bible tend to collide with one another. Let me use the less current issue of slavery to illustrate how these scriptural collisions work.

Slavery was enormously controversial in the church for centuries. In support of slavery the church cited many biblical passages. For example, the law code of Deuteronomy in chapter 20 approves of slavery and the holiness code in Leviticus in chapter 25 allows participation in the slave trade. Likewise in the New Testament book of Titus (2:3) the author writes: “Teach slaves to be subject to their masters and in everything to try to please them, not to talk back to them.” Proponents of slavery used passages from the Bible like these to support their positions. Those in the church who opposed slavery also used the Bible to support their position, most notably the Great Commandment of Jesus found in Matthew 22:

One of them, a lawyer, asked Jesus a question to test him. ‘Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?’ Jesus said to him, ‘“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’

You can see how these two scriptural viewpoints would collide. Verses in the Old and New Testaments specifically about slavery were used to legitimize and support slavery. By contrast, a more sweeping mandate not specifically about slavery (the Great Commandment) was used to oppose the practice of slavery. The reasoning of opponents went this way: If Jesus commands us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, and we would not submit to slavery, how can we tolerate the enslavement of our neighbors?

What happened with regard to slavery is a typical scriptural collision: Specific verses were used on one side of the controversy, while more sweeping biblical mandates were cited on the other. I could review other examples, but you get the idea.

It should be noted that if you corner readers in both groups, they are forced to admit that neither group reads the Bible in an entirely consistent way and that both sides tend to select verses that are more important to them than others, even the chain readers.

Let’s return to the question of same-gender marriage which results from a similar scriptural collision. Some argue that passages in the Bible that prohibit same-sex behavior collide with core values of the Gospels and of Jesus that actually underpin marriage - values like sacrificial love of one’s neighbor, commitment, fidelity, and inclusiveness. Because same-gender marriage could not possibly have been even on the radar of our biblical forebears, they would not have even considered the possibility that people of the same gender could share marital commitment and fidelity like men and women did in their time. Nor would it occur to them that the radical inclusiveness of Jesus and his Great Commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves might mean that we afford our gay and lesbian neighbors the same prerogative to marry as their heterosexual neighbors do. This is one way to describe the viewpoint of many “target” readers regarding same-gender marriage.

On the other hand, others argue that the biblical witness in Leviticus is crystal clear about same-sex behavior. The core values noted above, while very important for our life of faith, do not provide specific and clear guidance about same-sex behavior or same-gender marriage. Instead they help us to be clear on the boundaries and limits by which God calls us to live our lives. To ignore Leviticus would also be to specifically disregard a portion of God’s Word, something we do not have the prerogative to do. This is one way to describe the viewpoint of many “chain” readers regarding same-gender marriage.

The controversy about same-gender marriage is made more complicated because the Bible does not talk specifically about same-gender marriage (that answers my first question). It talks about same-sex behavior. The reason why is simple. The concept of same-gender marriage would never have occurred to the patriarchal culture of Bible. Still, because sexual behavior and marriage are so closely related in the controversy, readers of the Bible easily transfer scriptural prohibitions of same-sex behavior into prohibitions of same-gender marriage.

I hope this letter has helped you understand why readers of the Bible can come to two entirely different views on a controversial topic like same-gender marriage. They are simply using two different models for how to interpret the Bible. The answer to the question how we interpret the Bible really is, “It depends.” It depends on the model you use to read it. Sometimes I wish the answer were not “it depends.” I wish it were so clear that no one had any doubt about what the Bible has to say about same-gender marriage or any of the other controversial topics that can occupy our attention. Topics similar to same-gender marriage have been the subject of arguments based on the Bible, many for centuries (the role of women in the church is an example). The witness of history is that people on both sides have been able with equal force to make powerful and compelling arguments based on the Bible.

So where does that leave us? As a community of faith, we all have different views on a variety of issues. Truth be told, we each can and do read the Bible in different and more complex ways than what I describe here. But remember this: our unity is not based on how we each read the Bible. Our unity is founded in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He is not just a figure we read about in the Bible. He is risen and He is here, with us, binding us together as one people who are empowered to worship God and be ambassadors to the world with His love. We do not worship the Bible, we worship Jesus, and in Him we find our unity.

See You in Church,

Pastor Chris Smith

Please note: All comments made below will be received and reviewed upon submission. Vulgar or offensive commentary will not be posted for public view. You may also send questions or comments to council@sotv.org.  

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*These images come from David Lose’s book, Making Sense of Scripture.

**There are other references in the Bible that some interpret as being about same-sex behavior, but they are more ambiguous and unclear. For further reading, I recommend Russell Pregeant, Reading the Bible for All the Wrong Reasons, and Dan O. Via and Robert A. J. Gagnon, Homosexuality and the Bible, Two Views.

A Pastoral Letter on Upcoming Council Action on Same-Gender Marriage: Part 3

This is the third of a four part series. Please also read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 4. Council will vote on its proposed resolution on Thursday, November 21, 2013 at 6:30 p.m. All council meetings are open to the public. If you wish to communicate with council prior to the vote, please e-mail council@sotv.org.

Part 3: Some personal perspectives on same-gender marriage

Pastor Chris Smith
Senior Pastor

I have had a lot of very personal and emotional pastoral conversations lately about same-gender marriage. Where people land on this question has a lot to do with personal experience. As with much in life, it’s often not about what you know; it’s about who you know.

As the congregation dialogues in October took place, I was impressed with the way the Church Council and its president facilitated the dialogues. By offering a few basic ground rules, most of the conversations, with a few exceptions, were caring and respectful. That is remarkable, considering how personal and emotional the topic of same-gender marriage is.

Dialogue participants shared perspectives about same gender marriage based on a variety of things. Some discussed biology and whether sexual orientation was innate or not. Some shared perspectives on sexuality that others had taught them as they had grown up. There was a lot of conversation based on the witness of the Scriptures (I’ll write about that next week). There was also a lot of sharing about personal relationships. People spoke about siblings, co-workers, friends, children, grandchildren, and other relatives who were gay or lesbian. That’s where I want to focus for a moment.

There are at least two impacts from these personal relationships. First, when people discover that someone they care about is gay or lesbian, it can change their perspective. Attitudes about same-gender relationships and marriage tend to shift when people we care about tell us about their homosexual orientation. People also begin to realize in a more concrete way that a person’s sexuality does not define their identity. The knowledge that someone is heterosexual or homosexual reveals absolutely nothing about that person’s identity, talents, gifts, insights, loves, vocation, or hopes. So, one impact I observe is that sometimes attitudes change when family members and friends learn that someone they care about is gay or lesbian. They can change because they love the person and see beyond sexual orientation.

The second impact I have observed when people discover that someone they care about is gay or lesbian, is that it can sometimes place them in a bind. Our perspectives on same-gender marriage come from all sorts of places and those perspectives can result in conflict within us. Someone might believe that the Scriptures prohibit same-gender marriage and yet they may also have a child who is gay or lesbian and wishes to marry. How do they deal with that? Their love and loyalty to that child are at odds with their interpretation of the Bible.

Over the years, I have visited with many families who are suddenly faced with the reality of a child who is gay or lesbian. The impact of this revelation is often to shake up long-held beliefs and sometimes to cause those families to re-assess their convictions. This is not easy stuff. Sometimes the result is an enduring feeling of being conflicted and even alienation within a family. Sometimes families reach a point of acceptance because they are able to see beyond sexual orientation and its implications.

The process that the Church Council and, really, our whole church is working through is also very personal. I know it has been for me. Working on these blogs and having conversations with people from SOTV whom I care about have been good experiences for me. They have made me realize how much I do not yet understand about the whole question of same-gender marriage. I also find myself humbled because I feel that I (along with the council, my colleagues and our whole church) am in a kind of bind as well. I have met with many people for whom I have great respect who are adamantly opposed to same-gender marriage. I have had similar conversations with those who are in favor of it. And, several on both sides have stated that if the council votes one way or the other, they will leave SOTV for other churches, either more progressive or more conservative.

Comments like that concern me. As I said in my second blog, your pastoral staff is dedicated to serving and supporting all the people of this church in the name of Jesus. That individuals or whole households would depart over a matter that is not central to our vision for ministry concerns me because we seek to welcome everyone, whatever your perspective is on the controversial issues of the day. We believe we are one family of faith, bound together by the love of Jesus Christ, and that there is a place for everyone.

One thing I know after being immersed in the question of same-gender marriage for so many months is that what I am writing here is not the last word. It is a beginning word. We do not know what pain or bind our neighbor is in amid the struggles we all share as human beings. Discussions about topics like same-gender marriage reveal our brokenness, our aspirations, and our longing for certainty. When we are dealing with people’s lives, hopes, dreams, and the care we have for one another, things are often less than certain and it is also personal. We need to be careful, loving and respectful in our conversations.

One other thing has become very clear to me, too. Precisely because the question of same-gender marriage is so personal, we will never all fully agree. Take a look at the resolution the church council is considering for its vote. If you do, you will get a sense of how the council has taken this question seriously and personally. The resolution acknowledges the differences among council leaders, and yet also names the unity in mission they seek to exemplify. The resolution also frames the question not as one where there will be winners and losers, but rather as one which gives us a way to move forward together. This has been a significant struggle and cause of anxiety for your council as they have striven to discern the best path and I have been impressed by how transparent they have been when meeting with one another in the past several months. In that context they are trying sincerely to model the potential we have as the people of God to do more together, under our unity in Christ, than we could ever do individually.

See You in Church,

Pastor Chris Smith

P.S.: I have received a few comments asking why the congregation as a whole is not voting on the question of same-gender marriage. There are three main reasons.

1. This is not a matter central to fulfilling our vision. While this question is briefly taking our attention now, there is much more to be done to invite all to experience the welcome, transformation and sending of Jesus Christ.  
2. As I said in my second blog, the question of same-gender marriage is really a question of pastoral practice. The council seldom exercises influence on the practice of pastoral staff at SOTV (only in this case, in my recollection). As such, matters of pastoral practice are not really subject to congregational vote. They are subject to pastoral judgment and only occasional council consultation.
3. On a matter that is so personal, all that a congregational vote would accomplish is to alienate those who end up in the minority. That does not serve the unity of the Body of Christ. 

Please note: All comments made below will be received and reviewed upon submission. Vulgar or offensive commentary will not be posted for public view. You may also send questions or comments to council@sotv.org.

A Pastoral Letter on Upcoming Council Action on Same-Gender Marriage: Part 2

This is the second of a four part series. Please also read Part 1, Part 3 and Part 4. Council will vote on its proposed resolution on Thursday, November 21, 2013 at 6:30 p.m. All council meetings are open to the public. If you wish to communicate with council prior to the vote, please e-mail council@sotv.org.

Part 2: How same-gender marriage is a matter of pastoral practice

Pastor Chris Smith
Senior Pastor

A big part of a pastor’s calling is taking care of the spiritual needs of the people in her or his community of faith. Pastors baptize, visit the sick, care for the bereaved, offer counseling, and celebrate Holy Communion. Recently I was involved in the blessing of a new home for a family. All of these duties, and others I haven’t mentioned, make up what we call pastoral practice. Officiating at weddings is part of pastoral practice as well.

What guides your pastors as they conduct their pastoral practice? This isn’t an easy question to answer because every situation is unique. Sometimes the need is simple, like a hospital visit with someone who will heal well and return to a full life. Sometimes the need is more complicated, like a hospital visit with a sorrowful family who has suffered a stillbirth. At other times the occasion is joyful, like a baptism in worship, celebrating Holy Communion with someone who can’t leave their home, or officiating at a wedding.

Based on examples like those and many others, I have formulated a few guidelines for our pastoral practice:

1. The central goal of our pastoral practice is to help people interpret their experience in light of God’s love for them and the core conviction that God is present and at work in the most intimate and important events and moments of our lives.
2. The message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ governs how we conduct our pastoral practice. Jesus was in the business of reaching out with reconciliation, healing, and joy.
3. We do not make judgments about people when we conduct our pastoral practice. In other words, we don’t try to judge whether someone deserves or doesn’t deserve the care we provide.
4. We do consider whether conducting a given pastoral practice makes sense or is appropriate in a given circumstance. There is nothing cookie-cutter about pastoral practice.
5. We always do our best to provide people with practical help, support, and resources.
6. We try to be good stewards of the church’s time and resources as we conduct our pastoral practice.

No doubt my colleagues and other pastors could tweak these guidelines and come up with others of their own. After all, pastoral practice is as diverse as the breadth of human experience. But these give you a good insight into the pastoral practice of your pastors at Shepherd of the Valley.

But here’s the thing. If you boil all these guidelines down, it’s really pretty simple: Your pastors are people who have been so grasped by the extraordinary love of God that we simply have to share it. In the name of Jesus Christ and by his grace, we love the people of Shepherd of the Valley and that love takes shape in our pastoral practice. And, that is exactly why the whole question of same-gender marriage is such a hard one for your pastors – because our pastoral practice is not about judging others but about making the merciful and gracious presence and power of God known to them.

Now that does not mean we are not thoughtful and very careful about our marriage ministry. In this case, our pastoral practice is not really about weddings – well, it is, but it really isn’t. Instead it is about marriage. We take delight in the formation of healthy, committed, faithful marriages. We require couples to complete relationship inventories and to meet with their officiating pastor to review the results. We require them to attend a day-long seminar with a well-qualified local counselor and faith leader. Finally, we also ask couples to attend worship and submit notes about their shared experience. It is not all cut and dried, either. Four times in my career couples in my care have discerned that they should not marry. At other times, my colleagues and I have asked couples to seek additional help to start their life together well. All this means that we consider carefully the guidelines for pastoral practice I listed earlier.

There are also different approaches among pastors in other contexts to the question of same-gender marriage as a pastoral practice.

Talking recently to several colleagues at other churches recently, the response of many of them has been to ignore the question. When approached by same-gender couples who wish to marry, they are not able to give a clear response.

Other colleagues, who choose to do so, officiate for same-gender marriages, but only away from the church buildings and faith communities in which they serve; they do not report this as part of their pastoral practice. This practice highlights the tension that can exist in pastoral practice when we ask the question, Are pastors free agents to conduct pastoral practice as they wish when they are not within the community of faith they serve? This is a hard question because pastors serve by virtue of the call they receive from a specific congregation. For that reason, one could argue that such pastoral practice is lacking in integrity (but that is certainly a matter of debate).

To deal with the question of integrity, still other colleagues have worked privately with their church councils. Often, the result is that their church councils authorize them to conduct their pastoral practice, including same-gender marriages, as the pastors see fit. Their pastoral practice includes same-gender marriage but that practice is not subject to consultation with their church council once the general authorization is given.

I should mention here that our pastoral practice at SOTV, in my recollection, has not previously been subject to consultation with our church council. But after a lot of thought, I have concluded in this case that our pastoral staff really cannot either operate as free agents without council consultation or request that our church council simply grant us carte blanche in our pastoral practice. SOTV is a large congregation. When on vacation, without planning to do so, I have encountered SOTV members in four different states and in foreign countries as well. The global reach of our congregation is a metaphor for me that wherever our pastors go to serve others, our whole church really extends there, too. It simply makes more sense to me that we all be transparently honest about what we do in our pastoral practice, without of course ever violating confidentiality.

For that reason, the process the council is going through leading up to their vote on November 21 is a good one. It respects their governance role as those entrusted with creating policy for our church. The process has also respected your pastors in their pastoral practice. The council has long known the insights and perspectives I have shared here and affirmed the thoughtful ways in which we conduct our pastoral practice. We have a good and positive relationship with SOTV’s church council, who display great trust in our judgment as pastors. As the council concludes this chapter in our life as a congregation, I would also ask you to trust your pastors as we receive the wisdom of the council and seek to conduct our pastoral practice with love and integrity.

See You in Church,

Pastor Chris

Please note: All comments made below will be received and reviewed upon submission. Vulgar or offensive commentary will not be posted for public view. You may also send questions or comments to council@sotv.org.