The message I’ve been waiting to hear from a Pentecostal pulpit in Australia happened on the weekend.
Ps Rob Buckingham from Bayside Church in Melbourne preached a message of love and acceptance for GLBT people. At the Saturday night service the congregation gave him a standing ovation.
It
is so encouraging to find those within the Christian Church who have
been willing to ask to important questions. There is definitely a new
climate of questioning and humility in some circles. For this we are
very grateful. The two questions many are asking are.
1. Has the churches attitude towards the GLBT community been reflective of God’s love
2. Is it possible that the churches beliefs about same sex orientation been in error
2. Is it possible that the churches beliefs about same sex orientation been in error
Some are beginning to say No to the first question and Yes to the second.
Whilst
I’ve been in dialogue with many church leaders both in Australia and
overseas, I’ve often wondered who’d be the first brave person to tell
the truth about what they really feel and shared with my privately in a public setting like this.
The message preached by Pastor Rob Buckingham ‘Real Christianity – the accepting Church’ at Bayside church in Melbourne. During the sermon Ps Rob Buckingham dispelled many of the myths about gay and lesbian people and also that the Sodom and Gomorrah story has nothing to do with homosexuality as we know it today. Not only is the message a global first, the entire congregation gave him a standing ovation at the conclusion of the message. Bayside is to be congratulated for their courage in being the first to say:
The message preached by Pastor Rob Buckingham ‘Real Christianity – the accepting Church’ at Bayside church in Melbourne. During the sermon Ps Rob Buckingham dispelled many of the myths about gay and lesbian people and also that the Sodom and Gomorrah story has nothing to do with homosexuality as we know it today. Not only is the message a global first, the entire congregation gave him a standing ovation at the conclusion of the message. Bayside is to be congratulated for their courage in being the first to say:
“Bayside Church is a place where everyone is welcome. We believe that God loves everyone and that He sent His Son Jesus to bring salvation (through His death and resurrection) to all of humanity. A study of the life of Jesus clearly reveals His love and care towards those who are often marginalized by the rest of society. Bayside Church welcomes GLBT people to find God’s love and grace and to worship Him freely within our community.”
God
has given Ps Rob the insight, courage and grace to create a new world
for so many of Gods damaged GLBT people that will bring healing and
empower others to do things better in the future. This message will
literally save lives and contribute enormously to end the unnecessary
suffering experienced by GLBT people who are still in churches as well
as those who have left.
Sincerely from my heart Rob I want to
say thank you……and on behalf of the many 1,000’s of us who have
struggled to find answers to the perceived conflict between our faith
and our sexuality…often in a hostile environment…….I also say thank you.
A
standing ovation….is a powerful affirmation by the congregation of
Pastor Rob’s message. The same thing happened to the 100 Revs who
marched in the Mardi Gras parade in 2008. People stood to their feet and
applauded the brave ministers who were marching to indicate they were
sorry for the churches treatment of attitude towards the GLBT community
Whilst
some like to focus on the negatives and the right wing Christian
extremists….we should realise that behind the scenes a quiet revolution
is happening. Every now and then it surfaces as it did this weekend.
Congratulations to Ps Rob Buckingham and Bayside Church. …..and of course a thank
you to those who are still in the questioning stage……how can we serve
you as you seek greater understanding about our lives.
First Bayside, then another church will take the step, then another, then another, till we reach the tipping point and an entire Pentecostal denomination welcomes GLBT people. My belief is that Australia will lead the way with this issue. For many of us though it can’t come soon enough because every day we wait people suffer unnecessarily and lives are lost through suicide.
This ground breaking event was reported also and welcomed in the gay press here "Church advocates for gay acceptance"
First Bayside, then another church will take the step, then another, then another, till we reach the tipping point and an entire Pentecostal denomination welcomes GLBT people. My belief is that Australia will lead the way with this issue. For many of us though it can’t come soon enough because every day we wait people suffer unnecessarily and lives are lost through suicide.
This ground breaking event was reported also and welcomed in the gay press here "Church advocates for gay acceptance"
© Anthony Venn-Brown
Twitter: @gayambassador
Website: www.gayambassador.com
Email: info@gayambassador.com
Anthony Venn-Brown is the co-founder and former leader of Freedom2b, Australia’s largest network of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) people from Christian backgrounds. He is also an educator and consultant on LGBT/faith issues and leader in deconstructing the ‘ex-gay’ myth. Anthony’s autobiography 'A Life of Unlearning', details his journey from married, high profile preacher in Australia’s mega-churches to living as an openly gay man. Anthony has been twice voted ‘One of the 25 Most Influential Gay and Lesbian Australians’ (2007 & 2009) and was one of four finalists for the 2011 ACON Community Hero Award. He is also the founder and director of Ambassadors & Bridge Builders International.
I know your post has been up for many years without response and I think that is tragic given the enormity of the subject and the consequences involved in what Pastor Buckingham has announced. He may have received a standing ovation in the church but he did the GLBT community absolutely no favours in the eyes of God
ReplyDeleteI begin be stating that I wish the action of the pastor could be justified and true but the fact is that he's broken a few of Gods direction (as handed to us in the bible) and he's further condemned the GLBT community in the eyes of God. I never raise a point without backing up my comments and here they are.
The pastor’s fist mistake was in offering people something he has absolutely no heavenly authority to offer and that is that God accepts homosexuality. God’s word (no sure if you read the bible) clearly condemns the homosexual act full stop. Doing this, the pastor has place his authority above Gods and in the process he has misdirected a group of people that may have otherwise been saved by accepting Gods word and seeking salvation.
The pastors second mistake was ignoring scripture by adding acceptance of the homosexual act to the bible. If you are not a study of the bible I'll explain. REVELATION chapter 22:19-19 clearly state the word of God and says..18...I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; 19...and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.…The pastor has taken it on his own authority to defy Gods word and by doing so has condemned himself and a community of people.
The bible is not a set of guidelines; its Gods law. Its not open for negotiation by ANYONE lest if be at their own peril. The title of priest, pastor, reverend, bishop, arch bishop and yes...HOLY FATHER/POPE does not give authority to ANYONE to chance Gods word. "The Church" in scripture refers to us...the people that are true believers in Gods and Jesus. Its not a granite building and it is most definitely...NOT THE HOUSE OF GOD as so called religious orders would have you believe. CATHOLIC, PROTESTANT, BAPTIST, SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST, MORMON, MUSLIM, MOSQUE, SYNAGOGUE the list goes on are only word and an offense to God.
Yahshua (Jesus is an inaccurate translation from Hebrew to Greek) walked this earth nearly 2000 years ago. He didn't have a building to preach in. He didn't wear a costumer when he was delivering the word of Yahuwah (God, his father). He DID speak with the authority of his father and that is the calling of true priests in Christ.
Buckingham is no doubt a well-intentioned man but that's all he is....a man. He was ordained by other fallible men who also have no authority to spruik themselves as ministers of God.
Anthony I don't know you but I do see of your dedication to your cause and a possible leader within the group you voice so well. I am not a minister, I am not a priest, I am not a pastor or any of those things you would expect after reading this message. I am a regular person with a 9 to 5 and has a family here in Victoria. I don't have authority from some religiously sanctified organisation that is sent forth to redeem you. I am just a person that read the true word of the bible and I received my salvation through the power of the Holy Spirit in January this year after 50 years of searching for the truth. The bible tells us that salvation is readily available to any that want it. To receive all one has to do is ask for forgiveness, genuinely repent for your sins (we are all born in sin), be baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ (full emersion and not that baby sprinkling the churches do) and walk in the true word of God.
Doing this means making changes to one’s life and sacrificing certain things we did in the past that were against Gods word.
Thanks for reading and I hope this made some sort of sense