Horse Thieves Hit Camp For Disabled Kids: In the latest installment of crooks who are worse than crooks, two horses have been stolen form Camp El Har, a camp that offers therapy for kids with various disabilities, like autism. Now owners of two other horses on loan to the camp have removed their animals out of fear of further thefts, which has forced the camp to postpone its classes indefinitely.

Will ‘Black Atheist’ Billboard Ruffle Feathers? A group called African Americans for Humanism and the DFW Coalition of Reason will unveil a billboard today which voices support for atheists during African American history month. But while the billboard has already prompted some push-back from South Oak Cliff pastors, pre-event controversy also led to an unexpected act of community service: members of the DFW Coalition of Reason turned out at Pastor Kyev Tatum’s church garden Sunday to help harvest their greens, which will be donated to local food banks. Tatum reconciled the art of charity like this: “the devil might have picked it, but the good lord sent it.”

Says Clark-Flory: “Having actually read these books, I can tell you they are not the wild sex manuals the media frenzy suggests — in fact, they are treatises against homosexuality, pornography and premarital sex. None of this is exactly surprising, but amid the sexy buzz surrounding these books, it’s important to underscore just how sexually stunted they are.”

That’s just the beginning. She goes on to rip several Sexperiment metaphors as well as the anti-porn message. But she concludes the books “also answer questions that most Christians are too afraid to ask their pastors about whether particular sex acts are God-approved and, according to them, masturbation, anal sex, oral sex, menstrual sex and sex toys are A-OK (again, within the context of straight, married sex).” She sees that as “a slam against the Santorums of the world.”

Unlike your writer, I don’t want to hate Robert Jeffress. On the contrary, I realize that his arrival at First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, has ushered in a revival. A person who leads a church like that can’t be all bad.

The revival of any Christian church is a good thing. It means that people are hearing the Christian message and being transformed by the love of God. Overall, the recent developments at First Baptist Church of Dallas would appear to be great news for the greater body of Christ in the Dallas area.

But then, the writer quotes the words of Dr. Jeffress from the sermon he delivered “Gay is not OK:”

“What they (homosexuals) do is filthy. It is so degrading that it is beyond description. And it is their filthy behavior that explains why they are so much more prone to disease.” Dr. Jeffress went on to suggest that members of the LGBTQ community are destined for hell.

I’m reminded of the quote by the writer Anne Lamott: “You can safely assume you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.”

How can a minister of the Good News of Jesus Christ who clearly is enjoying success through loving his neighbor as himself condemn a group of people who happen to love people of the same gender? How is this not a violation of Jesus’ commandment to love our neighbors, including our gay neighbors?

And what about the logic of Dr. Jeffress when he claims that he is saying these things “out of love”? As I read scripture and try to be a faithful Christian following in the way of Jesus, I cannot understand how calling someone or some group “filthy” is an act of love. By what definition of love is Dr. Jeffress operating?

Dr. Jeffress is a smart, well-educated man. Surely he is a better Biblical scholar than he is letting on. (Although someone who hasn’t “grown in wisdom and in stature” since he was five-years-old may not be). He knows that the Levitical Code is a vast set of ancient laws that no one today actually adheres to (eating shellfish? Wearing clothing of mixed fibers?) and that to lift one or two verses from that code is the height of proof-texting.

He knows that none of the four Gospels, which tell the story of Jesus and relate his teachings, even mention homosexuality. He also knows that the letters of Paul, found in the New Testament, do not condemn a whole people who happen to be same-gender-loving people, but actually condemns a very particular abusive behavior that was prevalent during the time of Paul’s ministry.

I serve a church filled with people who understand the true pain of verbal abuse and marginalization by people like Dr. Jeffress; they—we—understand the emotional and spiritual pain these kinds of actions cause. Dr. Jeffress clearly lacks the first-hand knowledge of some of his Christian neighbors and is speaking from a position of fear and insecurity. He clearly doesn’t know his loving neighbors at Cathedral of Hope, a congregation of the United Church of Christ.

We aim to correct that.

Consequently, we are committed to being people who try our best to offer to those whom God brings to our church extravagant grace, radical inclusion and relentless compassion. In that spirit, I extend an invitation to Dr. Jeffress to join us for a worship service at our church, Cathedral of Hope of the United Church of Christ. Since it seems to me that it is difficult to condemn what you do not know, I hope Dr. Jeffress will accept our congregation’s offer. Not only will he receive a warm welcome, but he might also discover a congregation that loves in spite of the hate that has been poured out upon them.

The congregation of Cathedral of Hope (UCC) cordially invites ALL other members of First Baptist Church of Dallas to worship with us. We issue this invitation in the spirit and definition of love that the Apostle Paul offers to us when he writes:

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13: 4-7, NRSV)

So, Dr. Jeffress and all our friends-to-be-made at First Baptist Church of Dallas, let us honor God through our shared worship.

Sincerely,

Rev. Dr. Jo Hudson
Senior Pastor

Publicity: Tony Romo is not terribly popular right now. Being seen with him might not be great public relations, but I don’t think Tiger’s image can go anywhere but up anyway. But being seen with Tebow, the most popular man in the country right now? Can you imagine what a Presidential candidate would give for a photo kissing Tim Tebow?

Game: On the one hand, Tony Romo is a pretty experienced golfer. On the other, 43 percent of people in a recent CBS poll said they believe God is helping Tim Tebow win football games–and there’s no reason to think that wouldn’t carry over to other sports. (Check out the interesting demographic breakdown in the poll, by the way.)

Conversation: Well, Tony Romo could talk about playing hide-and-seek at his bachelor party, or what it’s like to be a (presumably?) happy newlywed. It might be slightly more useful for Tiger Woods, however, to have a little talk, maybe get a few pointers from Tebow, about this.

Turns out, Dr. Jeffress has actually been reading through some of Hitchens’ work recently, in preparation for his next book, which will be a research-heavy book addressing atheism. I asked Jeffress over email how he feels at a moment like this, when a prominent atheist dies. This is what he told me:

“I am truly saddened to hear about the passing of Christopher Hitchens. He was a truly gifted writer,” Jeffress said. “His death does not represent some great ‘victory’ for Christianity because his writings no more weakened the Christian faith than a flea, striking its hind legs against the Empire State Building, could topple that massive structure.  I only hope that in the final moments of his life he made peace with the God with whom he had been struggling for so long.”

Either way, this year: no list. The site, as you can see, is down. It would appear that, for at least a few people, Christmas has come early this year.

Just curious.

Rev Run, aka Joseph Simmons

Two months after hosting Soul Surfer’s Bethany Hamilton, Fellowship Church in Grapevine is bringing in another big-name guest speaker: Rev Run, founding member of the influential hip-hop group Run-D.M.C. (and, yes, a practicing minister). It’s part of a new series led by Ed Young, founding pastor of Fellowship, a local megachurch. (Full disclosure: I’m a member.)

The two initially connected via Twitter (@RevRunWisdom, @edyoung), after re-tweeting things the other had posted. “He’s an amazing guy, and we thought it would be a great way to get his life-change story out there,” Young said.

The series, called “Run to the House” (a play on The Rev’s MTV reality show, Run’s House), kicks off this weekend. According to Young, it will have a family-focused theme: “It’s about how the house is the church of God, and that when we run to the house, we know how to run our house.”

Fellowship Church's Ed Young

Rev Run, whose real name is Joseph Simmons (he’s the younger brother of Russell Simmons, co-founder of Def Jam Records and the creator of Phat Farm and other clothing lines), will speak with Young in Grapevine and Miami. (UPDATE: He will speak at the Oct. 22-23 services in Grapevine and Oct. 23 services in Miami.) Along with its home base, Fellowship has campuses in downtown Dallas, Plano, Fort Worth, and Miami. Simmons will be joined by his wife, Justine, with whom he wrote the book, Take Back Your Family: A Challenge to America’s Parents.

The Rev will be giving away signed pairs of sneakers (Adidas, of course), and likely will do some freestyle rapping—maybe even getting into a little battle with Young. The services also will feature special music. “We’ve written original hip hop songs about the family that are absolutely hilarious, but very deep, lyrically,” Young said.

Hamilton—the 21-year-old surfer whose story of returning to the sport after losing her left arm in a shark attack is the basis for the movie Soul Surfer—attracted a record-breaking 26,000 people to Fellowship’s Grapevine campus in August. Big crowds are expected for Rev Run, too. The service also will be available online beginning Oct. 24.