How should Christians stand with Phil Robertson?

I would like to start off by saying I am probably one of the biggest Duck Dynasty fans you will ever meet. I counted down to the first episode like it was Christmas. Most of my friends laughed at me and called me a redneck. I didn't care. I loved the show and the entire family from the very beginning. 

I have walked a long road in the last seven years, and part of that journey has been God showing me how I am to love people even when I don't agree with them. One of the cancers in the American church today is division. Jesus prayed that all believers would be united because that it is how the world will know who Jesus is and that He loves (John 17:22-23). Our enemy knows that if he can cause division, then we become less effective in our mission of sharing Jesus with the world. I think he has hit that mark in America. We are probably more divided than any other group in the world. I am not saying that we will all agree all the time. Even the first believers didn't agree all the time, but we can and should be united in love. We differ on doctrine and practice, but we should at least agree to love the world as Christ did. What I have come to see over the last several years is, we do a lot of things in the name of Christ, but loving the world as he did is often last on the list if on the list at all. 

My journey started when I was reading through the Gospels in my daily devotions and started to be really bothered because the Jesus I was reading about made me very uncomfortable. He was homeless. He walked up to prostitutes and lepers and beggars and started talking to them. He befriended them. He touched them. He was moved with compassion by the lowliest of society: the ones no one else would get near. He didn't knock on doors in clean, rich neighborhoods and walk through the Romans road with them. He didn't drop evangelism material on tables and in drive thru windows. He didn't leave measly tips at restaurants and write "Smile, Jesus Loves You!" on the receipt and consider that sharing Jesus. This Jesus was nothing like the person I was learning I should be in church. This Jesus was much more like the missionaries I had met over the years that I steered clear of because "that wasn't my calling." I explained away the call to "go to all nations" because some were called as missionaries and others were called to be teachers. That was me... a teacher, called to serve the church. I began praying that God would shake the things that could be shaken, so that what cannot be shaken remains (Hebrews 12:27). I asked him to remove any parts of my theology and practices that were man made and not from Him. I will tell you, not much was left when He was done. That began a journey of virtually relearning everything I had learned since I was a child. I began trying to look at Scripture through God's eyes and not human eyes. What I began to see overwhelmed me. I believe I have only begun to truly understand God and his precious Son. I love Him more everyday. I love his children more everyday. All his children. Not just the saved ones. I am moved with compassion for the poor and the needy more everyday. 

I say all that to preface what I am about to say regarding the controversy over Phil Robertson. First of all, please, please, PLEASE be informed before you make any statements! Don't just blindly trust everything you see on Facebook. For example.

      

        “It seems like, to me, a vagina—as a man—would be more desirable than a man’s anus. That’s just me. I’m just thinking: There’s more there! She’s got more to offer. I mean, come on, dudes! You know what I’m saying? But hey, sin: It’s not logical, my man. It’s just not logical.”

Read More http://www.gq.com/entertainment/television/201401/duck-dynasty-phil-robertson#ixzz2nvmBCtw4

I agree that homosexuality is a sin. But I also believe that drunkenness is a sin. And lust. And gluttony. One sin we praise the day after Thanksgiving and laugh about. The other we treat as a contagious disease. I agree that the basic premise of what Phil is saying is biblical, but I don't know that the crude and crass way it was delivered was appropriate for a widely circulated magazine. I don't know that this makes Jesus famous? However, I also cringe at the thoughts of what might have made it into print had GQ interviewed my grandfather as he was 4-wheeling through the woods. GQ knew exactly what they were doing when they interviewed Phil. They knew what they would get if they asked him about his beliefs on homosexuality. Why else would they have asked? Why did they even go there? To get this response. From him and from us. GQ has probably had more people read that article than have read any article in the last several years. The enemy is tempting us to act like lunatics and further maim the name of Christ. We are giving him what he wants. Again. 

This, however:

       As far as Phil is concerned, he was literally born again. Old Phil—the guy with the booze and the pills—died a long time ago, and New Phil sees no need to apologize for him: “We never, ever judge someone on who’s going to heaven, hell. That’s the Almighty’s job. We just love ’em, give ’em the good news about Jesus—whether they’re homosexuals, drunks, terrorists. We let God sort ’em out later, you see what I’m saying?”

Read More http://www.gq.com/entertainment/television/201401/duck-dynasty-phil-robertson#ixzz2nvsOFoHJ

And this...

         “If you simply put your faith in Jesus coming down in flesh, through a human being, God becoming flesh living on the earth, dying on the cross for the sins of the world, being buried, and being raised from the dead—yours and mine and everybody else’s problems will be solved. And the next time we see you, we will say: ‘You are now a brother. Our brother.’ So then we look at you totally different then. See what I’m saying?”
I think so?
We hop back in the ATV and plow toward the sunset, back to the Robertson home. There will be no family dinner tonight. No cameras in the house. No rowdy squirrel-hunting stories from back in the day. There will be only the realest version of Phil Robertson, hosting a private Bible study with a woman who, according to him, “has been on cocaine for years and is making her decision to repent. I’m going to point her in the right direction.”


Read More http://www.gq.com/entertainment/television/201401/duck-dynasty-phil-robertson#ixzz2nvtuTB8Y

Now that, I can get on board with. I appreciate Phil for not being afraid to voice his beliefs. I appreciate that he made sure to say that although he disagrees with homosexuality, we are called to love people. No, I don't like the way he said it, but I do believe in his right to say it. What we have to remember as Christians is, we have tried to censor the other side for a long time. When they lose their rights, we lose ours. Yes, I agree that it has swung pretty far in the other direction. Televisions, magazines, and radios broadcast smut, but the minute anyone says that they believe homosexuality is wrong, there is an outcry of bigotry and hatred. The problem is, we have given the world centuries of proof of so-called Christian hatred, violence, and mistreatment. What we have to remember is, we all have the right to turn the channel, turn off the television, tell our children, "NO, you may not listen to or watch that." 

Am I upset about A&E suspending Phil? Absolutely! They knew what they were getting when they hired him, and they have made millions off of him. The issue is, most people in the LGBT community are pretty big supporters of our right to free speech as well. I believe their cause would have been much better supported by issuing a statement that they do not agree with or support Phil's beliefs. Anyone who did not think that was enough could simply not watch the show. However, by suspending Phil, they have whacked a hornet's nest that has people on both sides acting crazy! 

Here's the thing. The Robertsons were millionaires before A&E, and they will be just fine without them. If anything, Phil will probably be happy to see the cameras go. So, what can we do to support them? Well, I won't be watching the show without Phil. We have yet to see what the rest of the family will do. I hope they will all be able to quit and go on without the show, even though I will miss it dearly. I don't know much about contracts and all that, so I won't claim that if they don't quit they are liars and pagans. I believe they know my Jesus, and He will guide them on the right path. It is not my place to say whatever decision they make is right or wrong. I believe we can support the family without supporting A&E, but I don't know if storming the offices is the way to do it. I don't really see Jesus attempting to overthrow the government? And  I am trying to see through His eyes, not human eyes. 

I would love to see the Christian community stop protesting and boycotting and start loving people again. There are times that we need to be strong and fight. We need to fight against human trafficking and racism. There are causes worth dying for. TV is not one of them. Let's stop giving the world more reasons to claim that we are filled with hate. Let's stop treating sinners as the diseased and start loving them the way Jesus did. Let's let God worry about whether or not they are going to heaven or hell. Should it matter to us? Are we called to love only those we believe to be saved or are we called to love our neighbors as ourselves? None of the disciples knew that Judas was the traitor, because Jesus treated him exactly the same, knowing all along he was the one who would betray him. Why do we excuse some sins by claiming no one is perfect, but become outraged if someone else dare bring their sin into our churches? Let's treat EVERYONE the way we want to be treated. Let's turn the other cheek. Let's go the the extra mile. Let's honor God with our wealth. Maybe we will see God in a different way. Maybe the true church in America will be revived and be a haven for hurting people again, and not just a source of pain and bitterness for so many. 

Big Dinosaur

I decided to blow the dust off my old blog and try it out again. We have entered a new phase of life, and Austin has taken the job of Minister of Youth and Education at Immanuel Baptist Church in Lancaster, SC. This is great! We love the extension of the body of believers there and we are falling in love with the town. There is only one little problem. We haven't been able to sell our house in Greenville, and are forced to divide our time. Mostly, that looks like Austin spending several days in Lancaster while the kids and I stay here going about our lives. We all go down on Saturday evenings, spend the night with one of the many gracious families that have opened their homes to ours, go to church Sunday morning, drive back that night, and start all over again.

It is a lot for our family right now, but we are so thankful that we know where we are headed and we know that this too shall pass. One of the main down sides to this situation is that Austin is getting to know our new family and getting to spend time with them outside of church. Because I am only there on Sundays and sporadic Wednesdays, I don't feel that I am getting to even begin the relationships that I am so desperate to deepen! I thought this would be a good way for our Lancaster family to know a little bit about what is going on with the Tram Fam while we aren't there.

I will be blogging different things: sometimes just stories of what we are experiencing, devotionals about what God is teaching me through His Word and life, maybe just pictures to show the whirlwind we call our home. I hope that this will help bridge the gap between Greenville and Lancaster until we can fully be there are begin the new phase of our lives! I will use one capital letter to refer to the people in our lives to protect privacy, so forgive me if that seems to flow unnaturally, but we can never be to careful in this age we live in!

This past weekend we stayed with a sweet family in our church that is actually related to me down the line in the enormous web that is the Dabney family. P's grandfather and my great-grandfather were brothers and both "Dabney" men. Ironically, her daughter's name is very similar to mine! We have already come to love this family even though we have not had the privilege yet to spend much time with them.

T (my 3 year old son) is in a huge Dinosaur phase right now. However, he is also in a scared-of-his-own-shadow phase as well. We walked into the house and I heard T yell, "Dad! you have to come see this huge triceratops!" A few seconds later I hear A say, "Whoa! That is a huge triceratops!" I have to go see this thing. I went in and there is this stuffed dinosaur every bit as big as you would think a real baby triceratops might have been. B proceeds to show us all the things this toy does. It was hands down one of the coolest toys I have ever seen. I thought, "we won't be able to get T away from this thing." Then I notice, he is hiding behind his dad's leg. No matter what we did, we could not get him within 2 feet of the dinosaur. The adults went back in the other room for our late night milshakes, and the kids stayed in there. I heard their oldest son trying his best to get T to warm up to the dinosaur. Finally, he would touch it and pet it, but no way was he riding it! He, however, has talked of nothing else since we left.

I have mulled over that situation since Saturday evening. It was so funny to me how amazed T was at this toy, but was so frightened to go near it. Without trying to make something out of everything, I was thinking this morning about how many of us react the same way to the Holy Spirit. We are amazed and overwhelmed at this powerful and HUGE part of the Trinity. However, most of us would rather stand back and say, "no way I am riding that!" God must look at us thinking, "Isn't that what you have been asking for? Don't you want my power? Don't you want to see miracles and revival in your generation?" We can't be afraid to tap into the power of the Holy Spirit. I want to see amazing things in my life! Let's make a commitment to dive into the Word, into prayer, and into the amazing adventures God has called us to! Ephesians 3:20 says that God is able to do "immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to His power that is at work within us." If we believe that, why are we content with safe, small, boring lives? Don't we want to not only admire from a distance the lives of other brothers and sisters in Christ who are living these amazing lives through the power of Christ, but jump in there are do amazing things as well?

God will use each and everyone of us right where we are in awesome ways! It is not only those in ministry He calls to the adventure; He wants to use people in every level of society in every level of every organization! Let's decide that we will no longer sit back and be satisfied with the status quo-let's jump on and ride that dinosaur!