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A WORD FROM OUR PASTOR…
A few years ago, I discovered a treasure of the Catholic Church – Bishop Robert Barron. He is the Bishop of the Diocese of Winona–Rochester in Minnesota. Bishop Barron is the founder of the Catholic ministerial organization Word on Fire. I was recently scrolling through a list of his podcasts trying to find something to listen to while driving. There was a title that grabbed my attention – “Bishop Barron Responds to His Critics.” Okay! You got my attention. I wondered how someone like him could have critics. “Oh, he preaches and teaches the Word of God from an orthodox Catholic perspective,” I thought. There will be critics especially in our polarized culture where people judge everything based on their perspective of what is right or wrong.
To my surprise, Bishop Barron addressed common objections to his teaching that come from both extremes. Liberals criticized him for being too far to the right. Conservatives label him as being too far to the left. I thought that was interesting. He said that this didn’t bother him at all. He rather considered it a compliment. He said, “I am proud of it because when extremes on both sides are finding a problem, then I’m likely in the right place.” He went on to say, “I am not an advocate for the left or the right. I am an advocate of Catholic social teaching.”
I have thought a lot what the bishop said. I tend to agree with him. When we teach Biblical principles, ethics, doctrines, etc., there will be things that offend both extremes. The Bible wasn’t written by conservatives or liberals. It was written by people of faith in all sorts of cultural settings inspired by the Holy Spirit to speak the Word of God and to give revelation to humans of the transcendent God, not support any one particular human category of thinking. God is not conservative or liberal. God is God. His ways don’t fit into our neat boxes of “red” and “blue.”
I say all of that to say on Sunday I will be talking about some sensitive topics. Gender, sexual identity, and the Bible. I want you to know that I will not answer all of your questions regarding these issues. Regarding what I will say, some may think I am being too “conservative” or “traditional” at times. Others may think I am being too “liberal.” I am attempting to be neither of those things. I want to be “Biblical.” That’s my goal. You know my heart. I want to be pastoral and help us to approach these topics with some foundational principles based on Scripture. The goal is to help us to engage with our culture critically and biblically.
I must also remind you that this is not a “sex talk.” I will not be talking about “sex” specifically or explicitly. My topics are gender and sexual identity. Think personhood theory and gender dysphoria and you will be on the right track. Out of an abundance of caution, we are asking parents to allow their elementary age children to be dismissed before the message to go with our kids ministry staff for a fun activity in the gym. They can be picked up in the gym following the service.
I am looking forward to sharing this message with you. Pray for me as I prepare to speak on these important subjects and lift our vision to God’s higher calling and purposes.
Jimmy