A moment of change

There are enumerable places one could pick to be THE starting point of the church. Certainly Pentecost leads the list.

But I've always been sort of partial to that moment when this happened: "When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he began to ask them for a gift. Peter and John stared at him. Peter said, 'Look at us!' So the man gazed at them, expecting to receive something from them. Peter said, 'I don't have any money, but I will give you what I do have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, rise up and walk."

The power of that moment is incalculable. Peter became, well, Peter instead of a cowering, doubting, denier of Jesus. The power flowing out of him must have been practically tangible. But the power of the moment to me is that he understood that someone could "give" Jesus Christ. He had him, he could give him away.

I started to write about the Black Mass held off campus of Harvard, but we've had paltry demonstrations of parody of even the most sacred of sacraments before even by dumb college kids.

I started to write about the supposed coming schism in the United Methodist Church and if it came, where would I go or to whom would I go.

I started to write about everything under the sun and the moon but I keep coming back to something many of us saw and are still processing.

I would give you the sports spoiler alert but what I'm about the write about is anything but sports, actually.

Saturday when Michael Sam was drafted by the Los Angels Rams, he kissed his loved one smack on the lips. Just like darn near every one of the players drafted in the longggggg three days of drafting players. Much of what is still called I believe mainline America, you know conservative America, went nuts because Sam is gay and his partner is male.

And I've got to tell you, just like that, I believe the tide shifted and things rocked and things changed. I really do. Because what I saw when I saw this, and I must tell you that was a first for me as it was for much of or even some of America. I had never seen two men kiss. I was born just after Teddy Roosevelt left office, and I've seen a lot. That's not one of the moments.

But I knew without a doubt that something had changed. In American churches, and not just on the football field.

Two things: Some athletes tweeted difficult messages and were immediately slammed by what seemed to be everyone. You can't be opposed to the kiss or its showing or you are homophobic.

Second, the chatter among American athletes was very restrained and much of the St. Louis Rams were very welcoming.

The reason I say American churches changed is that the water that was under the bridge is reaching the top.

Adam Hamilton, in a Q&A for a new book, says, "Most conservatives, moderate evangelicals and progressives I know believe that the church is to love gay and lesbian people. And nearly all agree, at the core the issue is not homosexuality but the Bible. God did not rewrite, edit or send down from heaven a new Bible that clarified that God was against slavery. There are over 200 verses allowing and regulating the practice in the Bible. Yet somehow Christians were able to look at those verses and ultimately conclude that they did not reflect God's will for humankind despite verses directly attributed to God that allowed for owning, selling and even beating slaves.

"Conservatives often suggest homosexuality is an issue of biblical authority. I believe the Bible has authority in my life and for the church ...but I also believe that the five passages that speak to some form of same-sex intimacy do not describe God's timeless will for humanity any more than the passages on violence, or slavery, or women describe God's timeless will. The issue is not authority, it is our assumptions about the Bible and the way we interpret it."

State supreme courts across this nation have, to my knowledge, been consistent in their rulings that same-sex marriage will be allowed.

Here's my point. If there is a schism, I doubt seriously I would consider leaving the "United" Methodist Church. I believe in it. I believe it is flawed, but I see new life popping up everywhere I look. Granted I don't have a national perspective, and granted I probably wouldn't agree with other conferences on a lot of things but ultimately I must believe in my ability to be wrong because I showcase it so often. If we're only going to ordain sinless people, what are we doing right now? I keep coming back to that.

This is a sea change for me, folks. This is a moment to remember because somehow gay folks, of whom I know many, have faces and emotions that I've not shared much of.

Thus, I would stay and try to make gentle moderate points with everyone who would listen. I just believe there are few in the middle any longer.

I believe to the gay community, we as a church should pause in our headlong slide down a slippery and never to be climbed again slope and say "I don't have (name it) but I will give you what I do have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, rise up and walk."

It's about time for the church to rise up and walk, hand in hand, into what will be our future.For that, it seems to me, is more important than who is interpreting the Bible correctly. Ultimately, scripture is in the eye of the beholder. I pray we open it up and continue to study the magnificent, loving Word. That is church in the 21st century.

Better get used to it. I am in the process, prayerfully, continually.