the link i am posting is rather "old news" but i just found out about it last night.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/music/interviews/2010/jenniferknapp-apr10.html
i don't follow christian that much anymore and follow the artists even less. i don't generally follow many celebrities at all (except the few on twitter) because i just don't really care enough... however, this "news" came as a surprise to me, not the news itself, but the fact that it actually came out.
jennifer knapp, the woman whose music i listened to quite a bit through college, had "come out of the closet". she is admittedly a lesbian, in a monogamous relationship with a woman.
i am a bit conflicted by this. in a way, i am proud of her for her honesty and courage. a christian artist coming forward, confessing something that is almost definitely a "career ender". i am also scared for her. i am worried about the blacklash that is almost sure to rip her apart. i am confident that many of the people who purchased her records and proudly wore her t-shirts or attended her concerts will now toss them all aside and call her a liar. i worry that her words of repentance and worship will be dismissed as ploys to make money from the name of Jesus. why am i am so sure of this? because i have heard and read it. i've read christians call her a liar and say "if i would have known that, i would have never bought one of her cds" "she is a liar" "that just makes me sick"
is this the same reaction people had when michael english admitted that he committed adultery? not that i remember... i remember people saying that this was the perfect picture of grace, a sinner turned from his wicked ways. what about john edwards? what about amy grant? we all still bought their cds and sang their songs in church... last i checked, amy grant still had songs on "wow worship". now, i know some of you will say, "well michael english confessed and turned from his sin, but jennifer is embracing her sin" you may be right.
lets choose a different scenario then, a hypothetical one... what if you found out that your pastor had been caught speeding and continued to do so. your pastor stood before your congregation and said "my fellow brothers and sisters, i am a sinner, i do not follow the law of the speed limit that the government (and therefore God) has set before me." is your pastor a liar? is he/she just another person out to make money from the name of Jesus? or is your pastor a human being who has a sinful nature? is your pastor someone who Christ can forgive?
2 timothy 2:24-25 says "with gentleness correct those who are in opposition..." i understand that we are to confront our brother if we see him sinning, but it is to be done with love. 1 corithians 13 says "without love you are like a clanging cymbal"
a few things come to mind when i hear/read things about christians "failing" and the reactions that their brothers and sisters in Christ have to it. i am reminded of the words of a pastor, "the bible is a might tool, but should not be used a weapon" and "you cannot be someone else's holy spirit".
my prayer for jennifer is that in this, she will find the love of Christ. i pray that the image of Christ will not be tarnished by others around her.
i pray that no matter what side of the argument of homosexuality we stand on, we will have love for not only her but also the others we come in contact with who we might disagree with on this issue (gay or straight alike). at this point, i take only the side of love.
in my opinion, we are all sinners. there is not one who is clean, whether it is lust (straight, gay, or other), hate, pride, coveting, lying, or speeding it is all sin. all sin is equal. no matter the flaw we must all remember romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." the acceptance of Christ does not eliminate our faltering ways, it just makes us want to walk a little straighter.
i don't care about your sin. i care about your love and the love of the One that can heal and restore us all.
1 corinthians 13:13 "three things will last forever--faith, hope, and love--and the greatest of these is love."
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/music/interviews/2010/jenniferknapp-apr10.html
i don't follow christian that much anymore and follow the artists even less. i don't generally follow many celebrities at all (except the few on twitter) because i just don't really care enough... however, this "news" came as a surprise to me, not the news itself, but the fact that it actually came out.
jennifer knapp, the woman whose music i listened to quite a bit through college, had "come out of the closet". she is admittedly a lesbian, in a monogamous relationship with a woman.
i am a bit conflicted by this. in a way, i am proud of her for her honesty and courage. a christian artist coming forward, confessing something that is almost definitely a "career ender". i am also scared for her. i am worried about the blacklash that is almost sure to rip her apart. i am confident that many of the people who purchased her records and proudly wore her t-shirts or attended her concerts will now toss them all aside and call her a liar. i worry that her words of repentance and worship will be dismissed as ploys to make money from the name of Jesus. why am i am so sure of this? because i have heard and read it. i've read christians call her a liar and say "if i would have known that, i would have never bought one of her cds" "she is a liar" "that just makes me sick"
is this the same reaction people had when michael english admitted that he committed adultery? not that i remember... i remember people saying that this was the perfect picture of grace, a sinner turned from his wicked ways. what about john edwards? what about amy grant? we all still bought their cds and sang their songs in church... last i checked, amy grant still had songs on "wow worship". now, i know some of you will say, "well michael english confessed and turned from his sin, but jennifer is embracing her sin" you may be right.
lets choose a different scenario then, a hypothetical one... what if you found out that your pastor had been caught speeding and continued to do so. your pastor stood before your congregation and said "my fellow brothers and sisters, i am a sinner, i do not follow the law of the speed limit that the government (and therefore God) has set before me." is your pastor a liar? is he/she just another person out to make money from the name of Jesus? or is your pastor a human being who has a sinful nature? is your pastor someone who Christ can forgive?
2 timothy 2:24-25 says "with gentleness correct those who are in opposition..." i understand that we are to confront our brother if we see him sinning, but it is to be done with love. 1 corithians 13 says "without love you are like a clanging cymbal"
a few things come to mind when i hear/read things about christians "failing" and the reactions that their brothers and sisters in Christ have to it. i am reminded of the words of a pastor, "the bible is a might tool, but should not be used a weapon" and "you cannot be someone else's holy spirit".
my prayer for jennifer is that in this, she will find the love of Christ. i pray that the image of Christ will not be tarnished by others around her.
i pray that no matter what side of the argument of homosexuality we stand on, we will have love for not only her but also the others we come in contact with who we might disagree with on this issue (gay or straight alike). at this point, i take only the side of love.
in my opinion, we are all sinners. there is not one who is clean, whether it is lust (straight, gay, or other), hate, pride, coveting, lying, or speeding it is all sin. all sin is equal. no matter the flaw we must all remember romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." the acceptance of Christ does not eliminate our faltering ways, it just makes us want to walk a little straighter.
i don't care about your sin. i care about your love and the love of the One that can heal and restore us all.
1 corinthians 13:13 "three things will last forever--faith, hope, and love--and the greatest of these is love."
