Watch this amazing worship anthem and tell me what you think. Write your comment below, after which, read the whole blog entry.
I was pretty amazed by the choir, praise team and orchestra myself. Anyone can see and discern the amount of time and effort the entire team put into learning and executing this piece! Towards the end of the song, the team had their hands lifted high and singing with all their hearts. Their voices raised to their Lord and the congregation rose to their feet in praise!
"So what's the big deal?," you ask, and say, "I have seen far better choirs?" Well, the 60-member choir, pink-clad praise team and orchestra are what comprise the Worship Arts Ministry of the Cathedral of Hope Dallas, the largest gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender Christian congregation in the world!
With the advent of Welcoming and Affirming movement within major mainline denominations, we have seen a rise in the number of such churches. There are hundreds of LGBT-friendly congregations in every mainline denomination.
I believe that we should the church should be Welcoming of the persons, but not Affirming of the lifestyle. There is a huge difference in embracing the former and both. The Welcoming and Affirming group wishes to see churches acknowledge the lifestyle as normal.
As an evangelical, I believe that heterosexuality is not only normal; it is normative. Homosexual acts are contrary to the will of God for human sexuality expressed in scripture. The Bible views it as sin, just as God views all the other sins. It is not, however, unforgivable sin. The same redemption available to all sinners is available to all who will come to Christ and that in Him people who appropriate Christ's offer may become new creations in Him.
I believe also that within the Church of Jesus Christ homosexuality should neither to be celebrated nor persecuted. We should seek to obey the whole of Scripture, demonstrating in its own life the same obedience it asks from others. It calls the whole church to a greater faithfulness to Christ and minister to people in the lifestyle in a redemptive way.
Some weeks ago, I touched base with a long-time attendee of our church who is a famous TV show host and news reporter in one of the Philippines' major TV networks. I asked him to share his testimony with the congregation during Worship. A couple of weeks later, he agreed to do so. I remember the morning he stood in front of the congregation, facing vulnerability yet accepting his victory in Jesus Christ. The people were silent. We see him on TV everyday and attend church every Sunday but that was the first time for us to hear his story. His story may be seen here:
http://gcf.org.ph/sermons/index/172
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