God DOESN'T hate gays--but pastors mocking them is A-OK!
You wouldn't know God loves EVERYONE from reading this post on a popular, mega-church pastor's Facebook page:
It's always edifying and Christ-like when a mega-pastor uses his bully pulpit to invite others to engage in public shaming of...other Christians.
Which is probably why God created Mommy blogs like mine to be a suitable helpmeet. Somebody has to stand up for the masculine anatomically female Mommy leaders in the room. Wait. Did that make sense?
EXACTLY!
Still, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe Pastor Mark was drinking some of the communion grape juice before he posted that? Instead of the Twinkie Defense, he can plead insanity by way of Welch's.
OK, in all seriousness, if Pastor Mark's comment is any indication, no wonder gays have felt targeted for special condemnation in our churches. One of the most heartbreaking replies on this post came from a worship leader:
Honestly, how can ANY pastor justify publicly inviting people to publicly humiliate other Christians? As a Christian I feel embarrassed and grieved by this kind of public display of graceless behavior. What's even more discouraging is that despite a flood of negative comments, Pastor Mark has refused to issue an apology.
In the end, I don't think it matters to God if you can preach a million amazing sermons or fill entire stadiums for Easter services. What matters more to God is how you treat people. If you can't issue an apology for saying something so indefensibly hurtful, what does that say about your character and the state of your heart?
Well, at least Pastor Mark is offering updates about his kid's baseball tournament:
Praise the Lord for righteous priorities, amen?