Comments on: Denial…

By: Cal

Cal — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 06:26:51 +0000

Sad isn't it.

Grace has become, "How God enables you to perform."

By: Vivien

Vivien — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 19:20:00 +0000

True that all individuals/corporations eventually come to the end of themselves, either by death or despair. I guess it looks like corporations continue only because of new and determined management.

I pray that the washed up ones truly find the Master and His Mercy. The only other option is ruthlessness, or shall we say "truthlessness".

This story makes me more thankful for Jesus and a little more sad for all of us who too long lived in fear of condemnation.

And so right you are, I wouldn't take my deep hurts to my church. Thank you God for you and the small group of safe people you have put me in.

And now for one of the biggest and one of the dirtiest lies then, if Ted felt he couldn't take it to his colleagues and therefore believed there was no other place to take it..... The church seems to be the place which most people consider to be the last resort to take their troubles. Doesn't leave much hope does it? And without hope he may as well keep on doing what he is doing right... Cause there must not really be a good and kind God.......

By: Cal

Cal — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 09:11:08 +0000

It just strikes me that the tree really didn't fall far from the apple either. (Ted was just as much created by the culture he inhabited as the culture was created by Ted -- and he led the entire Evangelical Union of the United States.)

Once you start with a culture of rules (nothing more then an attempt to control people) and define healing and growth as the adherence to such, you automatically need to play a role to look like you fit or those you are, "Healing," will not let you heal them.

In a way, I kinda feel for Ted -- there had to be a moment when he woke up one morning and realized he needed help. It probably was MANY years ago too. I'm nearly certain that the next thought that crossed his mind was, "I can't do that, I'd be unemployed -- and from who anyway -- who could I trust not to get me fired?"

He would have been right -- by that point he was so trapped in that culture there was no help. His church's response to the latest lover breaking his silence is proof positive of the culture of shame, guilt and a bizarre parody of the latest vision of holiness which that church ran on. It's nothing more then a blatant attempt to deny that there was any other gay person there...

Welcome to Evangelical Christendom... {SIGH} I doubt if there's ever going to be a chance that any church out there could actually let a real person be and/or remain in the pulpit...

By: Vivien

Vivien — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 15:37:01 +0000

The irony here is close to everyone’s heart isn’t it? That the church is meant to be a safe place to share your weakness without shame or condemnation. And now because of the “secrecy” (vs privacy) the whole damn thing is spread all over like a soap opera.
So back to the operations room; you are either interested in real healing and compassion or just simply your image and the preservation of such at all cost. And usually that cost is the image you were trying so hard to preserve. Such a waste of time isn’t it. And to think we only live here for say….max 100 yrs?

Of course, we don’t have any church businesses like that in Canada….
Implosion is simply what it is, implosion.

By: cal

cal — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 04:34:06 +0000

Yep, they just made it even more sensational now…

By: Kathy

Kathy — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 19:13:21 +0000

also apparently the hush ahem compassionate payoff the church gave the guy wasn’t enough so he’s now – no doubt – agreed to talk about his story on TV for an undisclosed sum.

Can the book and made for TV movie be far behind?