Jay Bakker Challenges Mega-Church Pastors on Homophobia

[DeSwiss]

Jay Bakker Challenges Mega-Church Pastors on Homophobia

The American Prospect

Sarah Posner | The FundamentaList | May 14, 2008

This past weekend, Jay Bakker, son of the televangelist Jim Bakker and the late Tammy Faye Bakker, visited Joel Osteen's Lakewood mega-church in Houston, Texas, in an effort to enlist the church's participation in the civil-rights organization http://www.soulforce.org/">Soulforce's effort to foster dialogue between churches and LGBT people. Bakker, who pastors his own http://www.revolutionnyc.com/">Revolution Church in Brooklyn, New York, became an openly "gay-affirming" pastor three years ago. Revolution Church's Web site proclaims, "As Christians, we're sorry for being self-righteous judgmental bastards."

In Houston, Bakker chatted with Osteen and other church officials after the Sunday service, and although he described Osteen as "very genuine" and "welcoming" of LGBT people into his church it became clear that Osteen wasn't going to take any big stands on LGBT rights. Bakker chalks up much of the resistance to fear of losing influence and financial support. When he took his stand, Bakker added, he lost big donors and speaking engagements.

I asked Bakker about the common belief that younger evangelicals are more open to gay marriage and LGBT rights. He described the next generation as "more compassionate and open" but "I still hear rhetoric -- people are afraid to take a stand." But apathy, Bakker added, "is just as bad as divisiveness. ...That's not going to bring around any positive change."

http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=the_fundamentalist_051408">LINK

- Joel O$teen has got a good thing going down there in Texa$. And I don't $ee him jumping up and down for LGBT's unless it add$ to his bottom line....
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DeSwiss



http://atheisttoolbox.com/">The Atheist Toolbox

[Loki]

1. Joel Osteen is a genuine as a

three dollar bill. He genuinely wants you to give as much money to his church to help him support he and his family's lifestyle as you can. Where are the outreach programs for Mr. Osteen's mega church? Look on his website, you won't find a mention of anything. At the mission center's in Houston like Lord of the Streets and the Beacon, you won't find any ministry by Mr. Osteen. No money to give = No Joel

[DeSwiss]

4. Where are the outreach programs for Mr. Osteen's mega church?

There is but one. And that's Joel Osteen. He reaches out and finds his way into every pocket that becomes ensnared into his mega-church trap. And if you are invalid, you can watch him spin the blarney on the teevee. And then call-in and give him your credit card number, and he'll see that you get god's blessings on the installment plan.

- And I must say that he's done a tremendous job....

[xchrom]

2. jay bakker is so cool.

and he'll make any money from backers he's lost from other places over time.

yay! soulforce!

[DeSwiss]

5. Yes, for a religionist....

...I find him quite palatable. I read an article on him in RADAR last year and he seemed quite realistic about himself and how he grew up on the top of the mega-church/communications heap. Given all that's happened to him in his life, all that PTL stuff, one might expect him to have gone off the deep end.

I wish him well in his work with his church.

- Maybe he can bring them some sanity if no one else can....

on edit: spelling

[davidinalameda]

7. what's a religionist?

[DeSwiss]

10. Those who adhere to religious belielfs. n/t

[xchrom]

9. indeed -- i'm episcopalian myself --

and what could loosely be described as a religionist.

but i have nothing -- nothing in me that resonates with the whole evangelical, fundie business.

and you make a spot on point about what he has dealt with -- how he is relating to both the evangelical movement and those churches.

[Dogmudgeon]

3. Soulforce looks like a Good Thing

King! Ghandi! Next thing you know, Soulforce will be following that long-haired hippie slacker from Palestine.

Osteen isn't quite as odious as, say, the late Brother Jerry Falwell, but I agree, he's still pretty much Elmer Gantry with a better tailor.

I've been hearing these little "rumbles" from various evangelical Christian friends of mine for a decade or more. Every arrogant bible huckster who comes along finds it just too easy to intimidate them into obedience and out of their money. But that crowd will soon find that the "End of Days" will be the end of THEIR days of easy money and naked power.

It may not happen overnight, but it's happening. The temple is redolent with the stink of money-changers, but the faithful are becoming immune to being played for fools. The next time the temple is "cleansed", it will be the result of those kung-fu Christian sheep taking back their faith.

Once upon a darker time, Tibetan Buddhism was a cruel, tyrannical, and oppressive yoke on the shoulders of millions of Buddhist faithful. All it took was one determined leader, challenged by adversity and thrown back on the roots of his faith -- Tenzin Gyatso, the current Dalai Lama -- to change that entirely. A similar day will yet come for Christianity.

I'm not a religious man, but I'll say, "Amen!"

--p!

[DeSwiss]

6. Yep, for a religious group....

...they do pretty good work without being self-righteous about it.

But they do get into the Fundies and Evangelical's face about what their religion is supposed to be about.

- But the Fundies and Evangelicals probably don't hold as good an opinion of them as you and me.....

[LostinVA]

8. Soulforce isn't necessarily a religious group

They do a lot about getting religious people to accept gays, but they're not religious. My wife actually did quite a bit of work with them a couple years ago, and she's just the typical lapsed Catholic.

Many members are Christian, but there's lots of agnostics/Buddhists/etc in Soulforce.

[LeftyMom]

11. If your wife is typical, I'm the Queen of England.

And since everybody knows I look horrible in hats, that means your wife must be extraordinary.

Logic. No arguing. :D

Tell her we said hi.

[Jamastiene]

12. Jay Bakker is one of the good guys, just like his mother was.

Love live Jay Bakker. :thumbsup: