Nearly one in four young Americans would rather have a giant meteor destroy the Earth than see Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump in the White House. In addition, 26 percent of millennials would prefer a random lottery over the two candidates.

It’s been a tough week leading up to tonight’s final presidential debate.

The local Republican headquarters in Hillsborough, North Carolina made national headlines when a firebomb was thrown through its front window last Sunday. Later that day, comedian Amy Schumer was performing in Tampa, Florida when she began slamming Donald Trump. Some two hundred people walked out. Yesterday a terrible caricatured statue of Hillary Clinton was displayed in lower Manhattan, causing a furor on social media.

For many, the election can’t get here soon enough. According to the American Psychological Association, more than half of America’s adults say the election has been a large or significant source of stress for them.

So-called “Election Stress Disorder” is just part of the larger picture. Nearly three out of four adults report feeling stressed about money at least some of the time. Eighty percent of workplace accidents and doctor visits are attributed to stress.

Stress contributes to headaches, high blood pressure, heart problems, diabetes, skin conditions, asthma, arthritis, depression, and anxiety. It is a linked to some cancers and costs American industry more than $300 billion each year.

How should we respond?

Continue reading Denison Forum – DO YOU WISH A GIANT METEOR WOULD DESTROY THE EARTH? →

How should churches who affirm biblical truth regarding homosexuality handle gay members?

Yesterday I addressed the controversy generated by Watermark Church’s decision to discipline a gay member of its congregation. The continuing debate fostered by this issue shows that it is not limited to one church or to the issue of homosexuality. While I cannot explore this complicated subject fully in a single article, I would like to offer this overview.

One: Church discipline is unpopular.

When the Watermark decision became public, the response was immediate and strongly negative. I heard people ask, “Who do they think they are? What right do they have to judge others?” Such questions are symptomatic of a culture that has defined truth as personal and subjective. Tolerance is the overriding value of our day. As a result, any attempts to hold others accountable for biblical morality will be met with derision.

In his excellent Dallas Morning News column, Watermark Pastor Todd Wagner stated that the church’s decision “has gained much attention online. Some are confused, even hurt and I understand why. The practice of church discipline (which is to say, loving correction) is a process that is unfamiliar to most and because of the harshness of the word ‘discipline’ might even be perceived as unloving, oppressive or archaic.”

Christians who stand for biblical morality can expect opposition to discipline, accountability, or even public statements that conflict with the tolerance ethic of our day.

Two: Church discipline is biblical.

In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul addressed “sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife” (v. 1). The apostle instructed the congregation to remove the man from its fellowship (v. 5).

Continue reading Denison Forum – HOW SHOULD CHURCHES DEAL WITH GAY MEMBERS? 4 FACTS →

On October 9, 2015, a member of Watermark Church in Dallas received a letter responding to his homosexual lifestyle. The letter noted that the church had worked with the man over several years to help him repent of such relationships.

However, the man’s decision to continue in a homosexual relationship caused the church to remove him from its membership and to treat him “as we would anyone who is living out of fellowship with God.” The congregation is praying “that repentance comes quickly and that you do not continue choosing a path of destruction and one that leads you away from the authority and care of the church.”

On the one-year anniversary of receiving the letter, the man described his anger on Facebook: “You are tarnishing the name of God to Christians and non-Christians alike; you should be ashamed of yourselves! Do not forget, Jesus was a [sic] angry with people just like you who said certain groups of people were not worthy to be followers of Him.”

Dallas Morning News columnist Jacquielynn Floyd was highly critical of the church in a column under the headline, “Watermark megachurch banned a gay man that it didn’t deserve to have as a member.” Floyd stated: “A church that chooses a path leading it to harass and condemn its own blameless members isn’t doing itself any favors. Running around trying to change turtles into ducks seems out of step with established science and enlightened interpretation of Scripture.”

Yesterday, Watermark Pastor Todd Wagner responded. Todd and I have been friends for years, and I greatly admire his passion for Christ, his congregation, and his community. I urge you to read his entire column in the Dallas Morning News.

Todd explains that the former member made clear to the church that “he no longer believed same-sex sexual activity was inappropriate for a follower of Jesus Christ and no longer desired to turn from it.” As a result, “Like any member whose beliefs move away from the core commitments, biblical convictions, and values of Watermark, it became appropriate to formally acknowledge his desire not to pursue faithfulness to Christ with us.”

Continue reading Denison Forum – DALLAS CHURCH CRITICIZED FOR DISCIPLINING GAY MEMBER →