Shenandoah Valley Pride or a Family Prayer Church Picnic?
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Two Steps Backward, One Step Forward
Eastern Mennonite University and LGBT activists have moved the Valley two steps backward this week by their decisions to recognize and promote behaviors and relationships that violate Biblical teachings and common sense standards of sexual conduct. Progressive? No. Regressive? Yes.
By contrast, the Valley Church of Christ, along with many other churches in the Valley, has taken a step forward to publicly celebrate God’s design for marriage and the family. Details follow.
Background: EMU Waffles and Caves
After a lengthy “Listening Process” open to the public, the EMU Board of Trustees decided last year to “defer action on formally changing EMU’s policy on hiring employees in covenanted same-sex relationships”. The Forum had actively participated in urging EMU to maintain its historic, Bible-based, pro-marriage position.
Therefore, its decision last week to change its hiring policy and to now accommodate partners in same-sex “marriages” represents a serious betrayal of its self-proclaimed Christian beliefs and of clear Biblical teaching.
By so doing, EMU has reinforced for itself the image of an upside-down world that SCOTUS created on June 26 with its decision to “legalize” same-sex “marriages”.
In response, and acting on behalf of the Forum, I released the following personal statement to the press yesterday.
The Forum Response: Faith Betrayed
“I am deeply saddened and disappointed by EMU’s decision to revise its hiring policies and practices so as to include employees, staff members, and faculty involved in same-sex ‘marriages’.
Thy Word Is Truth: “As a former student at EMU, I was always challenged and inspired by the banner that hung in front of our chapel where we met every morning. It contained the words of our school motto: “Thy Word Is Truth”.
“We all understood that “Thy Word” referred to the Bible, which includes clear prohibitions against sexual relationships between people of the same gender. Years have passed since then, and the cultural winds have shifted, but that Truth has not changed.
“Therefore, for EMU to reverse its position on this issue is to defy the authority of the “Word” on which it was founded and to violate the beliefs and doctrines of the Mennonite Church with which it still identifies itself.
Church vs. State: “In addition, for EMU to justify its action in recognizing these relationships as legal “marriages” is to allow the state to define that term rather than the “Word” on which EMU still claims to stand.
“Consequently, it raises the question of who or what now defines the “mission and core values” that EMU insists are the basis for all of its policies and hiring decisions – the Word of Truth, or the State?
“Moreover, this action is not about “non-discrimination”, as EMU claims. If that were so, it could also be expected to accord the same level of “non-discrimination” toward covenanted bigamous, polygamous, and polyamorous relationships – legal or not. After all, if it’s all about “equal protection” and “inclusion”, why not?
The Consequences: “Regrettably, the inevitable result of this decision can only be a continued erosion of support, financial and otherwise, for this self-identified “Christian” school that once stood as a shining city on a hill to a world desperately in need of its light.
“And sadly, for a truly Word-based, Christ-centered education, many prospective students and their concerned parents may now have to look elsewhere.”
End statement.
Shenandoah Valley “Pride” Festival
In a second step backward, LGBT activists are holding a “festival” from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. this Saturday, July 25, on the Court Square in downtown Harrisonburg.
Whether cleverly promoted as a celebration of “diversity”, as the organizers are doing, or of “perversity”, which is closer to reality, the event shamelessly violates — as does the new EMU policy — what the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God so clearly teach about same-sex relations.
This is nothing to be “proud” of, nor can it purport to represent Valley values. We can only hope and pray for an awakening of conscience in the hearts of those who have rejected God’s designs and His teachings, and who are now held hostage to destructive desires and behaviors.
An Invitation: Valley Family Prayer Picnic
In refreshing contrast to these misguided decisions and activities, the Valley Church of Christ is hosting a Valley-wide Family Prayer Picnic beginning at 4:00 p.m. this Saturday, July 25 – an opportunity for the Valley to come together in prayer for our marriages, for our children, for our community, and for our country.
The church is located at 1570 Virginia Ave., the intersection of Rt. 42 and Acorn Dr., across the road from and just north of the Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community. It will provide hot dogs, drinks, and paper products, with all visitors encouraged to bring a side dish to add to the table.
If you need additional information, please call 214-9184.
Onward and Upward, for God and Country!
Dean