A Christian revolution
It’s so refreshing when any prominent religious figure steps forward to articulate his or her beliefs in such a way that they not only make sense, but they capture the true spirit and meaning of beliefs based on love and faith rather than fear and hate.
That’s why I have to give some props to Jay Bakker, son of Tammy Faye and no stranger to the scandalous ways of evangelical politics. Bakker is distancing himself from his father, a former televangelist who ended up behind bars (big surprise) and took a page or two from his mother who showed him her book on how to be “radically welcoming and inclusive.”
From the Statesman:
To that end, Bakker calls himself “gay affirming” and has taken some hits since stating publicly that he does not believe homosexuality is sinful. Reading from Ephesians, Bakker told the packed church, made up mostly of gay and lesbian families, that even though they may have felt unwelcome in churches in the past, the Bible says all believers are one in Christ.
“I don’t know if Focus on the Family wants to admit it or not, but we are one in Christ with them,” he said. “I don’t know if we want to admit it or not.”
He praised the families who are planning to speak to megachurches for the Soulforce campaign.
“I’m so glad to be part of a movement that’s going to change the world,” he said.
Jay Bakker
is a 30-something, tatted, intelligent fellow who conducts services for his Revolution NYC church in a bar in Brooklyn. If that doesn’t make him down right “cool” as James Dean in your book, then I don’t know what will.
Furthermore, he’s on a mission to confront churches who spread anti-homosexual ideology.
I’ve got three words for Mr. Bakker … you go boy!
tammy faye bakker, jay bakker, jim bakker, televangelist, revolution nyc, ephesians
February 26th, 2008 at 11:18 am
Thanks so much for mentioning Jay, Lyndsey. He’s one of a few high profile Christian leaders out there giving me real hope right now.