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Christians, Gay Marriage and a REAL marriage revolution


18 The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh.22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman, ‘ for she was taken out of man.”24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.25 The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. Genesis 2

Evangelicals have gathered in huge numbers today in Washington, DC, to rally and protest, making their opinion known on the issue of whether or not the state should recognize same-sex marriages.

Once upon a time, marriage was about a covenant between a man, a woman, and God. The records were kept in the church, documentation in the family Bible. But during the time that the lines between church and state were blurred (think pre-Reformation, so we’re talking a LONG time ago), the state took over keeping up with marriage, and it’s been a legal contract ever since.

I don’t agree with same-sex relationships because I do believe that they do not fall in line with God’s designed purpose for intimate, sexual relationships.

However, I also disagree with Christians who protest the government’s ruling on marriage (which they claim is ordained by God, not the state) but still enjoy the tax, insurance, retirement and other benefits of a state recognized marriage.

Here’s a revolutionary thought: if believers seriously are against the changes the government is making concerning marriage, stop participating in government recognized marriages.

Return to church recognized, covenantal marriages. When the government goes against God, remove yourself from the government sponsored activity.

It will be a hardship. We will no longer enjoy the benefits the government offers people who join into a legal marriage.

But isn’t sacrifice expected when we stand in our moral beliefs?

So here’s my challenge: Count the cost of protesting or supporting the government’s definition of marriage, which is an understanding that marriage is a legally bound partnership between two consenting people. If we agree with that reductionist view of marriage, then we have NO RIGHT to protest the government withholding those rights from any couple seeking them.

If, however, we believe marriage is a sacred, lifetime covenant between one man, one woman, and God, then why do we allow the government to be involved in the first place?

If you are so strongly against the government redefining marriage, then stop participating in government acknowledged marriages and deal with the sacrifices made because of that stand.

Not a popular stance, and I’m certain I’ll take fire from both sides of the debate, but brothers and sisters, we cannot continue to speak out against an institution (the government) from which we benefit.

My friend Kim just made a beautiful point: our government is not bound to biblical standards, but as Christians, we are. We are not a theocracy, and cannot expect those who do not hold to our religious morals to abide by them.

God ordained governments to protect our right to practice our faith, not to enforce our faith. So if our government today chooses to enforce a law which you believe goes against biblical law, then stop participating in that government sanctioned activity.

File for legal divorce and ask your pastor for a church blessed covenant. Sacrifice the benefits of government sanctioned marriage and embrace community accountability and support.

Teach about the sanctity of marriage, the seriousness of the commitment.

Talk young people out of entering marriage until they understand the commitment they are making.

Talk married couples out of divorcing because they have made that covenant commitment.

(UPDATE: The above statement in NO way means that I condone staying in an unsafe situation in which abuse is taking place in a marriage. In an ideal situation, red flags of possible abuse would be revealed in the pre-marital time and the person would either be discipled to repentance or the marriage would not occur in the first place. If you are currently in an abusive relationship, get out of immediate danger, tell someone. Tell until someone believes you and empowers you to act. God NEVER condones the abuse of His children.)

Do those things, then get back to me about why you desire to withhold government sanctioned financial benefits from same-sex couples, some of whom have been in relationships longer than many heterosexual Christian marriages.

Let’s get marriage right in the Church again before we start critiquing how the world does it.

UPDATE: I’ve had some ask for clarification on my statements above, thinking I’ve meant Christians should isolate themselves from the world or remove ourselves from the political realm altogether.

Nothing could be further from the truth. I’m a history and Poli. Sci. junkie and ENCOURAGE Christians to be involved in the public square.

But on this particular issue, we as believers may need to find a way to signify a distinct difference in our understanding of marriage and the Gov’t’s.

I wrote his on another site yesterday and thought it might be helpful to include here:

The current definition of legal marriage as observed by the gov’t and God’s covenant standard are already so completely different, God wouldn’t recognize our gov’t’s view of marriage.

I say we separate marriage and legal unions. Once, they were assumed the same thing, but they are no longer in our society. Make covenant marriage the business of the church and if people want to add a gov’t sanctioned legal contract, then so be it.

On the other hand, if people wish a legal acknowledgment of their relationship w/o caring for a church commitment, then let them have a legal union alone.

When man’s law deviates from God’s law, as Christians, we stand more accountable to God.

Civil union and covenant marriage should be two separate things; let the state deal with the legal issues and let religious institutions deal with the sacred union before God as necessary. We should no longer assume the two are the same.

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Why Go? Why Stay?


This week, Silverdale Baptist Church is holding their annual missions conference. As I walked into work this morning, I looked at the tables of all the ministries represented there, and this caught my eye.

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It’s from The Encounter Church in New York where Chad and Megan Wade minister. New York City is one of the most unreached cities in the world; less than 2% of the population claim to be believers in Christ.

This is a picture of what the Wades did when they left Chattanooga to move to New York. It’s what my friends Kevin and Kristi Cabe did when they left Knoxville, TN, and moved to Brooklyn. It’s what a group of my classmates in Wake Forest, NC, did when they left friends and family below the Mason-Dixon Line and moved to Boston to be a Light in a dark city.

Taking the Gospel to a lost world doesn’t mean you have to move to Africa or Asia. It could be mean moving to Chicago. Or Detroit. Or San Francisco.

Or staying right where you are and committing to live your life as a missionary in your Southern suburban setting, destroying the lie of religion with the grace of a relationship with Christ.

You can reach any unreached people group in the world w/o leaving America. Go to the big cities. Stay where you are. But obey they command “Make disciples.”

Instead of asking, “Why should we go?” maybe we should ask ourselves, “Why do we stay in our nice Southern towns with churches on every corner?” If the answer isn’t “Because I am making disciples and helping others do the same,” then maybe we should adjust the focus of our lives where we are right now. Maybe we should be the ones who go to be the light in the darkness.

Maybe we need to make sure we are being the Light right where God has us now.

That’s my challenge for myself right now. Is my life making a difference right where I am? Does God want me sharing the Light somewhere else? Short term? Long term?

Am I making disciples? Are you?

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Chicken Run 2013


Be forewarned, this post has absolutely NOTHING to do with messy, fallen, sinfulness of man, nor does it contain any advice as how to deal with said mess. It’s just fun.

The last several days, ok months, of my life have been pretty well consumed with the deep, messy issues of life. Human trafficking. Domestic abuse. Teens in crisis. Adults in crisis. Me in crisis.

My doctor has told me more than once that I need a hobby. An outlet to get away from it all. Writing has always been my outlet, but now that I also write about issues concerning social justice and the Gospel, my outlet has been overtaken by the messiness of the world, too.

So I’ve picked a couple of TV shows as my “down time outlets.” Unfortunately, Downton Abbey has been one of my shows, and last night’s season finale was just too much real world tragedy invading my fictional escape, so today needed some distraction from it all.

Enter the Chicken.

While working on the final edits of a paper, I put my puppy Scout outside to play so I could get some work done. At one point, I looked out the window to check on her, and I saw that she and Old Man Elvis (our beagle that I really think died about four years ago and no one told him) were chasing a chicken. In the backyard. “Interesting,” I thought. “This needs to be captured on film” (which only old people think, because no one actually captures anything on film anymore. But it just sounds better than “This needs to be captured on iPhone”).

So I recruited my mom to first come watch the dogs chase the chicken. Then we figured we should probably help the poor chicken get back over the fence to her own yard before our dogs scared her to death.

Only problem? I HATE birds. They’re gross. I’m not touching a live chicken, especially not long enough to get it back over a fence that’s 20+ feet away.

The following was my creative outlet that brought some fun to this Presidents Day. It was a much needed break from reality, but also a reminder that fun and joy ARE supposed to be a part of our reality. Jesus said he came to give abundant life, and sometimes living abundantly means leaving your in-text citation editing for a couple of hours to chase a chicken.

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She’s Worth It!


ImageFor those of you who follow Boundless Treasures on Facebook, you’ve been seeing this logo for a couple of weeks now. I thought it was time I shared with the blogosphere exactly what it’s all about and ask for your help as well.

I am a TREASURE HUNTER! I believe that the precious girls across the world who are trapped in sex trafficking are WORTH so very much. I also believe that we can tell her that She’s Worth It by using our voices and our money to make a difference.

I am looking for 100 friends willing to ask 10 friends to donate $10. Will you be a part of our effort to communicate to each of these girls that “She’s Worth It” by donating today?

You can have an even greater impact by being a Friend who is willing to educate your friends about human trafficking and ask ten friends to give. The link you can use to directly donate online is:

http://www.razoo.com/story/Bekah-Mason-Fundraising-For-She-S-Worth-It

To help us spread the word, you can simply make it your Facebook status, Tweet it, or email it to friends with the links on the page.

Check out http://www.shesworthitcampaign.com for more information about our mission, the organizations we are assisting, and other ways you can be involved.

Our main date for “contribution collection” is February 14th, Valentine’s Day. For many of these women, that’s the worst day of their year. Our hope is that, when they are rescued, they can be told that the money used to rescue them was given on Valentine’s Day, making their worst day their best day– their day of freedom.

NOTE: I am “treasure hunting” to fund rescue missions and a safe house in Thailand through an organization called The Exodus Road (www.theexodusroad.com).

100% of what is raised will go towards this project! The cost for using Razoo/Credit Cards is 2.9%; if you’d like to add that to your gift, it would be much appreciated and help us reach our goal!

We would love to have your help in this “global grassroots” movement!

There are currently approximately 27 million people worldwide who are suffering in slavery. Ending modern slavery in this generation is possible, but only through the involvement of individuals like us who are willing to get involved in any way possible.

Please email me with questions, for more information, or your commitment to get involved in any way you can!

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Do You Have Goats in Your Life?


Have you ever asked yourself these questions:

  • Why do I keep being attracted to the same friends?
  • Why do I choose people who let me down?
  • Why is my boss so critical, what have I done?
  • Why do I attract irresponsible people?
  • Why am I drawn to the wrong types of people, what is it about me that attracts them, what do I have written across my forehead?  Why? Why?

Some of the reasons may be:

  • Fear. We act on the need to reach out for a relationship; we are afraid to say “no,” afraid to set boundaries from fear of rejection.
  • We are stressed, need companionship, someone to listen to our problems– and even our joys and successes.
  • We see an individual who appears to have wisdom, understanding, and empathy, and they often appear to offer guidance and soft place to fall.
  • We lack the ability to say “no” to our destructive impulses.
  • We do not like to hear other people tell us no, even if it is in our best interest.
  • We seek instant gratification.
  • We are “fixers.” We can make them better. “They need me,” we tell ourselves.
  • We are easily manipulated and controlled.
  • We want intimacy and closeness, and do not consider the cost failing of to ask ourselves, “Whose needs are being met?”
  • We fear of abandonment.
  • We do not like confrontation and we lack the skills for resolving conflict.
  • We choose to be a victim, consciously or subconsciously, instead of choosing a purposely, passionate, Christlikeness that exercises self-control.
  • We battle addictions and compulsiveness ourselves.
  • Our life is disorganized with a lack of commitment to God.

Proverbs 14:15 says, ”The gullible believe anything they are told. The prudent lift and weigh every word.”
Proverbs 14:30 says, ”A sound mind makes for a robust body, but runaway emotions corrode the bones.”

Often our desire for companionship, or our own unhealthy past experiences, cloud our judgment and prevent us from making godly choices in relationships. But by studying God’s Word concerning people and relationships, we can learn to be wise, sound minded, and in control of our emotions as we build godly relationships.

So what does a Goat look like? From 1Timothy we identified 19 characteristics of unhealthy individuals. In the coming days we will look at 10 of those characteristics.