Last week, the Dallas Voice blog, Instant Tea, featured an entry written by John Wright expressing disappointment with Dallas mayor, Tom Leppert’s decision to join the First Baptist Church in downtown Dallas. John’s rationale for his disappointment was that he believed that the decision was “a slap in the face” of the LGBT community because of the Pastor Robert Jeffress’ outspoken anti-homosexual stance (there was even a protest in front of his church in 2008) and Mr. Wright believes the mayor is simply tying himself to the Baptist machine for political clout.
Here’s some of what I responded with on his blog:
…just because the mayor works to support different people around the city doesn’t mean that when it comes to his place of worship he’s going to choose a church far different than his own background and personal beliefs.
As the story continues to play out on the Dallas Voice blog, I’m disappointed by the comments from individuals in our community that say in essence say that Mayor Leppert forfeited his right to privacy and worship where he pleases because he’s the mayor of Dallas. What madness! Are we saying now that every political official that supports our community’s liberation must now attend a openly welcoming religious congregation themselves? If that so, then should please tap the shoulders of all the other gay worshipers in First Baptist Church currently and send them the memo just in case they decide to run for city office in the future. In fact, send it to gay members of churches across the D/FW metroplex, why don’t you?
What’s worse about this sentiment is that it sounds like it’s coming from individuals who aren’t even church goers themselves, yet they seem to understand the personal nature of choosing a place to worship. It smacks of ignorance that just because you go to a certain church that you believe everything that church espouses, and its arrogant that just because you’re gay-tolerant that you’re automatically expected to feel at home in a denomination or religion different than your personal background strictly for political gain.
I guess I just know too many gay Christians who are working to change hearts and minds from inside the church walls. Religion is a personal matter and, yes, by joining that church, the mayor (and others) may very well be siding with Pastor Jeffress of First Baptist on the issue of gays. However, he also may NOT believe that, as many Christians don’t and still attend that same church weekly. Why? It’s about personal relationships with family and friends, and perhaps certain ministries that speak to them. Just because three identical bars in the same neighborhood claim to have the same spirits doesn’t mean you’ll automatically feel at home in every one of them.
Finally, in the spirit of full disclosure, I do feel that if you are a religious person and you are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (and Tom Leppert is neither of these), that you should at least consider a place of worship that fully embraces all that you are. However, I will respect your personal decision either way, as much as I’d ask you to respect mine.
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