SILENT LONG ENOUGH

SILENT LONG ENOUGH
From A Pastor's Perspective
Pastor Lee Steele
2/25/2011
Area 14 CPG Meeting Presentation

If you have ever been honest with yourself, now is the time.  In the quiet of your reading and the stillness of your mind, right this minute, but honest with yourself when I ask you this question:

What is the first word or words that come to your mind when I say HIV or AIDS?

If you are being honest and if your thinking is as most thinking in society your answer(s) are most likely:
Gay Disease
Miserable Death
Pitiful
Contagious
Scary
Hopeless
I Don't Want It
Poor People
Poverty
Unclean
Promiscuity
Prostitute
They Who Have It Get What They Deserve
Didn't That Come From Monkeys?

Did any of these terms or phrases come to your mind?  It doesn't make you a bad person if any of them did; it does, however, help to prove that there is a stigma, still today, as negative and impacting as ever concerning the disease.

Before we go any further perhaps we should define what STIGMA is.

STIGMA:  A sign or point; a branding mark.  *From the root word STIGMATA or "THE MARKED"

Taking it a step further is necessary when in reference to HIV/AIDS to know there is a social stigma...

SOCIAL STIGMA:  A severe social disapproval of personal characteristics or beliefs that are against the cultural norms.

The International Center for Research on Woman says:  Stigma happens when others devalue a person because they are associated with a certain disease, belief or practice.


With all of that said and understood we could easily say that  stigma breeds and/or produces:  segregation, degradation, isolation, hopelessness, fear, lack of will to care, lack of will to trust and lack of will to seek treatment.

Now, think about this...and seriously I want to know what you think:

The "church" has the power, if it chooses to use it, to STOP and END the STIGMA surrounding HIV/AIDS. In times past the Church's voice and power have had an extreme amount of influence in the way society and even politics acts and reacts to certain stimuli.  The stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS is no different and I firmly stand behind the statement that the "CHURCH HAS BEEN SILENT ON THE ISSUE LONG ENOUGH"! The church by simply educating itself and allowing the love of God to permeate its most inner places... by laying down its religious attitude of judgement... by being accepting as Christ was accepting... by not continuing to live in fear... by raising its voice can, can, can stop the STIGMA!

Listen the top two religions world wide are Christianity and Islam; both of which claim hold to three shared principles:  LOVE, PEACE and HARMONY.  If these three values are truly values of these two mainstream religions then both must admit that stigma of any kind has no place in society and most especially has NO place in the ranks of the church.  Stigma preaches and teaches internal and interpersonal principles that go directly against the heart and spirit of both Christianity and Islam.

Both religions promote LOVE... Stigma promotes and produces HATE
Both religions promote PEACE... Stigma promotes and produces UNREST
Both religions promote HARMONY... Stigma promotes and produces DIVISION

Yes, folks, the church has the power to end the evil consequences of stigma attending the truth and demonstrating love, peace and harmony to its followers.  Its much easier to show them the right way than it is to tell them the right way.  If church leaders would practice in real time, in real life the WORD of God before long the stigma found worldwide concerning HIV/AIDS would disappear.  Stigma can be abolished, destroyed and defeated worldwide if the church... THE CHURCH would simply make it so.

Ive been in ministry for more than half of my life.  During that time I have witnessed, first hand, the hateful destruction the church, as a whole, has helped produce.  Religion has judged those who are infected and affected by this terrible and dreaded disease.  Religion has excluded the sick instead of healing and ministering to them.  We have stood proudly and boastfully behind our pulpits and declared cursing instead of blessing.  We have manifested wrong instead of right.  We have allowed it to happen by simply being SILENT long enough.

Think on these things and take them to heart.  Knowledge is power and for the church to be able to enact the power to stop the stigma we must see how some have seen the stigma and in turn counteract that stigmatic attitude with the TRUTH!

S  (stereotype) This is a gay disease!
                        TRUTH:  Only men, women and children get HIV/AIDS.  We must come to terms with the
                                       fact that this is anyone's disease.  Current stats show that not only is the disease
                                       growing in numbers among the gay community but its numbers are increasing
                                       across the board.  Heterosexual infections are at their highest.  There is no
                                       stereotype that will fit in the puzzle of HIV/AIDS.  If you are human and sexually
                                       active, YOU ARE AT RISK!  Yes, it CAN happen to you!

T  (tolerance)  We 'tolerate' those who are infected and affected by HIV/AIDS
                        TRUTH:  Tolerance undermines the integrity of acceptance.  The cold, hard fact is this;
                                        you must accept the person to reach the person.  If our pastors and church
                                        leaders think for a moment that their tolerance of those infected will win those
                                        to the sheepfold they are sadly mistaken.  Tolerance gives permission to judge
                                        and hate in the name of God.  Yes, it does.  As long as you tolerate you still are
                                        acting, responding and reacting from a place of non-acceptance.  You simply
                                        must accept the fact that someone you now if affected in some way by this disease.

I  (ignorance)  I didnt know or realize there was a problem
                      TRUTH:  Ignorance is the breeding ground of fear, prejudice and discrimination.  I        
                       said it earlier,  "Knowledge is Power"... with that being said, concerning knowledge of
                       HIV/AIDS, most of the 'church' world doesnt have enough power to blow their noses.  I do
                       not mean that in an insulting way at all... I am just simply trying to point out that as long as
                       we surround ourselves with more ignorance than knowledge the farther away the infected and
                       affected will run from us.  WE MUST EDUCATE OURSELVES with the FACTS and NOT
                       THE FEARS!

G  (God's pronounced judgement)  HIV/AIDS is Gods judgement on sinful lifestyles
                      TRUTH:  Life just happens and there are causes and affects!  How easily we forget that
                      Christ carried our judgement with Him to the Calvary and our judgement was crucified with
                      HIM on the cross.  HIV/AIDS is no more God's judgement toward a lifestyle than cellulite
                      is a curse on certain thighs.  The fact is... if you do not eat right and fail to exercise cellulite                                    
                      develops.  Obesity is NOT a judgement from God because you like certain foods.  It is just
                      how it is if you dont care for yourself properly.  HIV/AIDS is the effect of not caring for your
                      self in a cautious and carefully minded way.  For every action there is a reaction.  For
                      everything you do there is an affect and response.  God has nothing to do with it.

M (marginalization)  Those with HIV/AIDS must be kept to themselves and not allowed too close
                       TRUTH:  Jesus continually accepted, loved and touched those who were rejected by
                                      religious and social leaders of His day.  Marginalization has relegated and
                                      confined certain people to a lower social standing and has pushed some to the
                                      outer limits of social acceptance and wellness.  Remember those who were the
                                      closest to Christ and made up His inner circle were considered "ignorant and
                                      unlearned men".  However, because of the conversions and the differences
                                      they made in the surrounding areas and townspeople were recognized as men
                                      "who knew Jesus".

A  (atrophic attitude)  Those who have nothing to offer or give are often left unused and unrecognized
                     TRUTH:  We are all members of ONE body and each member is of equal importance.
                                    Atrophy is the wasting away or decrease in size of an organ or body part due to the
                                    lack of nutrition, lack of use or injury.  So often the religious have been guilty of
                                    literally starving 'lesser members' of proper spiritual food and thusly have failed to
                                    allow those who are different (those who are infected or affected with HIV/AIDS)
                                    to be used and demonstrate their talents and abilities.  There are many good life
                                    lessons and blessings to nourish, use and incorporate those who are affected and
                                    infected.  We are missing vital parts of the body because of the attitude of atrophy.
                                    Is it really better to starve them into segregation then to nourish them to be part of us?


Its the truth and there is no other way to state it... we have casually and in the name of God... pushed people away because of their status. Shame on us for doing so.

In order to stop the STIGMA we must stop being quiet.  Its time the world heard our voices and observed us reaching out, including, accepting and making a REAL difference.

TO GOD BE THE GLORY... PANCREATIC CANCER GONE!

Dear Friends;


This past Sunday night at church prayer was requested for a 


gentleman who had just been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  The


outlook for him was very grim.


Upon request we anointed with oil and prayed... believing that GOD 


do what He promised to do.


This morning the doctors are reporting that the CANCER IS GONE!  


The tumor is still present, however, it is COMPLETELY VOID OF

CANCER!!!


GOD IS GOOD!  GOD IS GOOD!  TO Him be all Glory and praise!

The Day Jesus Came Out

THE DAY JESUS CAME OUT

Pastor Lee Steele

June 12, 2011

1st Annual Celebrate Life with PRIDE Event

Introduction:

After posting the title of the message that I was bringing in this year's Celebrate Life wtih PRIDE event I began receiving emails and posts from various persons from various  parts of the nation.  Some of these message were simply curious as to the meaning of the message and wished to hear it in its fullness.  Some of the messages were questioning my 'wisdom' in giving a message such a title; while others were assuming and condemning, implying that I was terribly misguided by naming Jesus a homosexual.   Before I brought the message last night I refused to discuss the contents until after the service.  Now that the service is over and done (and a wonderful, WONDERFUL time it was) I am going to post a very brief, condensed version of the message itself.  

"The Day JESUS Came Out"

Scripture References:

Hebrews 4: 15 and 16

For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmaties; but was in all points and in every way tested and tried as we are, yet HE was without sin.  Knowing that, let us go BOLDLY to the throne of Grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in our time of need.

Luke 4:16-21

And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up: and , as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day and stood up for to read.  And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah.  And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written (of Himself):  "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me because He has anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and the recovering of sight to the blind; to set at liberty them that are bruised and to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.  Then He closed the book and He gave it again to the minister and sat down..."

Jesus, as was custom in that day, traveled back to the city of His childhood, Nazareth, and upon entering the Temple was handed the scrolls of Scripture to read.  It was His turn on this particular day to read as was appointed Him to do by the priest of the Temple.  Little did those around Him know that the passage that was selected for Him to read was written hundreds of years before about HIM.  He read and expounded that the Spirit of God was upon Him and the anointing was present so that He could:

*Preach and bring some GOOD NEWS!  

*Heal the broken hearted!

*Preach deliverance to the captives!

*Give sight to the blind!

*Set free and liberate those that have been bruised!

*and to Proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord had arrived!  

In reading this passage... keeping in mind that it was written for Him and about Him many years earlier... Jesus made the proclaimation and the declaration that HE WAS the CHRIST the SON of the LIVING GOD and on this day THIS PASSAGE OF SCRIPTURE; this prophecy had come to pass!

This was the day that JESUS CAME OUT!

Yes, He came out.. He did, He did!  To understand what is meant by Him "coming out" you have to understand this:

Because Jesus was reading this in the Temple in His home town we can only assume (dont go there) that He was surrounded by those who knew Him personally.  Although His friends were listening to Him make this proclaimation they didnt understand because He was their friend.  They played together as children.  They fished together, fetched water from the wells together, ran the dirt roads and skipped stones on the water together.  Their mothers cooked and baked together and they had dinners together

We must also assume that the neighbors of His parents were there... they had watched the boy Jesus grow up and knew that Joseph and Mary had raised Him along side of His brothers and the other children in town.  They knew Joseph was a carpenter and had taught Jesus the trade as well.

If His friends and neighbors were there then surely His family must have been there also.  Mary and Joseph knew in their hearts and spirits that this day would eventually come and today it had arrived.

Something happened in the realm of the spirit at this PROCLAIMATION that Jesus had made.  The very moment Jesus made this proclaimation that "today this scripture is fullfilled" (verse 21) something took place:

Jesus CAME OUT of His humanness and stepped into His deity.

Jesus CAME OUT of His 'childhood' of Mary and Joseph and stepped into being the SON OF GOD

Jesus CAME OUT of the carpenter's work shop and became the corner stone

Jesus CAME OUT of the darkness and became the light

Jesus CAME OUT of the law of Moses and the prophets and became the NEW COVENANT

Jesus CAME OUT of imperfection and became total PERFECTION

Jesus CAME OUT of bondage and became our FREEDOM

Jesus CAME OUT of the scriptures and became the WORD

Jesus CAME OUT of the dead, burdensom, cumbersom, ineffective religious nothingness and became LIFE!

JESUS CAME OUT!

Some of you may be asking... "Okay, so Jesus came out and pronounced that He had arrived to carry out His life's mission... what does that have to do with me"?

Well, insomuch that this message is being delivered at a PRIDE event, many of you here are gay and can certainly relate to the rest of the story.

Jesus knew that his "COMING OUT" would not be without negative result or impact.  Jesus knew that when He 'came out' there would be some that would accept Him and love Him as always and even more...He also knew that would not be the case with all... 

He knew He would be talked about

He knew He would be made fun of and mocked

He knew He would be beaten

He knew He would be driven out of town

He knew He would lose friends

He knew He would be rejected and turned away by the "religious, church goers" of the day

He knew He would be put to death

Do you remember the first scripture I read from Hebrews?  

All of this relates to you because HE KNOWS EXACTLY what you have gone through, come through, put up with, tolerated and faced in your coming out!  He knows exactly what it feels like to be treated so horribly by just simply being who you were born to be.  He is keenly and well aware of the fact that many of you have been talked about, teased, ridiculed, rejected, turned away, beaten, abused, bruised, mocked and despised.  He also is aware that some have lost their lives, just as He did, for being nothing more than who you are.

Remember that is why 'they' killed HIM... because He was who He was.

Listen, Jesus didnt come out so you could be driven back into a closet!

Jesus didnt come out so you could be hidden in a dark room at a bath house or a booth at a book store!

Jesus didnt come out so that your life would be lived from the stool of a smokey bar somewhere with no where else to go and feel welcomed and loved!

NO!

Jesus came out to bring you GOOD NEWS of peace, joy, hope, love and LIFE in HIM!  

He came out to HEAL YOUR BROKEN HEART!

He came out to DELIVER YOU OUT OF THE CAPTIVITY OF YOUR MIND

He came out to GIVE YOU SIGHT to see HIM and HIS life's abundant promises and blessings!

He came out to bring you to Himself and RESTORE you to the place that HE has prepared for you!

He came out to restore your health and wellness, to reverse the ugliness that hate often brings!

Finally He came out to assure you that the 'acceptable year of the Lord' had come!  Do you know what that means?  The acceptable year of  the Lord is the YEAR OF JUBILEE.  The year of jubilee was the seventh year in which ALL debts of every person were forgiven and erased!  Today, because HE came out the debts that you owed to GOD are freed and cleared through, under and by HIS blood!

JESUS CAME OUT FOR YOU!  Knowing this, why would you ever allow someone who has never given his/her life for you to push you backwards.  He came out to PROPEL you forwards into His HOPES and DREAMS for your life!  To bring you to an EXPECTED end!

What I like most about the passage from Luke that I read was this:

After He had read the passage from Isaiah, He "closed the book and handed it back to the minister".  In so doing He made the announcement (by His actions):  The law is fulfilled, the old is done and gone.. the new has arrived and death is passed.  I am here to save you, deliver you and keep you.  I am here to LOVE YOU and ACCEPT YOU.  I am here to be your replacement for sin's punishment!  In closing that book and handing it back, He was demonstrating the giving of bondage back to religion.  He was giving judgement and hatred back to religion.  He was giving darkness and ugliness back to religion.. and HE was making a NEW way.  A way of LOVE and LIGHT, PEACE AND JOY, HOPE AND GLADNESS.

Once and for all it is done and over and YOU HAVE ALL THE HOPE YOU WILL EVER NEED simply because Jesus came out!

If religion has abused you.. hand it back.

If religion has ridiculed you and despised you.. hand it back

If religion has tried to put you in the bondage of 'thou shalt and thou shalt not" .. hand it back

If religion has mocked you, humilliated you, mocked you and disrespected you... HAND IT BACK!

Jesus came out and suffered all the things that many in the GLBT community have faced or will face... He knows how you feel... He knows where you are.. and trust me, He came out to love you not to turn you away!

AMEN!