Christians have become known for things they oppose by speaking out and standing up for things they believe in. Not all of these examples of speaking out are positive- the people of West Borough Baptist Church protest against homosexuality at the funerals of fallen soldiers. They came to my town once and local college students stood in front of their picket line and tried to shield mourning family and friends against their negative comments. If it is the goal of the West Borough Baptist church to convert anyone they sure have a strange way of doing. I don’t that scaring people into believing is what God wanted. The Church needs to accept people where they are and love them- through love people will want to live a life that is more Christ-like. My campus ministry The Eastern Illinois University Wesley Foundation is known for being a place of “Open minds, open hearts and open doors.” We specifically reach out to the gay community. Our campus minister is a member of PRIDE (the LGBT club) and we have partnered with PRIDE to put on an AIDS awareness benefit fashion show/concert called the Red Show. We have a reputation of being a place where anyone, including homosexuals, can be accepted and come to worship God.
How can I be a Christian, rather than simply telling people you are one? For this- I think of the old hymn. They will know we are Christians by our love. Talk is cheap- love is real. It can be measured in actions, reactions, attitudes and dispositions. To live a life of love takes dedication, hard work and a tight relationship with the big man upstairs. Believe me, this summer me and the big man upstairs have been spending lots of time together lately.

The picture: On thursday- Shelley and I pretended to be ICE CREAM NINJAS and surprised all of our groups by delivering ice cream to their worksites!