Last year, many leaders in Northeast Ohio begin to pray about and discuss a Christlike response to the fact that the Gay Games were coming to Cleveland.
Protesting and picketing certainly did not seem to be something Jesus would do. Setting up a venue for preaching and worship or passing out Christian literature would come across as judgmental and, therefore, be counterproductive.
What shall we do?
As we thought through and prayed about what a redemptive response might be, a verse in the New Testament came to mind. Mark 10:45 quotes Jesus, "For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many." What might it be like if we decided to simply serve?
The Gay Games website provided us with some direction and opportunity. So, 3 of us - one of my friends who is a pastor in the inner-city, another CVCer, and I - volunteered to serve on the cleanup crew at Edgewater Yacht Club, one of the venues for a regatta at the Gay Games.
It was our effort to seek to be Christ-like, to be missional, to let the light of Christ shine, to be servants.
We prayed before and after the service opportunity. We asked God to use us and to change us. We asked Him to reach the people that were participating in the event with His transforming love. We asked Him to give us opportunities for relationships and conversations that would somehow glorify Christ.
It was a beautiful August evening on the lake. The music was loud. The bar was open. 75-80 people gathered for a party. We saw a few public displays of affection that were, frankly, a bit awkward for us to see.
Last night was the first time we've ever been greeted by being asked, "Gay or straight?" When we replied, "Straight," the lady said, "May I give you a kiss anyway?" So, all 3 of us got a handshake and, before we knew what was happening, bam! - a kiss on the cheek! It was - shall we say - unusual.
The event started a little late. So, we first grabbed a bite to eat. Then we got to work and spent the rest of the night helping a band tear down, picking up cigarette butts, and cleaning up trash, bottles of water, and glasses of beer in plastic cups.
We tried to connect and be a light for Christ and walk through any open doors. We had the opportunity to share a few "God bless yous" and let some people know that we were connected with Christ's church.
Our supervisor for the evening probably had a few too many to drink and toward the end of the night literally hit the deck, spilling a glass of beer after tripping over a curb. We tried to talk her out of driving home and got a few of her friends to discourage it, too. We're pretty sure she drove home on her own anyway.
I am not sure what impact our service may have had on others for the kingdom. Honestly, I was hoping for more opportunities for conversation. But the environment simply wasn't conducive for that.
Did we make a big difference? Probably not. But I do trust that the experience gave us a deeper burden, a softer heart, and a bigger desire to see Christ bring hope and meaning to people where there is currently the same kind of emptiness that, apart from Christ, we all have.
I'm glad we served. It was our attempt to follow Christ. It was quite a unique missional experience. We met people - straight and gay - who have the same kind of hopes, dreams, fears, failures, and successes that every human has. Just like me, they need Jesus as Savior and Lord. May God do His work of redeeming and restoring in all our lives.
I hope serving at the Gay Games made us just a little bit more like Jesus. I think He was pleased.
Question: What has been one of your most unique missional living experiences?
Protesting and picketing certainly did not seem to be something Jesus would do. Setting up a venue for preaching and worship or passing out Christian literature would come across as judgmental and, therefore, be counterproductive.
What shall we do?
As we thought through and prayed about what a redemptive response might be, a verse in the New Testament came to mind. Mark 10:45 quotes Jesus, "For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many." What might it be like if we decided to simply serve?
The Gay Games website provided us with some direction and opportunity. So, 3 of us - one of my friends who is a pastor in the inner-city, another CVCer, and I - volunteered to serve on the cleanup crew at Edgewater Yacht Club, one of the venues for a regatta at the Gay Games.
It was our effort to seek to be Christ-like, to be missional, to let the light of Christ shine, to be servants.
We prayed before and after the service opportunity. We asked God to use us and to change us. We asked Him to reach the people that were participating in the event with His transforming love. We asked Him to give us opportunities for relationships and conversations that would somehow glorify Christ.
It was a beautiful August evening on the lake. The music was loud. The bar was open. 75-80 people gathered for a party. We saw a few public displays of affection that were, frankly, a bit awkward for us to see.
Last night was the first time we've ever been greeted by being asked, "Gay or straight?" When we replied, "Straight," the lady said, "May I give you a kiss anyway?" So, all 3 of us got a handshake and, before we knew what was happening, bam! - a kiss on the cheek! It was - shall we say - unusual.
The event started a little late. So, we first grabbed a bite to eat. Then we got to work and spent the rest of the night helping a band tear down, picking up cigarette butts, and cleaning up trash, bottles of water, and glasses of beer in plastic cups.
We tried to connect and be a light for Christ and walk through any open doors. We had the opportunity to share a few "God bless yous" and let some people know that we were connected with Christ's church.
Our supervisor for the evening probably had a few too many to drink and toward the end of the night literally hit the deck, spilling a glass of beer after tripping over a curb. We tried to talk her out of driving home and got a few of her friends to discourage it, too. We're pretty sure she drove home on her own anyway.
I am not sure what impact our service may have had on others for the kingdom. Honestly, I was hoping for more opportunities for conversation. But the environment simply wasn't conducive for that.
Did we make a big difference? Probably not. But I do trust that the experience gave us a deeper burden, a softer heart, and a bigger desire to see Christ bring hope and meaning to people where there is currently the same kind of emptiness that, apart from Christ, we all have.
I'm glad we served. It was our attempt to follow Christ. It was quite a unique missional experience. We met people - straight and gay - who have the same kind of hopes, dreams, fears, failures, and successes that every human has. Just like me, they need Jesus as Savior and Lord. May God do His work of redeeming and restoring in all our lives.
I hope serving at the Gay Games made us just a little bit more like Jesus. I think He was pleased.
Question: What has been one of your most unique missional living experiences?
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