Pastor Walt Kallestad-"No Gay Clergy in My Mega-Church"
Walt Kallestad, senior pastor of Community Church of Joy, Glendale, AZ, told Church Executive that the movement within his ELCA denomination to allow gay ordained clergy will not be accepted by his congregation or school. The ELCA churchwide meetings in Minneapolis next month will vote on allowing congregations to receive "life-long, monogamous, same-gender relationships" among ordained clergy.
On March 4 Kallestad wrote his congregation "our firm opposition to this policy" in the belief that "the Bible makes it clear that homosexuality is a sin." He expanded on his views in the magazine's interview, noting that the ELCA statement on sexuality has "become a social action issue when it's not. It's a biblical authority issue."
Church of Joy has an attendance of 2,500 and a school of 1,000 students. Kallestad says that "if they are seeking diversity, what they've ended up with is division." He has said he is working with other large congregations against the action when it comes to a vote.
Also in the July issue, Michael Leahy, a recovering sex addict, says that pornography finds its way into the offices of pastors and church leaders as it does in the general workplace.
"Based on my own personal experience talking with pastors and church leaders, it's becoming a major problem thanks to the availability, affordability and anonymity of Internet porn." Leahy is the author of "Porn@Work: Exposing the Office's #1 Addiction" (Northfield Publishing, 2009).
Leahy says that porn is as much a problem for women as for men. "Women make up more than 40 percent of all new admissions to in-residence sexual addiction recovery programs," he says. A third of visitors to porn sites daily are women.
"To offer real help, churches need to work at becoming a 'safe place' for men and women to come forward and seek out help and resources," he says. Not every church needs a recovery program or counselor, "but they should know what churches in the area do have those resources, and they should be willing to refer their people and church attendees to those programs and individuals."
He notes too that churches have legal liability from porn on church computers, with a "risk of costly litigation due to claims of sexual harassment and/or harboring a hostile workplace environment."
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the part discussing the Pastor was separate from the porn issues as stated in paragraph also in the july issue.
It is clearly defined in Genesis and Leviticus that no man shall lie with another man nor woman with woman. God created Eve for Adam that they should be together. No where do I read that Angela was made for Maria nor Mike for Dave.
We are not to stand in judgement of homosexuals nor anyone else. It is not acceptable for Pastors of any church to be homosexually active. Go read what God said about those at Sodom and Gomorrhah. See why they were destroyed. The Sodomites wanted the male angels handed over to the crowd so they could use them for sex ,sodomy. Judge not ,lest ye be judged,and follow not those who do not follow Him.
The more we stand up the more well win.
bowling pins feel the exact same way, frame after frame after frame.
Thanks tek, you stole my vitriol to reply with a great joke! Lol!
First off the church is not his!Read First Timothy Chapter 3 and than see who should be a leader of a church.
I think hes doing the right thing. He didnt say homosexuals could not attend his church he said they couldnt lead the congregation and in the same way a drunk would not qualify, ie not following the Bible, he would not let that happen either.
Here is some interesting thoughts on how far off base the politcal correct movement has gone and how damaging it is to the mentality and psyche of America.
Quote from book Destructive Trends In Mental Health http://www.narth.com/docs/destructive.html :
Wright and Cummings' new book is supported by an Academy Award roster of endorsers, including APA past-president Robert Perloff, Arnold Lazarus, Martin Kalb, Michael Hoyt, Fred Baughman, APA past-president Jack G. Wiggins, Robyn Dawes and David Stein.
The editors of this volume provide compelling arguments for many destructive trends in the mental health professions - most particularly, psychology, but also psychiatry and social work. They demonstrate from an insider's perspective how activism masquerades as science in the APA, and how "diversity" has been redefined into a kind of narrow politicism, where differing worldviews are not only summarily dismissed, but the holders of such views actually punished.
The authors condemn the APA for providing forums only for their preferred worldviews. They particularly note how psychology is undermined when APA makes resolutions and public policy statements on issues for which there is little or inadequate science. Such prostitution of psychology by activist groups within APA is contributing, they say, to the profession's demise as a scientific organization. "Psychology and mental health," Cummings says, "have veered away from scientific integrity and open inquiry, as well as from compassionate practice in which the welfare of the patient is paramount" (p. xiii).
And is why those who do not support him talk about dinosaurs and socks.....brain damage maybe.
I think people needs to get back to the Bible.As a pastor he needs to show who can be a leader of a church the Bible tells us!
with porn and gay clergymen confuses me.
If they are married and a husband of one wife.Well that wont happen!Then they could have one think going for them.
can't have a homosexual issue without turning it into something else. Remember, all these things are gay's fault:
Porn
Hurricanes, floods, earthquakes
Beastiality
The economy
Tuesdays
White dwarfs, sun spots, and supernovas.
The WAR on Christ, or christians, or their buildings or something like that.
And of course, the complete and total moral decline of the entire universe which will be the end all be all of all civilizations known throughout the infinite universe, causing a gigantic blackhole to swallow all of life.
That, or the churches are having a harder time getting people to hate on someone because of their sexual identity and have to toss extras into the basket to make it savory.