Callifornia, Gays and You

Dear Sight Ministry Partners:

Please, when you read the following article, allow the Holy Spirit to produce in you a spirit of authentic love and compassion toward the family of Harvey Milk rather than being judgmental and condemning. I would ask that you pray for Gov. Schwarzenegger and do not allow your flesh to enter into anger and hatred. It is important that as followers of Jesus that we always die to our flesh and submit to the Holy Spirit. Anger, condemnation, judgmentalism, and hatred are not included in the characteristics of Spiritual fruit listed in Galatians 5:22-23.

There are many people who have been blinded by the true enemy concerning same-sex attraction issues. This is why the LORD raised up the SIGHT MINISTRY. The LORD has called us to follow His example in “preaching the gospel to the poor, proclaiming release to the captives, and recovery of SIGHT to the blind” and “to set free those who are downtrodden” (Luke 4:18).

I wanted to share this article with you so that, primarily, you would be aware of what is going on in our culture so you can pray for a fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit in the Church. It is not our calling to enter into the political arena and take up the fight against the gay movement, but rather, it is our calling to bring glory and honor to the name that is above all names and to focus on the fact that we find ultimate delight and joy in Who God is and that we point others to Him Who alone can bring lasting fulfillment and life that nothing in this world can offer including same-sex expressions of love and sex.

An important dynamic of why our culture is at this place is because an overwhelming number of believers have not experienced true redemption that resonates from a personal love relationship with our God, Creator & Father in Heaven. The day of “accepting Jesus as our Savior so that when we die we will go to Heaven” is over. That is only a part of redemption but it is not the whole story. Redemption certainly includes addressing our eternal destiny but it also addresses life now in this broken and fallen world where we are searching for the meaning and purpose of life. We have the answer but we have not always lived as though we believe it. We really don’t seem all that different from anyone else in the world. The world is not at all interested in seeing a local congregation or Christian leaders build their own little kingdom. Wearing a t-shirt and jeans and singing rock’n roll on Sunday morning does not make one necessarily culturally relevant. Submitting our self-centeredness to the Holy Spirit who then lives out the radical life and truth of Jesus through us where ever we are and where ever we go truly connects with culture. That is being culturally relevant indeed! Just simply read the words of Jesus and you will be reminded of how radical His teaching and call to life really is.

John Piper says it well: “The chief purpose of man is to glorify God BY enjoying Him forever” and also, “God is most glorified in us when we are MOST satisfied in Him.”

Don’t forget to check out the article below then pay attention to how you respond in your heart towards those individuals mentioned in the article.

Richard Holloman
The Sight Ministry
PO Box 140808
Nasvhille, TN 37214
615-509-0782
www.thesightministry.org
"How can we dare to be so absolutely unbelieving when God totally surrounds us?" - Oswald Chambers


Calif. students to learn about gay pioneer
By: Michael Foust
Original article can be found here, http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?Id=31452.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (BP)--Students in many of California's public schools next year will be learning about homosexual pioneer Harvey Milk under a bill signed into law Sunday by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that commemorates the life of the late politician and makes May 22 "Harvey Milk Day."

Schwarzenegger signed the bill, S.B. 572, on the last possible day he could, frustrating conservatives who had lobbied the Republican governor to veto it. Schwarzenegger vetoed an almost identical bill last year but was under more pressure to sign it in light of a movie about Milk and after President Obama awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously to Milk, the nation's first openly homosexual person elected to public office. Milk was a San Francisco city supervisor who was assassinated in 1978 by another supervisor.

Although observation of Harvey Milk Day is optional, many schools and teachers in the left-leaning state no doubt will take advantage of the opportunity. The text of the new law says "all public schools and educational institutions are encouraged to observe" the day.

The law further says it would be appropriate to have "exercises remembering the life of Harvey Milk, recognizing his accomplishments, and familiarizing pupils with the contributions he made to this state." The law commemorates Milk with what the state calendar calls a day of "significance." The only other such days are the Day of the Teacher (second Wednesday of May), John Muir Day (April 21) and California Poppy Day (April 6). May 22 is Milk's birthday.

Schwarzenegger also signed a bill, S.B. 54, that allows the state to recognize "gay marriages" from other states if they were performed during the nearly five months it was legal in 2008.

The Harvey Milk bill, in fact, could impact any future debate about "gay marriage" legalization in California. Public schools -- and what is and is not taught in them -- were at the forefront of last year's campaign to pass Proposition 8, the constitutional amendment that prohibited the redefinition of marriage.

Ron Prentice, the executive director of ProtectMarriage.com, which promoted Prop 8, sent an e-mail to supporters Monday telling constituents, "You may remember that during the Prop 8 campaign those pushing for homosexual marriage proclaimed that school children would not be forced to learn about homosexuality and same-sex marriage. But now, every school district in California is encouraged to honor Harvey Milk specifically for his sexual orientation."

Prentice added, "Governor Schwarzenegger, instead of acting on behalf of children and the vast majority of parents who want their children protected from indoctrination in the public schools, has instead folded his tent to the pressures of special-interest."

Schwarzenegger did not issue a signing statement, although spokesman Aaron McLear told the Associated Press that Milk "has become much more of a symbol of the gay community than he was a year ago because of those things [the movie and the White House recognition]. That made the difference from last year: he's really come to symbolize the gay community in California."

Randy Thomasson, an opponent of the law and the president of SaveCalifornia.com, had said Milk's sexual escapades made him unfit to be pushed as a role model. Thomasson's press release quoted from "The Mayor of Castro Street," a popular biography about Milk. Milk was 48 when he died but always had a desire for teen boys and men in their early 20s, the book says. He also advocated having multiple partners, it says.

Although Schwarzenegger pleased conservatives in past years by twice vetoing bills that would legalize "gay marriage," he now supports "gay marriage." He opposed Prop 8 and has done little in the past year that social conservatives support.
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Michael Foust is an assistant editor of Baptist Press.

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