Tethered to the Past or Moving Towards the Future?

The United Church of Christ became the first mainline Christian denomination to support same-sex marriage officially when its general synod passed a resolution on Monday affirming "equal marriage rights for couples regardless of gender."


Today’s New York Times article is groundbreaking, not for subject matter, but for action. No doubt many have grown tired of the raging debate both in American politics and in American churches regarding same-sex marriage. (Whether or not this is a discussion for the church or for the state, or for both, will not be analyzed here.) However, amidst the yelling and the name calling, the UCC rose above both yesterday, in an attempt to move into the future instead of being an institution tethered to the past.

Most of what comes out of churches today is reactionary as they denounce the evils in society but do very little to fix them. Seeing the world around them, the UCC has instead chosen to embrace the present reality and search for a way to make a positive impact. Instead of railing against society, the UCC puts itself in the midst of it, showing love and Christ by acknowledging “diversity without division, unity without uniformity.”

Some conservative Christians have probably denounced the UCC years ago as unorthodox and maybe even un-Christian. But the fact remains that the UCC was the first church to take a stand against slavery and the first to ordain women. Could they again be the first in a pardoning a ‘sin’ that will be looked back upon as a mere prejudice?

Regardless of how it may be seen in the future, yesterday’s resolution will hopefully show some that Christians do not always want to keep people out of church. The UCC seeks to bring some in by blessing their relationships. I know of other churches that seek to be inclusive by offering educational classes for the community, coordinating HIV retreats, and sponsoring a booth at Gay Pride festivals. Such is not an atrocity to the gospel, but an incarnational, missional spirit that seeks to spread the gospel the way Jesus did – by living in relationship with every person, seeing each individual as important to God and loved by God.

The responsibility of a Christian is to make disciples (not converts). We cannot make disciples today by being chained to our yesterdays. Even though societal norms are changing, the gospel, the good news, of God’s love is the same. In order to share it today and tomorrow though, we may need to cut a few cords.