Insisting we take the Bible literally is a relatively new, and often bad, idea. For the great majority of the Church’s history we let scripture speak to us in rich metaphor and symbol, in evocative, poetic, spiritual and life-changing fashion.
God is at work calling many who are gay or lesbian into the ordained ministry. For Presbyterians (PCUSA) that means called to be Deacons, Ruling Elders and Teaching Elders (minister of the Word and Sacrament). We also want to call them for our next potluck, mission trip, committee meeting and book group! Our denomination recognizes the ordination of gays and lesbians and Genesis also rejoices in the diversity of God’s children. Everyone is welcome (at every level) at Genesis.
It is odd that we would even need to mention this in the 21st century. But a significant majority of Christendom doesn’t recognize the legitimacy of Women as equal partners in Leadership and Ministry.* We think this is truly a shame. First, we wonder: how on earth do they get anything done?!
Genesis Church, where I Pastor a rowdy bunch of committed folk, has come up with 5 Core Values. The first is about ACTION Ministry is way too important to leave to the paid staff ! So we are Actively Taking Part, Moving Beyond Self-Interest, and Serving Others.