"What Can Hollywood do?" Oh no.

   I read an article online this morning entitled, "Gay Suicide on the Rise, What Can Hollywood Do?" The article highlighted how this week, 5 gay teens in America committed suicide as an apparent reaction to bullying. Heartbreaker. The article went on to encourage homosexual actors to come out of the closet in order to make homosexuality more normal for teenagers.  I'll just come out with it and say that I don't believe God creates us to be anything other than heterosexual, but like anything else in life, beating homosexuality can be tough. We are in a war against sin, and too many beautiful, talented, creative and kind people are lost in the battle.

    What really caught me off guard was the title "What can Hollywood do?" Oh no. This makes me panic. The LAST thing we need is Hollywood getting involved in solving people's personal issues. And yet, my next reaction is grief. Someone HAS to get involved, and sadly, the church (overall, not individually) is doing a crappy job. Have we accepted, comforted and loved our self-proclaimed gay teenagers or have we ostracized them? Who feels more uncomfortable when a "gay kid" enters our church doors...us or them? If you ask me (not that I'm a true expert), this is the battle of our generation. In our So Cal school system, it's cool to be Bi. That means you are open-minded. Nearly every week we have students walk into our youth ministry battling their feelings, emotions, inner-demons. I've had multiple gut-wrenching conversations with students who feel pressured, confused, and scared of the reaction of authorities in their life. What do we have to offer that Hollywood doesn't? Grace, Truth, and Love.

   Grace and Truth are like Batman and Robin. Together Grace and Truth are unstoppable.  Hollywood gives grace. It's a twisted, political and controversial grace, but it makes people feel accepted. The Church has THE Truth. Unfortunately, we've preached the truth on this subject with fists in the air and billboards dripping with condemnation. I'm still pondering why we have ready-grace for some sins, and others we draw a hard black graceless line on the concrete. Maybe it's all too personal? I don't know. What I do know is that if we, the Bride of Christ, would come to our gay friends with boundless Grace and unyielding Truth, we would have a much better chance of representing ourselves as those also saved by grace. 

   And then to this equation, we add Love. Who truly loves this broadening community of people? Hollywood loves the cause. The Church hates their actions. I'll tell you who loves gays, God does. At the San Diego Pride Festival and Parade, every year there are people with signs that read "God Hates Gays" and I want to tackle them. In reality, sometimes it seems like He's the only one who really loves them. 

   If we are going to claim to be Christians, you know, "like Christ" then we need some introspection. We can't be afraid of Loving. We must remember the Grace we received. And we can never walk away from the Truth that set us free.