When I coached more basketball "back in the day," I also did some officiating. I remember one year that a "point of emphasis" for officials was making sure players kept their shorts at a proper level instead of "sagging" for fashion purposes.

Yes, I had to say the words, "Son, pull your pants up."

You can chalk that up as one of the phrases many of us never thought we'd have to say, right alonside "Marriage is between one man and one woman."

That phrase, and supporting statements, have dominated discussion at the 2009 AFLC Annual Conference. As our body stands on the Word of God, we have no disagreement about the nature of marriage. So why the discussion?

• The world's largest Lutheran church body is about to culminate two decades of compromise by declaring ordination of those in same sex relationships to be a godly action.
• President Obama this week stated, "Make no mistake about it, overturning the Defense of Marriage Act [the congressional act that proctects states from having to recognize same sex unions from other states] is our next step."
• Hate crimes legislation now in the Senate includes language to protect religious groups from prosecution of its beliefs, but also includes language that has been used to oppress our viewpoint in Sweden, Canada, and Philadelphia.
• Most Bible-believing followers of Christ know same sex marriage is wrong, but can't state their case beyond "that's just wrong" or "God says so."
• Those who affirm traditional, Biblical marriage are increasingly under attack as bigotted, backward, or evil.

So we spent some time tweaking recommendations about how our congregations can protect themselves in an increasingly hostile environment.

Challenge 1: Can you tell someone why same sex marriage is wrong? Yes, God says so, but can you point out where/how?

Challenge 2: Can you tell someone why same sex marriage is wrong, even in a secular society?

Opportunity 1: I'll be preaching on this on Sunday, June 28 at Living Word.

Go serve your King,
PW

PS- Okay, I couldn't resist. Here's a tidbit for you. Scripturally, read Romans 1 and 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. Secularly, you need to be able to refute the "equal protection" argument. Using the term "same sex" helps. Saying "gay," "lesbian" or "homosexual" validates the erroneous thinking that same sex action is somehow an inborn and unalterable eventuality (even the American Psychological Association now disagrees this).