Apparently Bob Vander Plaats, the CEO of The FAMiLY Leader, was caught on video back in March laughing at a homosexual joke. Why it just surfaced now in July is beyond me. Think Progress posted the video and transcript on their site, and I saw the link over at The Bean Walker.
The transcript:
ATTENDEE: You know what my wife says? She says: Iowa, the state where you can’t smoke a fag, but you can marry one.
[Laughter]
VANDER PLAATS: Oh shoot, that’s pretty good, that’s pretty good. Oh shoot.
While I certainly do not agree with the homosexual agenda, this type of thing troubles me. For starters it’s unproductive – how will this accomplish the agenda of protecting the definition of marriage? It won’t. More importantly how is this Christ-like? It’s not. Bob Vander Plaats was at an official event representing a Christian organization… which means he is representing Christ. Does that mean he (or anyone else in a similar role) will be perfect? Absolutely not. It does mean that he needs to think about how he responds to comments like these.
Christ’s followers recognize that all have been created by God and have dignity and worth as His creation. We also recognize that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23). Making jokes about homosexuals will only accomplish erecting a wall between them and the Gospel. Does Bob (and the gentleman who told the joke) really want to be a stumbling block for the Gospel? I would hope not. This is something that I tried to nip in the bud when I was a youth pastor with kids in my youth group. I wanted to create a welcoming atmosphere for all kids, not to affirm sinful behavior, but I did want anyone who walked in that room to feel safe, loved and respected.
This is just another example of why the Church has largely been unsuccessful at reaching homosexuals. We say “hate the sin, but love the sinner.” Please tell me how the sinner was loved at that meeting?
The right thing to do would be for Bob to swallow his pride and apologize, but it doesn’t look like that is going to happen anytime soon.