Ministry News
You Mean That Wasn't a Good Idea?
- Details
- Tuesday, 18 August 2009 09:14
Most ministers know what it feels like to have a well-intentioned outreach event turn out to be a dud. But I'm certain leaders at the Glasgow campus of Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) in Scotland didn't plan on their questionable idea of outreach becoming such a disaster.
Months ago pastor Jane Clarke approached local artists Anthony Schrag and David Malone about the possibility of running an exhibit that would "reclaim" the Bible as a sacred text. Schrag, the artist in residence at the city's Gallery of Modern Art, said that he didn't believe in God but was interested in the idea of an "interactive" Bible, along with the church's ultraliberal theology and mission to represent the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. The result—and don't forget this is all endorsed by MCC—was Untitled 2009, an exhibit that included video of a woman tearing pages from the Bible and stuffing them into her underwear, mouth and nostrils. As the centerpiece, the display included an open Bible with pens next to it and the following placard: "If you feel you have been excluded from the Bible, please write your way back into it."
Only a week later, the Bible had to be encased after its pages were defaced with profanity, blasphemous comments and statements such as "I am Bi, Female & Proud. I want no god who is disappointed in this." As expected, the exhibit has brought harsh criticism from the Church of Scotland and the Vatican. But it's also caused an uproar among locals, who footed the $11,400-plus bill through their tax money.
"This is symbolic of the state of our broken and lawless society,” said Andrea Minichiello Williams, director of the Christian Legal Center. "We have got to a point where we call the desecration of the Bible modern art. The Bible stands for everything this art does not: for creation, beauty, hope and regeneration."
Clarke admits this wasn't what she had planned. “Many people will tell you there are no LGBT people in the Bible so we invited visitors to the exhibition to write their names in a Bible to show that there are,” she says. "I had hoped that people would show respect for the Bible, for Christianity and indeed for the Gallery of Modern Art. I am saddened that some people have chosen to write offensive messages. However some of the postings reflect the anger of those writing it, an anger that we have for so long been excluded from the love of God." [dailymail.co.uk, 7/28/09; timesonline.co.uk, 7/23/09]
Subscribe to our Magazine
Ministry Clip of the Week
Download Video: HTML5 Video Player by VideoJS
 |
|
SITES: Charisma | Vida Cristiana | Spiritled Woman | Ministry Today | Christian Retailing
Click here to enter our new customer service community
Comments
Boy, this is getting pretty frightening. I'll pray for Pastor Clarke and hope that the Holy Spirit gives her ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT IDEAS! This is getting creepy, We need to pray for ALL PASTORS, PRIESTS, EVANGELISTS, PROPHETS, APOSTLES ,PREACHERS AND TEACHERS.
This is getting very frightening in the church where people are doing things without consulting Him. Is it any wonder we have churches shutting down, getting sued, and Christians getting shot at? nott tryingto b a wet blanket here but OBEDIENCE IS KEY FOLKS- WHEN GOD SAYS NO HE MEANS IT!
I'm actually thankful to Ministry Today for posting this article. It is eye opening to hear about what is going on in churches around the world. As leaders in ministry we MUST pray for leaders everywhere. How was it that Pastor Jane Clarke was able to make such a poorly thought out decision? Who was praying with her...better yet FOR her!
My prayer is that as we hear of struggling church leaders, we fall to our knees and not get tunnel vision,(which I have also been guilty of so many times) only focused on what is relevant to us. If it was not for God’s grace and the prayers of believers around us we might be in the same predicament. Remember: 1st Cor 10:12 "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!"
Thanks for expressing your frustration over stories like this. If you're a regular reader of the Ministry Today Report (in which this originally appeared) and our overall news coverage, you'll notice we often run stories similar to this not for the sake of endorsement but to highlight significant cultural shifts. When defacing a Bible in a publicly funded art exhibit seems like a good idea for any "church" (regardless of the LGBT angle), I think it's noteworthy for legitimate pastors to realize what kind of spiritual and cultural climate they now face. In particular, we often find these stories from the European front important because of how rapidly the United States seems to be moving toward a similar "post post-Christian" society.
Do you have to read this? Are we supporting this? Of course not. But I hope this gives you a better sense of the context in which we present such stories. And thanks again for offering you feedback--I really do appreciate it.
Marcus Yoars
Editor, Ministry Today
We need to see how God wants us to minister...
If so, then I don't need to hear anymore from you!
Jeremiah 12:10 Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.
Jeremiah 12:11 They have made it desolate, and being desolate it mourneth unto me; the whole land is made desolate, because no man layeth it to heart.
Lyle, I agree with you. Just because something is or is not mentioned in the Bible, doesn't mean God condones it.
To be fair, homosexuality is put in the same class as gossip and I imagine that many who are quick to condemn homosexuality are also guilty of gossip. None-the-less, neither makes the other okay.
And to the girl who would not want a god that was not okay with her lifestyle, not to worry. He will not impose himself on you. It's your choice to accept His love and instruction or to reject it.
Fools came up with this exhibit and fools responded to it. Shame on the public for allowing this use of their money with no apparent oversight.
RSS feed for comments to this post