Im copying a post below from Jim Herrington. Very profound. Very hopeful. Thank you Jim for modeling for us what it looks like to seek the peace of the city. ------------------------------ I Stood With The Mayor Today Ive just returned from standing beside the Mayor at todays press conference in which she announced that the subpoenas which were issued to five Houston area pastors are being withdrawn. She credited her decision to conversations she had yesterday with a group of Houston area pastors and with a separate group of pastors from outside of the city. In both cases, she heard the concern that the subpoenas were being viewed as an attempt to violate the free speech of those who oppose her stand for the Houston Equal Rights Amendment. The Mayor invited Betty and me to stand with her at the press conference. In addition to the fact that she is our friend, we stood with her for four reasons. 1. I believe her decision was the right decision. The city made a mistake in issuing these subpoenas and the mistake needed to be corrected. Mayor Parker said in the press conference (and shes said all along) that she never intended to start a debate about first amendment rights of the clergy. She supports the right of a clergy person to preach whatever he/she feels called to preach. With humility she noted that sometimes you step into an unintended land mine, and when you do, you fix that. Todays decision does that for me. 2. I believe that in order to seek the peace and prosperity of a city - a calling to which I am committed - conflict needs to be handled thoughtfully and respectfully. I am not passing judgment here. In a conflict of this magnitude, I believe there is enough blame to go around. The tone of the conversation has become shrill, and the people who live in this city is not served well by that. It is possible for people to have deep disagreements and treat one another with respect. Someone had to make the first move to try to dial back the intensity of this debate. Todays decision could be a move in that direction, and I support that. Now the city watches to see if those who oppose the Mayor will follow suit. Jesus said, Blessed are the peacemakers. We need more peacemakers in this debate. 3. I trust the legal system. Our nation is a nation of laws. Our city counsel lawfully passed an the Houston equal rights ordinance. Citizens of our city lawfully petitioned to have the ordinance put on the ballot. Duly appointed officials deemed that the petition did not meet the legal requirements. Those who filed the petition felt that city officials overstepped their appointed duties. They filed a suit to allow a judge to make the determination. Thats how our legal system works. I support every part of this process. Its a good one that has served the city for many years. What I am not willing to do is to demonize the Mayor and City Attorney for doing their jobs. What I am also not willing to do is to demonize those who filed the lawsuit. All are acting within the system of laws that we have. I am willing to let that process work itself out. 4. I believe in equal rights for all of our citizens. We live in the most diverse city in the world. The moment we deny equal rights to any citizen - especially based on religious belief - we open the door for equal rights to be denied to every citizen. Christians have lived in a privileged relationship with the government in our country for many years. We now live in post-Christendom, and that privileged relationship is gone. If, based on their beliefs, Christians use whatever power they do have in the public square to deny others rights that they afford themselves, as the balance of power shifts, it will only be natural that others will use their power to deny Christians their rights. Learning to live in post-Christendom is a big challenge. This has been an important learning experience in that for me. This is a conversation and debate of extreme importance. As noted in the press conference, the entire country is watching. They are not only watching how the Mayor relates to the faith community. They are watching to see if Christians respond in the spirit of Christ. Whether you are in Houston or outside this great city that I love, I invite you to pray for peacemakers to abound, for the city to flourish, and for the Spirit of Christ to be honored in all of this.
Posted on: Wed, 29 Oct 2014 19:30:13 +0000
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