There’s bad news and sort of good news.
On Mother’s Day, Soulforce flunkie Jay Baker discovered that if he got into vistors line to shake Joel Osteen’s hand he could make a pitch for a meeting with Osteen. The bad news is that Osteen agreed to a meeting with Baker. In the meeting was Osteen, brother Paul and media spokesman Donald Iloff.
This is bad news because just meeting with Soulforce helps them accomplish one of their main goals which is to gain credibilty and attention from the meetings. The spin from their side of the meeting is yet to come.
According to the Christian Post, Osteen and the others refused to affirm homosexuality to Baker. That’s the sort of good news. Its “sort of” because we can’t be completely sure that at some point in the future Joel Osteen won’t adopt some sort of open door tolerance policy at Lakewood which is akin giving gay civil unions instead of marriage. By himself (on the Larry King show), when asked about the issue, Osteen has not given a strong, clear biblical response, choosing instead a deflective posture. We dont know who actually carried the conversation during the meeting with Baker. It would have been best to refuse to meet with Baker and instead issued a public statement rejecting homosexuality as acceptable to Christian living.
On June 1st, Soulfarce (that’s intentional) is headed to Atlanta for a cordial chatfest with New Birth Baptist Church. Of the proposed meeting, here is what Atlanta’s gay paper Southern Voice is reporting:
William Turner, New Birth’s senior director of marketing, said he wasn’t aware of specific plans to receive the group. Turner referred questions on the church’s position on the American Family Outing to Dan Renee, who works with a public relations firm in Washington, D.C.
“They have tens of thousands of people who worship on Sunday. If a couple more people show up, they show up,” Renee said. “I don’t think there is any reason for the church to be concerned or scared.”
Renee did not make Long or any member of the church available to discuss the church’s positions on lesbian and gay issues.
Dr. Sylvia Rhue, director of religious affairs for the National Black Justice Coalition, is one of the planners of the American Family Outing. She will help lead the New Birth outing, and said Soulforce would not consider it a success just to worship.
“It’s not that we just want to worship, we want to meet with Bishop Long, and have an official meeting, or outing or a picnic with the church,” Rhue said.
If the church does not respond, Soulforce participants would still attend services but not be disruptive or wear clothing to identify themselves as gay families, Rhue said.
If you are a member of New Birth and want to organize to educate members of Soulforce on the real truth about homosexuality, contact GCM Watch immediately for more information.
Gay Christian Movement Watch 
Well, I was a member of Club New Birth for 6 years, and I’d be surprised if these folks can get close enough to Eddie Long to say anything directly to him.
Beyond the obvious reason for such a visit (or visits), does this group intend to “intimidate” CNB and Eddie Long into (officially) accepting homosexuality into their fellowship? Not to be humorous, but I’ve seen enough…um, “questionable” individuals and familes who attend CNB, so Long and company already know who’s worshiping with them.
Eddie has bodly spoken against homosexuality from the pulpit in the past, yet they keep coming – and laying their money “at the alter”. What will Soulforce accomplish by showing up?
Maybe I’m missing the whole point…
As someone who intermittently attends “Club New Birth,” as Speaking Truth so eloquently describes it, I can assure you Mr. Long does not condone homosexuality…at least not from the pulpit. Yes, there are individuals who obviously “struggle” or live that lifestyle and they attend CNB, but shouldn’t they be @ church to hopefully hear a word one day that MAY change their life.
As for Soulforce, man these guys are slick like snakes. They present themselves as loving, harmless doves; all the while scheming and planning a take-over…very deceptive. Now, who was a liar from the beginning?
When a Jehovah’s Witness or Mormon comes to my door I don’t slam it in their face as many Christians do, I open my Bible and begin to show them the error of their ways. They don’t stick around very long and they are never willing to go toe-to-toe in a debate either privately or publicly because that is not their agenda. But I don’t care what THEIR agenda is, I have my own which is to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ and refute those who teach false doctrine. (Titus 1:9)
However, while I am willing to do this with a cultist in order to present the gospel in an apologetical fashion, I would NEVER give them a platform within a public meeting of the church. (2 John 1:10)
This goes for the gay apologists as well. The MCC and Soulforce has taken on a cult-like status. They are not merely an aberration of historical Christianity but they are of a completely different spirit altogether. This is why the late Dr. Walter Martin referred to them as “the cult of homosexuality.”
We cannot fear the gay cultist and whatever THEIR agenda might be nor should we give them a platform in the church. But I would LOVE the opportunity to debate them publicly in a moderated debate in which they were not in control of the microphone.
In doing so my agenda would not be to necessarily change their mind (for they are usually hardened beyond repentance), but to refute them publicly so that others might listen and learn. A perfect example of this is in the debate between Greg Bahnsen and Gordon Stein in the debate “Does God Exist?” This debate has inspired many Christians to become soldiers for Christ in presuppositional apologetics.
James: Trust me when I tell you this situation has nothing to do with NB or Eddie Long.
IST: NB and/or EL are simply pawns or rather a high profile vehicle for Soulfarce to spew their poisonous false doctrine on as wide a scale as possible. These targets are intentional to garner media attention and mine it for their own pr totem poles. If anything, NB would bar them from the campus for recognizing that the group is only there to accomplish its own publicly stated goals, not dialogue.
The real war is against the good and perfect and acceptable will of God. Without a sustained resistance from someone who understands this demon’s true intentions, they have a bonanza on their hands. As we predicted, these church leaders are weak on sound doctrine already but rich in fame.
Rik: Right you are. I never turn JWs away. But this is a demon of a different color as you noted. The response must be an appropriate one. But I have little hope that these already doctrinally weak churches are up to that challenge. Also interesting I had never heard that phrase “the cult of homosexuality”, but it is fitting.