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I suppose I'm not surprised, but I've gotten some off-line comments on my "pastoring and Craig" post from this morning. I'd like to clarify a few things. <br><br>One, of course I think that trolling for anonymous quickie sex in an airport bathroom is wrong -- sinful, degrading, dangerous, immoral, and reckless. It doesn't matter to me if he tried to engage in sexual activity with any stranger of either gender; he's married, it's adultery, it puts his wife at risk, and it degrades both him and his potential partner. <br><br>Two, I also believe he's a hypocrite. That seems indisputable, and in this case his hypocrisy seems to go back for decades, a decision requiring renewal at virtually every turn, public and private. I'm no political fan of Craig's, and I'd much rather have a better Senator representing my state.<br><br>Three, I jumped on Doug Wilson because, to my knowledge, he's the only local pastor who's commented publicly on this. I'd say the same thing to the pastor of Trinity Baptist, the Presbyterian Church, or the Crossing. But while not commenting on it in such an unmercifully flip manner is an act of omission that hardly indicates phenomenal moral resolve, comments like Wilson's indicate, to me, phenomenal moral carelessness as a deliberate act of commission. <br><br>There are, as I've said before, a million ways to be broken in this world. Larry Craig appears to be a broken, devious, empty and tortured man who has a family now experiencing a tortured brokenness most of us can't imagine. That alone makes the situation tragic. But while his actions are despicable, my experience and what I believe is the Spirit within me has taught me that tremendously shattered, lonely people usually do tremendously shattering things, and Larry Craig is no less loved by God today as he was three months ago, three years ago, or on the date of his birth. I may have sinned differently, and so have all of you, but all of us would hope for public comment from a pastor to evince some strain of mercy and compassion, wisdom and insight. But since it wasn't me, why should I care? Because once again, I believe that Wilson has acted in a way that doesn't bring credit to Christ and isn't representative of His Gospel. Before some of you rush to point out the many times I haven't either, be assured that I'm aware of it and, when I have that pointed out to me and my heart is convicted, I apologize. More than that, though, I try, with God's incredible patience, to cultivate a spiritual life that manifests itself, publicly and privately, in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness and self-control. I screw up -- a lot. But I think I do some good, too. <br><br>If some of you don't think this is what you signed up for Vision 2020 for, well -- sorry! It's my way of responding to a few people and of clarifying the things I said. Believe me, I'm no fan of Larry Craig's, but I'm not going to do a touchdown dance because one of those nasty conservatives blew it. I guess my own frailties make that a dance I just can't see doing, which makes me not at all saintly, just all too aware of how painful life can be for some people.<br><br>keely<br><br><br><br><br>"Patriarchy and its abuses, including the alienation of woman and man from each other, resulted from the material demands of life outside of the Creator's abundance, a state God never intended human beings to experience in the first place ... Redemption means turning over the order of things in the fallen world."<br>-- Dr. Carrie Miles<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><br><br /><hr />Connect to the next generation of MSN Messenger <a href='http://imagine-msn.com/messenger/launch80/default.aspx?locale=en-us&source=wlmailtagline' target='_new'>Get it now! </a></body>
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