The church has wasted its time fighting gay marriage.  Why wasted?  Because I can tell you as a constitutional law expert that no matter what voters decide, the issue will be resolved by state and federal courts that for the most part don’t care what voters think.  So the church has spent millions fighting something that in the end they have no control over.  It’s like fighting a tsunami with a bucket – or millions of them.  It won’t work but you will die in the process.   

During Game 2 of their opening round NBA Playoffs series with the New Orleans Hornets, the Los Angeles Lakers debuted a public service announcement intended to discourage anti-gay slurs such as the one made recently by Lakers star guard Kobe Bryant in the direction of an NBA official.

For noticeably and loudly saying this slur so heinous that almost no news outlet dared hint what it actually was, Bryant was fined $100,000. Interestingly, the outcry and fine came only days after a UCLA study reported that just 3.5 percent of Americans are homosexual (a number far smaller than the usual 10-percent figure announced by LGBT groups).

Which leads me to ask: If a slur bothering 3.5 percent of the population earns you a $100,000 fine, and as many as 80 percent of Americans call themselves Christians, would NBA commissioner David Stern truly consider a--doing the math here--$2.3 million fine for the next player who clearly profanes the name of Jesus Christ? Or would such a huge number only apply to a star like Bryant?

This week I found myself embroiled in quite the online controversy. On Wednesday morning a friend forwarded me a tweet that went out saying, “Josh McDowell’s son uses fear, hate, & ignorance to teach kids how to ‘love’”. Obviously that got my attention! So I followed the link to the webpage and found a cropped video of a panel I was on at the Rock Church in San Diego in 2008 regarding Prop 8.

I was asked the question about how Christians should treat their gay friends. My response, which I think is biblical, is that we are to respond with both grace and truth (John 1:17). Paul says love speaks the truth (1 Cor. 13). But the video showed my opening story and cut the last two minutes, leaving it entirely without context. The video was posted online, and needless to say, I was criticized rather harshly for being hateful, unChristian, fear-mongering, and ignorant (among other things!).

This is Part 2 of an interview I did with David Di Sabatino (you can see Part 1 here). David is a filmmaker who has made two documentaries he likes to call “Bible stories” – “Frisbee: The Life and Death of A Hippie Preacher” and “Fallen Angel: The Outlaw Larry Norman.” In this interview, David talks about the making of "Frisbee" and the implications of the central character for the church and Christian culture.

Christopher: “Frisbee…” is a very Southern California movie. Vineyard and Calvary Chapel are coming out of Southern California. What are the reactions you’ve gotten to the film within and outside of Southern California?

I read this article on Change.org this morning - "Will There Ever Be a Post-Gay Identity?" - and it struck me that if I removed the LGBTQ references and replaced them with Christian references, the article would have been just as relevant. For example, 

"So what's next? Will we reach a time when there will no longer be a need for separate bars or centers, bookstores or retirement communities? Will there ever be such a thing as a post-gay identity?"

What are the questions you most fear being asked about your faith? Even as a trained apologist there are many tough questions I hope don’t come up in my discussions with non-believers. Some questions are simply difficult to answer. But we can’t ignore the tough questions. Such an approach is cowardly and counterproductive for the kingdom of God. We must—yes, must—be prepared with an answer for the toughest questions (1 Peter 3:15). We have nothing to fear because the truth is on our side.

I recently had the opportunity to endorse Mark Mittelberg’s upcoming book entitled, “The Questions Christians Hope No One Will Ask (With Answers).” This book is based upon a survey Mark sponsored with Tyndale Publishers through the Barna Group of one thousand self-proclaimed Christians. They asked each person what faith questions they would feel most uncomfortable being asked by a co-worker or friend. Some questions are expected but a few might come as a surprise.

While no one can predict the outcome of the Prop 8 trial, the unlikely pairing of conservative lawyer Theodore Olson with his former liberal foe, David Boies, is making plenty of headlines.   They faced off in the famous Bush vs. Gore Supreme Court battle.  Together, they are now arguing against the constitutionality of California's Proposition 8 which outlawed gay marriage.   

Newsweek features a fascinating first person account from Ted Olson.  Rather than discussing how and when he reversed his position, the former solicitor general for George W. Bush maintains that conservatives should inherently affirm individual liberty and any legislation that promotes marriage, stability and family.     It is also intriguing that liberal lion David Boies relishes the opportunity to put the Obama's administration's equivocating on the issue on trial.    He told Newsweek, "The current administration has been decidedly halfway on this issue," he says, "and I think the specter of having George Bush's lawyer out in front of a Democratic president is something that, shall we say, might stimulate people to rethink their positions."  Conservative scion Edwin Meese offered an editorial protesting the particulars of the trial (including its San Francisco venue) in the famed venue of the left, The New York Times.   

It’s not surprising people think Christians hate homosexuals. They see how we often treat them.

Kyle’s sad story was one I’d heard before. After 25 years of deep immersion in the gay lifestyle, he wanted out. His choice to follow Jesus meant a day-to-day struggle to stay celibate because simply becoming a Christian didn’t change his same-sex desires. With God’s help though, he was winning the battle.

Kyle thought his church would be a safe harbor during the storm. When he “came out” to his pastor and a counselor, though, both told him to never speak of his plight again. His church forced him back into the closet.