Come On Up a Little Higher Church

The church is there to support the religious ideas, and religion is there to support individuals’ spirituality. If individual spirituality is getting lost within the maze of religion and the organizational milieu of the church…then something is wrong. Rev. Deborah L. Johnson

I recently read an article by Rev. Dr. Barbara Reynolds an Adjunct Professor at Howard University School of Divinity entitled, “Preachers Behaving Badly”.* This article was a commentary on the inappropriate behavior of ministers and offered such examples as Bishop Thomas Weeks remaining in the pulpit after his physical attack of Prophetess Juanita Bynum, the use of inappropriate language in the pulpit in the effort to ‘keep it real’, various violent acts in the church as played out on the now infamous Youtube and her lack of reverence for Reverend Dennis Wiley and Rev. Christine Wiley of Covenant Baptist Church in Washington, DC performing same sex unions. Rev. Reynolds sites older members of the congregation leaving the church as a result of gay unions and goes on to say,

The Bible I read declares both adultery and homosexuality as sins. But now some preachers are saying homosexuality is not a sin some parishioners are concluding that neither is adultery and ‘shacking’, and are using this re-writing of scripture as the basis for returning to their old sinful lifestyles.

Initially, I wrote a commentary that admonished Rev. Reynolds for taking this position, but after given her opinion and that of other clergy who concur, careful consideration, I decided to approach this subject in the spirit of love that seeks to unify the body of Christ and to be understanding of our humanity rather than to condemn it.


First, it is incumbent upon Ministers to explain that homosexuality and adultery are not one in the same. Same gender loving individuals don’t fall within the same spectrum as adulterers. But in order for them to carry this message to their parishioners, it requires that they acknowledge that God loves and accepts us all and operates in the spirit of inclusiveness.

To understand this spirit of inclusiveness, one has to suspend human judgment of individuals and surrender to unification. This means that ministers must preach a message of Oneness to their parishioners and acknowledge that there is value in every being. This enlightened way of thinking illuminates a path to better understanding their own journey and what is expected of them as clergy regarding the unification of the body of Christ. I respectfully submit to you Rev. Reynolds that if you believe that we are all part of the Divine despite our myriad differences, then you and other ministers may wish to question whether you are allowing your humanness as opposed to the spirit to drive your opinions.

Part of the problem is many clergy and people in our society focus the formation of their opinions on the sexual aspect of a person in same gender loving relationships rather than to transcend to fully embrace them as the Divine creatures we all are. However, everyone has equal access to the Divine. Spirituality is innate. But it is typical for people to exclude others because we are conditioned to separate ourselves based on differences as opposed to uniting based on our similarities. For example, criticizing people for the way they dress in church instead on focusing on the fact that they the person is in attendance. In addition, in order for people to feel superior, others must be made to feel inferior. This type of thinking has been evident throughout history. Whites who went to Africa believed the people to have no spiritual foundation and imposed their religion on them believing their religion to be far more superior. If we are to unify the body of Christ, all people must be embraced equally despite their human conditions because we are all Spiritual beings.

It is natural for Spiritual beings to want to mirror their love and Oneness by expressing the same commitment they have for the Divine for each other. That is to say, those who acknowledge their spiritual selves want to solidify their commitment to Oneness by engaging in a relationship that mirrors this connection. Partnering with another individual reflects our Spiritual partnership. Just like men and women in relationships, same gender loving individuals wish to have their relationships acknowledged and given the same respect as relationships between men and women. This is a part of our innate need to have connections with others that reflect Oneness. Love regardless of who it is expressed to, is still love. Furthermore, those of us who grew up with a religious foundation often value committed relationships because of what we have learned in the church about Oneness.

We honor our Oneness when we express love. A person, who does not believe or does not understand this Oneness, is more likely to commit adultery. That is to say, it is important for us to adhere to and respect our marriages and commitments because they are a reflection of our Spiritual Oneness. If you value this understanding then you will have no difficulty in seeing the difference between two people who seek to join together as one to reflect their Spiritual Oneness versus someone who violates this commitment by having an extramarital affair. Same gender loving individuals seek to have ceremonies that honor love; while adulterers dishonor their commitment to love. It is interesting that one would believe that they are the same when they are actually opposite. I might add that many same gender loving individuals who seek to sanction their union before the Holy Spirit and the Church value monogamy which is why they value this ceremony. All people, particularly those immersed in the church, need to rise above their human attitude of exclusion to embrace inclusion of all people including same gender loving individuals.

When we address same gender loving individuals, it is important to remember that the Spirit is more important than religion. Religion is what has informed this attitude about this group of people. However, religion is the way we practice our spiritualism as opposed to the way we become spiritual. The church or religious institutions are places for us to practice our Spirituality, but what is most important is Oneness with the Spirit. Church should never supersede religion and religion should never supersede Spirituality. All things must lead back to Oneness. Take care to remember that religious traditions were developed based on man’s interpretation of Spirituality. Understand that Oneness and harmony is the core of Spirituality not religion or religious beliefs. Spirituality reins supreme above religion.

Often, those who cling to their understanding of the Bible, accuse those who express differing opinions or interpretations of twisting the Bible to suit their own purposes. But the Bible is filled with parables and scriptures that have multiple interpretations and meanings. I could wage a theological debate around scripture, the Bible and man, but that isn’t my point today. Why spend time debating what separates us, as opposed to recognizing what unites us? However, I wish to address people who justify their hateful attitudes toward same gender loving individuals by using the Bible. In order to really understand ‘the word’, we must learn from people who understand history as well as the Bible. The reason this is so important is because there are historical events and people who had a direct impact on the text and scriptures as it appears today. Understanding history and the historical context of the Bible requires that you also understand the etymology of certain words and language. In addition, entire books of the bible were removed as a result of sexism and ruling classes of people.

What I find most is, people who defend their understanding of the ‘the word’ as they have been taught, rarely have transcended to a place of developing their own belief systems in alignment with Spiritual Principles. Many who have studied theology still justify hatred, bigotry and discrimination as biblically sanctioned. However, what remains the same regardless of how we interpret scriptures are the visionary teachings of Jesus which reminds us that the Spirit dwells within us all. The time has come for the body of Christ to take on Jesus’ revolutionary, visionary and prophetic stance when looking at the issues that impact our spirituality and community. Jesus came to us not as an exception, but as an example of who we are capable of being. He came to remind us that we are Spiritual beings and exemplified how deep our love should be for each other. It is time for the church to ‘come on up a little higher’ and focus on the love that underscored God’s reason for his Son’s physical manifestation on earth. If we tap into this soul force, we cannot deny any man or women the love and compassion that is equally available to us all.

I remember when my lifestyle was first revealed to my father who was a Southern Baptist minister; he pulled out the Bible and preached to me from verses that he interpreted as directly pointing to homosexuality as a sin. Like many of my friends, I distanced myself from religion and church. In fact, I specifically did not attend his church although I allowed my son to still fellowship with my parents because I knew his spiritual foundation was very important. Over the years, I saw my father transcend this original belief to preach that we cannot accept some and deny others. He realized that unification cannot be accomplished through exclusion and the way to lead people to the church, was to lead them back to themselves and the understanding Oneness. He also understood that Jesus never used guilt or venomous words to convince others to follow. Jesus also never discriminated against anyone. Therefore, my Father began to invite ALL people to his church, thereby taking them ‘a little higher’ with him. I can’t say what caused this transcendence toward enlightenment, but what I can say is that he genuinely began to embrace all people regardless of who they were and how they lived.

Rev. Reynolds and other ministers who maintain traditional beliefs cannot transcend unless they tap into what has been implanted in us prior to birth; the spirit of God’s love. They must transcend beyond their human judgments and criticisms. Rising above all the rhetoric and hate will not make members of the clergy popular and they may even cause some to distance themselves from the church. In fact, fear will cause many ministers to shrink in their duties to their parishioners to represent love from all angles. However, I remind the people of the church that Jesus was unpopular among many who did not want to hasten to change their attitudes and behaviors.

Jesus was a revolutionary. Jesus spoke against the common order of the day. Jesus spoke against the status quo. ..Jesus spoke prophesy in ways that made leaders uncomfortable, in fact, they wanted to kill him.
Michael Eric Dyson


I believe that ministers and theologians that continue to believe that they are espousing the Divine belief in hetero only relationships will some day be faced with having to transcend their homophobia. Reverend Reynolds mentions that there are people who will leave the Church as a result of Ministers sanctioning same gender loving unions, but in accepting and affirming same gender loving individuals, reluctant clergy may also find that there are thousands upon thousands of people who will return to the church and bring a holistic perspective of love. Pastors Dennis and Chris Wiley of Covenant Baptist Church are to be commended for providing these holy unions. Their spiritual courage, despite losing some of their membership, should be heralded as a breakthrough for both the gay and straight community. When the church supports religion as it is connected to Spirituality, then the church will indeed begin to transcend to reflect the Oneness that we all seek to recognize and strive toward.

Come on up a little higher church, God is waiting!


*(http://www.washingtoninformer.com/OPEDGuestReynolds2007Sep6.html)