Anti-gay Christians have no idea what they’re talking about.
Case in point: The Cool Church’s Web page on homosexuality. It’s an absurd hodgepodge of distortions, generalizations and unqualified assertions stated as indisputable fact–but what else did you expect? You can only get so much mileage out of talking points approved by the American Family Association.
Someone looking to confirm preconceived notions about homosexual men behaving like amoral, sex-crazed animals, however, would likely come away satisfied.
Intrigued by a recent Arizona Daily Star article showing just how uncool The Cool Church–aka the Tucson Community Church–is toward gays, and wondering if pastors would mention it in the following Sunday’s sermon, my roommate and I decided to take a trip down to TCC to see what was what.
We got to The Cool Church on the northwest side a little late for the 11 a.m., Sunday, July 8, service, after deciding at the last minute that we wanted to see TCC founder and head pastor David McAllister–the undisputed star of the show–in the flesh, instead of going to the satellite church nearer to our home.
Little did we know that McAllister was being simulcast to the other TCC branches (there are four locations total); indeed, TV and commercialism seem to be inextricable parts of what makes the church tick. It was almost like we stepped out of our car and onto the lot of Universal Studios Tucson.
Children slurped down sodas they’d bought at The Cool Church food court, and there was a lazy summertime air, as if people had casually stopped by for a glass of lemonade and a touch of salvation.
After checking the crowded auditorium where McAllister was speaking, we decided to hang back in the “crying baby area” just outside, where two TVs mounted high on the wall allowed people not to miss a minute of the proceedings. The multimedia presentation, with graphics illustrating the pastor’s points, was slick and well-tailored to Americans living in the 21st century.
Many people, young and old, sat glassy-eyed in the two rows of folding chairs that had been placed in front of the TVs. I noticed a line of tykes walking like partridges from one building to another behind us.
Teenagers came and went, infrequently taking note of something McAllister had said. There were no crying babies, but an occasional parent did walk outside dragging an unruly child by an arm.
It seemed as if McAllister was just wrapping up discussing what he called “the hit piece” written by the Arizona Daily Star. He pledged to continue targeting the downtown area, that den of iniquity where homosexuals gather, in his efforts to lift people out of sin. He told churchgoers not to let this fiasco distract them from their work of saving people.
Glancing at my program, I noticed a little blurb about the Star that concluded with this: “This attack by this group (Wingspan, Southern Arizona’s LGBT community center) and the AZ Star is a reminder that TCC is in the battle against sin and for people’s souls on behalf of Jesus and is willing to take a STAND–even if this LGBT activist group and the AZ Star don’t like it. We’re here to stand for God and please Him.”
McAllister encouraged people to write letters to the editor, but he also said that the powers that be at the Star were preventing many of their missives from being published. So he pushed his followers toward the more-democratic Star blogs, that bastion of sober, thoughtful debate.
Naturally, my ears perked up when McAllister talked about how he’s been accused of being gay in the past.
“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been called a homosexual,” he said. McAllister noted how ridiculous that idea was, considering that he’s been married 27 years and has numerous children.
Yeah, right–ridiculous. Tell that to Ted Haggard or former New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey.
Granted, McAllister didn’t make my gaydar go off. He looked like a scary Backstreet Boy, wearing a green-and-blue collared shirt and oversized, JNCO-style jeans like the kids (used to) wear. Bleached-blonde spikes jutted out from his scalp, and his craggy face seemed at odds with his youthful, buoyant way of speaking.
At first blush, it would be easy to confuse him with an aging ex-raver.
After dealing with the Star story, McAllister gave a sermon, the gist of which can be described thusly: “Don’t necessarily forgive.” It dovetailed nicely with all the homosexual talk.
McAllister said most Christians have it horribly wrong: You don’t pardon a person until he realizes the error of his ways and repents. In other words, don’t forgive–let’s say a homosexual, for the sake of argument–until the recipient of your forgiveness sees everything exactly the way you do.
If sinners don’t make the effort to see things The Cool Church’s way, then they are the ones who are putting up “an invisible barrier,” he told his flock. Implicit in much of what McAllister was saying was the notion of us–the underdog, the righteous, David–vs. them–the elites, the sinners, Goliath.
It was an odd sermon in that it contained both a clip from The Cosby Show–McAllister’s self-professed favorite program–and a mugshot of Jeffrey Dahmer, who, he noted, was responsible for raping, killing and eating boys.
Was he holding up a homosexual cannibal as a subtle example of gays everywhere? It certainly seemed that way.
After he concluded the service, it was clear that McAllister doesn’t believe homosexuals exist; in his eyes, there are only straight people who commit homosexual acts, and those who don’t.
The scariest part may be that all of the music, the graphics, the heartwarming scenes from The Cosby Show, acted as an effective, kid-friendly way of delivering a domineering, exclusionary message.
Wide-eyed children were everywhere. They were eating, playing in the grass and, every so often, getting caught in the orbit of a man with spiky bleached hair, who was talking to them about the Cosbys, Jeffrey Dahmer and Jesus through a TV set.
This article appears in Jul 12-18, 2007.
It is my understanding that Jeffery Dahmer’s father claims that Jeffery became
a Christian before he was killed in prison.
The Cool Church is a wonderful church and Pastor David McAllister is a great teacher. It is not that Pastor David thinks being a homo-sexual is wrong, get this, THE BIBLE says ist wrong and at TCC we teach exactly whats in the bible.
Exegesis: an attempt to discover the meaning of a text (principal) objectively, starting with the text (principal) and moving out from there.
Eisegesis: to import a subjective, preconceived meaning into the text (principal).
journalism 101… you missed that class??
Could you have mentioned “the children” one more time?
Odd sermon?? exactly how many sermons have you attended?
Many? Few?
Case in point, either you hear what you want to, or reject what you don’t want to hear.
(That’s “progressive” right??)
It must have been scary in ” the lion’s den” …
Reality: you showed up at “The Cool Church” hoping, expecting, desiring to be offended. Of course you wouldn’t be disappointed…
What is your point?
Mine is this: I challenge you to examine EVERYTHING. The things that make you feel justified as well as the many things that make you feel uncomfortable.
Just the facts.
Just the truth.
If you are honest with yourself….
Pastor David in TCC is the best Pastor i have ever met. He made it simple for us to understand what god require us to do and getting ourselves right with god. Pastor David is smart, intelligent and he welcomes everyone to go to his church. Regarding gay, not just pastor david againsts it, even in the bible say so. We can now see TCC have more people, young and old in this church. I love it and i find it easy for my whole family too. God Bless Pastor David and His Family!
This article is plain silly. Obviously all these people who put down the lead pastor have not done their research. The Bible says a man should be with a woman and a woman should be with a man. That is the Bible talking, David is simply sharing the truth. Also, People have the misconception that David (And all four locations of TCC) hate gays. This is not true either… Just as God does not hate gays, the people of the church do not hate gays. It is the sin of homosexuality that God doesn’t like, and that the people of TCC do not like.
People who are searching to find disappointment and flaws in David’s teaching, will probably find it, because that is what they are looking for. After all, these people DID go out of their way to see what Pastor McCallister would say. Once they hear something that they do not want to hear, they target David.
Here is what I have to say: You have your opinions and I have mine..to each his own. IF you do not like the way he teaches, then don’t go to the church. If you prefer a more traditional church then that is where you should be.
David’s ultimate goal is to get people living right for God and to help get people on the right track to Heaven. Why do people have to go around patronizing a church for trying to do that?
Hi everyone,
I’ve attended several, more than I can count, churches of all religions all throughout the country (U.S). Everyone has the same basic principals, pray everyday, be a good person, love your neighbor, treat everyone as equals. Almost all of them interperet The Bible* and it’s passages in their own way and they are all different, even the same exact passages between 2 different churches of the same religion will have to completely different interperetations of that passage. This tells me that no single church, pastor, follower, or anyone else for that matter should be preaching and arguing about God or Jesus, since obviously no one really knows what it means. I believe everyone reads The Bible* and turns any scripture into something that fits to their liking. There are also many many verses never read, perhaps this is because people don’t like them? If one cannot accept every part of any religion in the world, then no one man should speak on behalf of God and tell people how to live their lives to earn their way through Jesus Christ. I do not speak for myself, nor for any person on this planet, but how can there be any truth to one man’s definition if he conforms passages written thousands of years ago to his own liking? No religion can, or should claim to be right, or better than another, and none shall claim to be wrong.
Go home and read the bible for yourself, cover to cover. You don’t need a pastor to figure out the way into Gods graces, or to tell you the things that are sinful, and will earn you a one way ticket to the barren waste-lands of Hell.
Anyone that that speaks out against another human being for their life choices have themselves committed sin and should not slander others. No one shall judge any man, or woman, except for God himself.
(Ever notice how many things were taken out of The Old Testament to form The New Testament so that it would conform with todays way of life? How does the word of God change just because we don’t feel it’s right anymore?)
*New Testament.
Krista. It is fine if you are trying to defend somebody because the words that he preaches supposedly comes from somewhere else, but what happens if that source (A.K.A. The Bible) is just as wrong and fabricated as the over-energetic douche bag who you see every Sunday?
Religious haters are such douche-bags. And I’ve met that minister, and he’s an obvious closet-case.
Religious haters are such douche-bags. And I’ve met that minister, and he’s an obvious closet-case.
Truth: People are born gay
Truth: People are born straight
Truth: God holds all people accountable for who they are and what they do.
Truth: There is none who does what is right. No, not even one.
Truth: ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Truth: ALL can be forgiven.
Truth: God loves you. Despite your sexuality.
not all homosexuals are sex crazed, just as all heterosexual people are not sex crazed. As a follower of Jesus the CHRIST, it is my calling to follow his greatest command: “Love God with all my heart and soul and love others” No exceptions as to who we are to show love. Love those who agree, Love those who do not, Love sinners as well as those who are considered “saints”. I leave it to the Lord to be the judge. We ALL have sinned and do fall short and sin again and again, both before and after choosing to believe and follow Jesus. I am busy trying to remove the “plank” from my own eyes and if i ever get that big ole piece of wood out of my own eye, i may be able to help another with his “speck”. I choose to pray for All and Love all. I choose to believe the Bible is the Word of God and I choose to apply it to my own life. I pray that my life will be a “light” not hidden under a basket. I believe that the Bible teaches that it is very definitely possible and even commanded by God to love others in spite of their actions.
here’s something to ponder: could the controversy between homo vs hetero be disigned to divide Christians? a red herring of sorts to keep people fighting and harden hearts? yes there are absolute truths, is it possible that the “fall” caused the distortion of God’s perfect creation and that we are all falling short as a result of that fall. When we profess to believe that “all things are possible with God” do we really take that to heart? During his earthly ministry, What did Jesus say about homosexuality? What did Jesus say about divorce? What did Jesus say about male and female and marriage here on earth and in heaven? What did Jesus say about money? What did Jesus say about the commandments?
I attended that “CHURCH” for 8 years. The pastor is a self glorified jerk, to say the least. I tried and tried to be accepted there but as a single parent, I was pushed out and treated like some kind of heathen. This church is for you if: You are upper middle class, stuck in a never ending cycle of “how to be beautiful,” and enjoy the belief that you have control over other people because, “If they don’t believe what you believe, you can call the police and keep them out of your church.” It’s pathetic and sickening. I, thank God, am still a Christian despite what they tried to turn me into.