Brownwood Christianity

Church marquee sparks angry response
By Dia Catalani
Brownwood Bulletin 01.20.2002
Editors note: The names of two people quoted have not be printed at their request due to fear of negative reprisals.
By Dia Catalani
Brownwood Bulletin
BANGS — Some residents in this community in west Brown county are angry over a marquee at the Bangs Church of Christ which tackles the controversial issue of homosexualaliy.
Michael Light, pastor of the church for almost six years, says he changes the marquee each week and doesn’t understand why some have taken issue with the message, which says “Homosexuals shall not enter into heaven.”
“Primarily, it was just a quotation from the Scripture, which we do every every week,” Light said. “There’s no intent to do anything other than generate interest in the Scriptures.”
Some in the community have come forward to state their issues with the sign, including a parent of a gay student who says the sign is an added form of societal abuse.
“My son is already subjected to cruel taunting and teasing and having to hide his identity from others,” Larson said. “Basically, they’re condoning that behavior.”
According to Light and Bangs school administrators however, to their knowledge, there are no homosexuals in Bangs’ schools or attending Bangs Church of Christ.
A Bangs High School graduate, identified here as Smith, says that’s not the case. Smith said he was frustrated with the topic of homosexuality often being discussed in Light’s services.
“When I went to that church he talked about how homosexuality is a sin just about every Sunday,” Smith said. “Talking about homosexuality is a big thing with him, and that’s why I eventually chose to stop attending that church. And I know there are other gay people in that church, just like I know for a fact there are numerous gay students in Bangs school. But for me, it got to a point where I asked myself “why worship?” There was no sense of hope in it because every Sunday I heard him telling me how I was a bad person.”

Light said he believes that homosexuality is a lifestyle choice, one in which every person can choose to do right or wrong by according to the passage.

“We allow anybody and all walks of life in our church,” Light said. “But if we have people in church that are gay, we encourage them to change and hopefully they’ll study and learn and turn towards the way of Christ.”

Light said that the idea is to encourage change.

“If the Bible depicts any action as wrong, we must strive to change that wrong,” he said.

Homosexuals claiming that lifestyle because God made them homosexuals is merely an excuse for committing a sin, Light said.

“I’ve heard people argue that for every sin in the book. Drunkenness, lying, adultery … that’s the whole point. Christianity calls for a change, and those changes will vary from person to person when they examine the text.”

Smith said Light’s attitude of intolerance depicts the exact reason he no longer feels a part of his own family.

After graduating from Howard Payne University, Smith said he has depended upon a close-knit group of friends to offer emotional support in an area of Texas he says is extremely judgmental and intolerant of homosexuals – although many of those same people may have homosexual children and family members.

“Growing up in this town, I learned when I was a little kid this is something I couldn’t share with anyone,” Smith said. “Here I am, almost 30 years old and I’ve never been able to be who I am because I’ve been putting my family’s feelings before my own. I’ve never been in a relationship, because after I told my family I was gay, my dad told me if he ever caught me with someone or found out I was in a relationship it would be over.”

Larson says Smith’s plight is exactly why she is determined to come forward.

“I think it’s time to let people know that by ignoring this issue and teaching children that bigotry and hatred are acceptable is alienating much of society,” Larson said. “There are many, many gay people in this community and our children don’t deserve to have to look at a sign that degrades who God made them to be since they were born.”

According to Light, the same passage has been placed on the marquee twice since he joined the church almost six years ago, and doesn’t understand why people are suddenly upset over it.

Brownwood businessman Steve Harris says Light’s decision to place that particular passage in a public place has many implications – not only against gay people, but of everyone Light sees as “different.”

“On the radio, Mr. Light mentioned this lifestyle is a hurtful one,” Harris said. “Of course it is, and one of the most profound reasons for that is because of the intolerance and hatefulness spread around by those Christians who make it their life mission, based on their interpretation of the Bible, to convert those who are different from them into what they see as normal.”

Light said “normal” is not the issue.

“We turn our back on this instead of examining the passage,” Light said. “You simply have to address it and make corrections or stop practicing (homosexuality) to begin with. Its like there’s a 5-year-old child with homosexual tendencies, that child would have to be taught, just like a child caught stealing, that it’s a sin and he would have to change that behavior.

“But as far as people being offended by the sign, we have to ask: do we have a right to put Scriptures in front of children? That’s just like if there were Islamic children seeing a sign that said you have to be a Christian to be saved. They would be offended by that.”

Harris said the most important issue here isn’t the interpretation of the passage, but of the fact many in Brown County make a choice to judge others.

“Hurtfulness, in my opinion, is a community that has allowed hate to continue without acknowledgement and preventative action,” Harris said. “I firmly believe a man’s character is called into question when he knows of injustice but does nothing to prevent such acts in the future. If these changes could be made then the suicide rate of these kids wouldn’t be so high – just look on the Interent and you’ll see how bad the problem is in Texas.”

Light says hurting someone isn’t his intent in making the subject of homosexuality a part of his services or putting the passage on the marquee.

“Just read that passage and you’ll see what happens to a gay person,” Light said. “This is not a matter of trying to make someone feel bad. It’s a matter of loving someone enough to help them change.”