Marrying and Burying the Gay

What is appropriate for a church committed to the Scriptures? This question has come to the fore with the recent situation in Arlington, Texas. Gary Simons, pastor of High Point Church (and brother-in-law of Joel Osteen), chose not to allow the funeral of Cecil Sinclair, a homosexual man who was the brother of a member in the congregation, Lee Sinclair, to be held at the church.

The church had initially agreed to host the funeral, not knowing that Cecil was a homosexual. The family submitted photos that led the church to have questions. But it was the obituary, which revealed that Cecil’s partner was a man, that led High Point to retract the offer to host the funeral.

Al Mohler tackled this issue in his radio program yesterday: Marrying and Burying: What’s Appropriate for Church Weddings and Funerals? (MP3). He argues that weddings and funerals must be considered extensions of the normal church worship services and thus must be controlled and led by the leadership of the church. A church should no more host the funeral of a homosexual than they would honor a homosexual person in a normal Sunday service.

Mohler calls for churches to have clearly thought out and biblical rooted policies in place for weddings and funerals. If you don’t already have such policies in place, I’d strongly recommend Mohler’s discussion as a good starting point for establishing them for your own church.

I agree with the decision of pastor Simons and the points that Mohler makes, but I have to wonder: if Cecil had been an immoral heterosexual, would the church would have hosted the funeral? What if he was a drunk?

Update: I just found out that pastor Simons is Joel Osteen’s brother-in-law. In this interview with Joel Osteen about the situation, Osteen says that Simons would have allowed the funeral in his church if he could have officiated. That, according to Osteen, was the real issue for Simons, and Osteen says that his policy is the same: as long as he can officiate, he’ll perform the funeral of anyone from any faith in his church.

Read more coverage here:

• Albert Mohler Radio Program: Marrying and Burying: What’s Appropriate for Church Weddings and Funerals? (MP3)
  
• Dallas News:
  • Church won’t hold funeral for gay man
  • Statement from High Point Church pastor
• Dallas News Religion:
  • Homosexuality, ham sandwiches, and the funeral of a gay man
    
  • The photos the family gave to the church of the gay man
  • Should High Point Church have hosted the gay man’s funeral?
  • Another side of the story of the gay man’s funeral and High Point Church
  • Clarifyng one point about High Point Church and the gay man’s funeral
  • Highlighting more comments about High Point Church and the gay man’s funeral
  • Transcript from High Point Church—the pastor discusses the gay man’s funeral
• One News Now: Texas church refuses to host memorial service that would have glorified homosexuality
• Religion News Blog: Church learns vet was gay, cancels memorial
• Texas Monthly: Joel Osteen on the High Point Church Story (interview of Osteen)
  

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