Over the past few weeks, Alistair Begg, pastor of Parkside Church in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and host of the The truth for life radio show, has been caught in what he calls “a storm in a teacup” over advice he gave regarding attending an LGBTQ wedding.
This advice, he said in a sermon this past weekend, was based on Jesus’ command to Christians to love even those with whom they disagree or disapprove.
“Jesus said you’re supposed to love your enemies,” Begg said, drawing on a series of biblical texts to argue that Christians should show compassion — not condemnation — toward those who have gone astray.
The sermon was a response to controversy over comments Begg made during a promotional interview for a book last fall, which recently went viral on social media. During the interview, Begg said she spoke to a woman whose grandchild was going to marry a transgender person. Begg, who opposes same-sex marriages, suggested she go to the wedding and bring a gift. In doing so, she would show her love for her grandchild, even if she did not approve of the marriage.
“Your love for them may catch them off guard, but your absence will only reinforce the fact that they said, ‘These people are what I always thought they were: judgmental, judgmental, unprepared to accept anything ‘”, said the evangelical pastor. He added that Christians should take risks to show love to those around them.
Begg’s comments ignited a firestorm among some of his fans and supporters, particularly those of conservative Calvinist and other evangelical communities. White evangelicals remain one of the least likely American religious groups to support same-sex marriage, according to the Public Religion Research Institute.
According to PRRI, 38% of white evangelicals say they support same-sex marriage. In contrast, 87 percent of lay people, 81 percent of Jews, 77 percent of Buddhists, 77 percent of white Protestants and about three-quarters of Catholics approve of same-sex marriage.
Begg was scheduled to speak in March at the Shepherds Conference, a major gathering of Reformed evangelical pastors led by California pastor and author John MacArthur. After Begg’s comments became public, he and MacArthur talked and decided the controversy would be “an unnecessary distraction,” according to a spokesperson for Grace to You, one of the conference’s sponsors.
“Pastor MacArthur’s advice on this issue would be completely different from the advice Alistair Begg said he gave to a curious grandmother,” Phil Johnson, executive director of Grace to You, told Religion News Service in an email. . “Both therefore agreed that it was necessary for Pastor Begg to step down. »
American Family Radio, an evangelical broadcast network, abandonedThe truth for lifea program based on Begg’s sermons, last week after his advice resurfaced and went viral.
This also led to a series of articles by other Christian leaders, saying that Christians should not attend LGBTQ Weddings. “After all, attending an event to show ‘love’ or avoid offense is a form of blessing without even the name,” wrote Carl Trueman, professor of biblical and religious studies at Grove City College, for the Catholic publication. First things.
Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association, hosted a special explaining why the group parted ways with Begg. Wildmon said the department received calls complaining about the broadcast and contacted Begg, whose radio show had been broadcast on AFR for more than a decade.
“The goal of this call was reconciliation, but reconciliation with the truth. » said Walker Wildmon, AFA vice president. He said Begg refused to walk back his comments, which Walker Wildmon compared to a father offering to drive his alcoholic child to a bar.
A staff member at Parkside Church told Religion News Service that Begg had no comment on his exclusion from American Family Radio.
Begg, who is originally from Scotland and has lived in the United States for four decades, said he has long taught that sex outside of marriage between a man and a woman is wrong. He was therefore surprised by the controversy generated by his comments and by the accusations that he had abandoned Christian teaching.
“Now we may disagree on whether I gave this grandmother good advice. Or not,” he said. “Not everyone on the pastoral team thinks I gave very good advice. »
During the sermon, he drew inspiration from the New Testament parable of the prodigal son – which emphasizes forgiveness rather than judgment – and the parable of the Good Samaritan, which emphasizes the emphasis on compassion rather than claims to holiness. Both stories, he said, showed the power of God’s grace.
He also drew inspiration from a story Jesus told about a shepherd who had 100 sheep and lost one – and left all 99 behind to find the lost one.
“I tell you, even so there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to repent,” Jesus said in Luke 15.
Begg warned his congregation about Christians who seem unwilling to show grace or forgiveness to others, telling his congregation to be wary of pastors eager to loudly condemn sinners. Begg said he was thinking with his “grandpa hat” on when he gave this advice, hoping to help this grandmother show God’s love.
“All I thought about was how can I help this grandmother,” Begg said, adding that he didn’t want her to lose her grandchild.
To a different person, in different circumstances, he said, he might have given different advice. But he has no plans to repent of his advice, no matter what happens on social media.
Begg also said he was happy that his advice to this grandmother – rather than his other sermons on sexuality – went viral.
“Because if I have to go down one side or the other, I’ll go down this side,” he said. “I’m going to side with compassion.”
