I attend a Lutheran congregation in north Minneapolis, one that belongs to the church body I work for. It’s large but not huge. The senior pastor has made himself visible in the media for a number of years as a critic of the liberal church, and of modern trends such as universalism, women’s ordination, higher criticism of the Bible, and the normalization of homosexuality. He is a single man.
Last night, while watching local news on television, I discovered that he’d been “outed” as a homosexual.
He was not discovered in a “gay” bar. He was not discovered having sex with another man in a public rest room.
According to the news accounts I’ve seen (emanating from liberal sources) he was discovered attending a support and accountability group in a Roman Catholic church. He was speaking honestly, to men he trusted, about his struggles, slips, and temptations.
In other words, he was doing precisely what people on our side of the argument say a man in his situation ought to do. He is the very opposite of a hypocrite.
On the basis of the accounts I’ve read, the “journalist” who produced the story infiltrated this accountability group, lied about his purposes, and then broke the promise of confidentiality he made to get in.
The television story pretended to be a high-minded think piece about whether it’s ever appropriate to “out” someone against their wishes.
I don’t believe that was the real purpose of the story. I believe it was to splash my pastor’s picture all over TV screens in our state, with a metaphorical scarlet letter on his chest.
My pastor has my full support, and my prayers. God bless him, and all godly men in his situation.
—Lars Walker
Thanks for this post. It is good to know some details about this terrible situation.
I left a comment on Lavender’s website pointing out their shameless hypocrisy. I recommend that some other people do the same. I was civil, as we should all be, but this sort of behavior would never be tolerated by anyone outside of an unofficially protected group like gays. They need to be called on it by somebody.
[…] view. Why? Because if a twelve-step group's confidentiality is violated, then all bets are off. No hypocrisy was involved. But if the paper also offered a reward for others to infiltrate such counseling […]
Thank you, Aaron. Your words do you honor.
While I do not agree with the pastor’s point of view, I think it is horrible what happened to him. I am gay, but I feel his privacy was violated and that the journalist is scum. Most gay people I know think that outing someone in this way is wrong.
[…] a welcome visitor to this site – has an amazing true story to tell over at our friends The American Culture. It’s rightly entitled […]
The church is making a systematic examination of the matter, and will announce its findings at a later date. Our senior pastor is taking a leave of absence pending the results of those inquiries. Members have been asked not to make public statements, but to refer everyone to the executive pastor. He can be reached through our web site: http://www.hopelutheran-aflc.com/
My prayers go out to your pastor, Lars.
I know it isn’t very Christian of me to harbor such thoughts, but I wonder how that reporter would feel if someone spied on him during privates and splashed his behavior across the world for everyone to see.
Most folks make a big deal about how the media refused to report on Roosevelt’s physical infirmities during WWII or JFK’s personal peccadilloes when he occupied the White House. Today it seems to be a 24/7 news cycle of politically inspired gotcha journalism.
Thanks, Robert. You state that very well. One point of clarification: the author of the article is TAC regular Lars Walker. I’ve added a byline at the bottom of the story to ensure all readers see it. Sam
Few people can help the hand of cards they are dealt in this life. But they can help what they do with the cards.
Good for you, Sam. Your pastor sounds like a brave man.
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Hunter Baker, S. T. Karnick. S. T. Karnick said: oRT @stkarnick This truly is an outrage: man struggling with problems denounced publicly http://bit.ly/9QtQi8 […]
The story was published in a local homosexual publication called “Lavender.”
The reporter on this story is a disgrace to the profession, and the editor of the unnamed newspaper that published it — has the StarTribune sunk that low? — has broken faith with its readers. From the get-go this story was planned and reported based on lying and mispresentation. What perverted canon of ethics could justify such iniquity?
Dan Miller
Chicago
I hope that you’ll follow up on this for us, Lars.
Thank you. According to all reports, the pastor is taking a hiatus, but will probably be allowed to remain at his post. That pleases me. I’ll probably learn more Sunday morning.
Lars, thanks for writing this article. This series of events is indeed an outrage. Clearly the reporter of this story was trawling for priests whose personal problems he could expose as a means of undermining the church. He caught a politically and religiously conservative pastor and is undoubtedly proud of himself.
I see no hypocrisy on the part of the pastor nor his congregation in allowing him to serve. The dividing line in such churches is that he can’t be a pastor if he’s engaging in homosexual activities, and apparently he does not do that–he’s struggling with the impulses. That is in fact honorable of the pastor and immensely decent of his congregation (assuming, as is likely, that at least some of the congregational leaders know about his problems).
Thus I think it acceptable for him to be a pastor, given that all pastors sin and struggle with impulses for even greater sins. To me it’s a pure outrage because the only reason this reporter and the publications spreading this non-story went after this pastor is his opposition to the progressive political, social, and religious agendas.
That’s vile, given their alleged acceptance of and indeed celebration of homosexuality. That’s the real hypocrisy here.