"Domestic Partners"

Honestly, I didn’t want to be there. In fact, I purposely arrived late to sign up to speak hoping my turn would come after the news media had long departed. I wasn’t interested in making the local news casts or the local paper. I simply wanted to speak to the school board about a decision I questioned. But alas, my desire to keep a low profile wasn’t to be. I was among the first to be called upon to speak at the PISD board meeting on October 18. So I stood up and shared with the school board my view of the superintendent’s decision to extend health benefits to “domestic partners”. Consequently my name and face and comments made the local news-cast of KXAN and the Austin American-Statesman. Several members of my church read the quote in the paper or saw me on the news cast. I had 3 minutes to speak at the board meeting, of which the media used only a snippet. I want the members of the church I pastor, and anyone else interested, to get a more complete picture of my perspective of the issue. Here’s what I want you to know about my views.

I want you to know that I was deeply dismayed at the way this decision was made. Many of the pastors in this community know the superintendent, Dr. Dupree, personally, and have a deep appreciation for the outstanding work he has done for PISD over the past 7 years. But I was shocked at the utter lack of communication regarding what the superintendent surely knew would be a controversial decision. The fourth “strategic goal” on the district website states: “PISD will develop and promote positive community relations through effective communication, the involvement of stakeholders…” There was absolutely no effort to involve the faith community, or any other part of the tax-paying citizens of PISD in this decision. As a 30 year tax-paying resident with 3 daughters, 2 nieces, and 1 nephew that went from kindergarten to graduation from PHS, and 2 nephews currently in middle school, I think I’m a stakeholder. It feels like this decision was made quietly, almost secretly behind closed doors, and then imposed on the community. The way this decision was made compromised my trust and confidence in the superintendent and the school board.

I want you to know that I see the issue as a complicated one. I don’t see it as an obvious black-and-white, right-or-wrong issue. I’ve experienced no small amount of inner turmoil and conflicting feelings and thoughts about the decision since it was announced. I’ve asked myself, “Would Jesus be against certain people receiving health benefits because they didn’t live up to biblical moral standards?” Surely there must have been a few “domestic partners” of one sort or another in the crowd of 5000 Jesus fed with 5 loaves and 2 fish. On the other hand, Jesus never approves of immorality and unequivocally upholds the sanctity of marriage (Matthew 19:3-9). So while on the one hand, I don’t want people denied health benefits based on biblical moral standards (after all, who among us lives up to those standards perfectly?). On the other hand, I don’t want the sanctity of marriage to be undermined or the public stamp of approval for immoral lifestyles to be forced on the entire community. It’s complicated.

I want you to know that I believe the decision in question does undermine the sanctity of marriage and that, in turn, is harmful to children. That’s not a biblical or religious view, it’s a well-documented fact. Numerous studies show that it’s the children that suffer most when marriage is compromised. One such non-partisan study done by the University of Virginia (no connection to any faith-based organization) demonstrates this with sobering statistical evidence. My point is that while the decision to extend insurance benefits to “domestic partners” will immediately benefit a few, it may in fact undermine the long-term welfare of many. Here’s the link to the UV study: http://nationalmarriageproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Union_11_12_10.pdf

While I do not believe the intent of the decision is to compromise the widely held value of marriage, I also believe that it will appear to give the school district’s “stamp of approval” on all types of “domestic partner” relationships equating them with marriage. That open approval will, in fact, undercut a dearly held value in this community. I believe the consequences on the community, and especially on children, will far outweigh the benefit.

Finally, I want you to know that I believe authentic Christians can, and often do, disagree on non-essentials of the faith. For me, this is one of those non-essentials. I know that some of my Christian brothers and sisters will disagree with me on this issue. I’m certain some in my own church members will disagree with my position. I want to be the kind of pastor that loves people whether they agree with me or not. I want to pastor a church that keeps “the main thing”, the main thing. And the “main thing” for Pflugerville Community Church is to proclaim the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel is not advice on how to live a moral life so we can be loved and accepted by God, but the announcement of good news… Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came from God to demonstrate His love for us and to make possible our forgiveness (and we all need forgiveness) and reconciliation with God through his cross. Advocating for good moral values is not the same thing as advocating for the gospel. I am for both.