Say What? No Way?

That was a straw [in my decision], but there were many straws on the camel's back at the time.

What was the biggest news story of last week?

Phil Mickelson winning the Masters?
The Volcano that erupted in Iceland?
Oklahoma City marks 15 years since bombing?
Kenyan run marathon in record time?
Colorado pitcher throws a no hitter?

Well, according to a large population of the Christian community...none of the above. You see, last week Christianity Today published their interview with the popular Christian recording artist, Jennifer Knapp. Knapp announced a hiatus in 2003 and has been out of the spotlight ever since. That is, until last week.

"That was a straw [in my decision], but there were many straws on the camel's back at the time." This was Knapp's response after CT stated "There were rumors that you left music because you were gay." Knapp quickly responded to the rumor by stating that she is currently, in fact, in a same-sex relationship. She then goes on explaining that this is something she has "struggled" with for a while. Even well before her hiatus in 2003.

Like most things these days, I found out about this story through Twitter. I went online to post some inspirational thought that I probably stole from someone else when all of a sudden I read..."Jennifer Knapp has been living in sin. I'm so disappointed that she's gay." I then postponed all tweets for the next 15 minutes as I read through the interview from the link that was provided (I'm a slow reader, give me a break). I later returned to my Twitter home page to find more tweets about how sad and disappointed everyone was about this 36 year old woman from Kansas. Here were some tweets from the hashtag #JenniferKnapp...

- I knew she was gay
- Told ya
- Saw it coming, I win $50
- So upset with Jennifer, I looked up to her
- I can't believe it
- No, No, No, not Jennifer

As you can see, there was a Schizophrenic reaction going on. I gotta be honest, I've struggled a bit with how to respond to this story. I don't know if I'm more disappointed with someone feeling vulnerable enough to share how they feel, or with the "Christian" people sharing how 'disappointed' they are because someone shared how they feel. For the record, I do believe homosexuality is a sin, but no more than gluttony, lying, cheating, stealing, judging, lusting, etc.

When did being gay become THE sin? Some will probably boycott her music now because she's committed this "horrible act." I'll probably listen to it more. That's not really saying much because I never really listened before. But I want to hear what she's singing about. I don't want to necessarily embrace her lifestyle, but I do want to embrace her as a person. I'm not sure how that play out exactly, but I don't think she deserves a scarlet letter.

Let's just remember...she is still adored, cherished, and loved by God.