On Thursday, the Rev. Louie Giglio of Passion City Church in Atlanta issued a statement that he would not be participating in the Obama inauguration ceremony following some controversy over a sermon of his on homosexuality.
Giglio said he was honored the president thought enough of him and their friendship to include him in the festivities, but that he felt the recent response to his decade old sermon would become the focus according to Fox News.
"It is likely that my participation, and the prayer that I would offer, will be dwarfed by those seeking to make their agenda the focal point of the inauguration," his statement read.
The pastor of the Passion City Church in Georgia, however, has now been given a platform in which to try and build a bridge between those in the faith community and those who feel discriminated by them. And he is seeking to do it, despite the fact that some wanted to silence him on such an important day.
Giglio responds to inaugural prayer controversy
"As a pastor my mission is to love people, and lead them well, while lifting up the name of Jesus above anything else," he said. And Giglio added that the most helpful thing for him to do as a pastor is turn people's focus to scripture, so that they can personally confront its implications for living.
The reverend stressed also that "God's words trump all opinions, including mine, and in the end, I believe God's words lead to life."
It is unfortunate that Pres. Obama has been riddled with controversy over his Christian choices for inauguration participation in 2009 and in 2013 due to the homosexual issue.
And given the president's support for the homosexual community throughout his years in office, it would seem they would be willing to be supportive of his religious choices too, especially on such an important date for him. Yet that does not appear to be the case, unfortunately.
And given that the pastor the president desired to have speak on his special day was not even going to be discussing the homosexuality topic at all, regardless of his position on it, it is even more of a shame.
Rev. Giglio appears correct in assuming that the homosexual community wants to make the presidential inauguration about their community's agenda rather than honor the event the day is meant to highlight.
And if that is the case, then maybe the sermon he spoke 15 to 20 years ago needs to be repeated: "If you look at the counsel of the word of God, Old Testament, New Testament, you come quickly to the conclusion that homosexuality is not an alternate lifestyle...homosexuality is not just a sexual preference, homosexuality is not gay, but homosexuality is sin."
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