First, I believe that homosexuality is a sin.

Second, I believe that the biggest black eye on the American church is how we’ve treated homosexuals.

So, I have a suggestion. This is really gonna tick off some folks, but you have a year to get over it and even prepare for it.

You see, on a Wednesday in April, gay students observe a Day of Silence. Here’s the description at Wikipedia:

The Day of Silence is an annual student-organized day of action to protest the bullying and harassment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students, and their straight allies. Students take a day-long vow of silence to symbolically represent the silencing of LGBT students and their allies.

So how about if our Christian kids vow to stand with gay students in protesting the bullying and harassment on that day in 2008?

Here’s what prompts my proposal: The Day of Silence was observed a week ago Wednesday in most schools. A friend forwarded me an email alert from a Christian legal defense organization in California touting victories in helping Christian students who were suspended due to their reactions to the Day of Silence. Let me quote:

An estimated 3-4,000 students in the Sacramento area chose to stay home on the Day of Silence to avoid being confronted with pro-homosexual protests. Other students concerned about the one-sided messages determined to wear clothing and distribute literature which peacefully highlighted the dangers of homosexuality. Dozens of religious students were disciplined for expressing their viewpoints at Inderkum, Rio Linda and San Juan high schools. Approximately thirty students at Rio Linda alone were sent home, suspended or given “Saturday school.”

This organization leapt into action and came to their defense, getting reversed the intended actions against the students.

Now let me state: I think these Christian students have every right to respond in whatever way they choose. I even think the schools were wrong to discipline them.

But I also think the parents of the Christian students are wrong if they didn’t discipline them. I can dream of the day that I hear Christian parents across the country saying, “How could you think that wearing a ‘Straight Pride’ shirt on that day could possibly be showing the love of Christ?! You’re grounded.”

Yeah. Right.

Please understand that I am as conservative as they come. Died-in-the-wool Red Stater (in a Blue State). But this is one of those instances where our faith must trump our politics.

I can hear the comments: “But if we do this, we take the risk of portraying that we support homosexuality!” Considering our pathetic past with the gay community, I say we take that chance. Here’s our opportunity to live out “hate the sin, love the sinner.”

And I see it as no coincidence that this week I happened to read an exceptional article in Christianity Today by noted author and singer John Fischer called “Learning to Cry for the Culture: Let’s remember Francis Schaeffer’s most crucial legacy—tears.” Let me close this rant with a beautifully-stated sentiment, greatly influenced by Schaeffer, one of the greatest minds of the previous century:

Jesus asked us to love our enemies. Part of loving is learning to understand. Too few Christians today seek to understand why their enemies think in ways that we find abhorrent. Too many of us are too busy bashing feminists, secular humanists, gay activists, and political liberals to consider why they believe what they do. It’s difficult to sympathize with people we see as threats to our children and our neighborhoods. It’s hard to weep over those whom we have declared enemies.

Perhaps a good beginning would be to more fully grasp the depravity of our own souls and the depth to which God’s grace had to go to reach us. I doubt we can cry over the world if we’ve never cried over ourselves.