Boycott?

This week Franklin Graham has called for Christians to boycott businesses that are (along with the media and gay and lesbian organizations) cramming a tide of moral decay down our throats.  Evidently this commercial from Wells Fargo Bank was the straw that broke the camel's back for him.

I have no problem with anyone deciding not to do business anywhere for any reason they choose, including some perception that a particular business is supporting "moral decay."  I do have problems when someone identifies a specific moral understanding as "Christian," implying that anyone who does not agree is simply not "Christian."

Now it is true that I am not the same stripe of Christian as Franklin Graham and indeed, I would have some difficulty using that descriptor of him - probably as much as he would have using it of me - for a whole bunch of reasons.  I am not quite ready to write off everyone who owns that name just because I disagree with them over sometimes very important issues.   There needs to be room for disagreement and the possibility of rubbing shoulders with different opinions in order for growth to take place.  It was interesting that around the same time Graham was calling for a boycott of businesses that are supportive of LGBTQ people, prominent evangelical leader, Tony Campolo, came out as fully supportive of inclusion of LGBTQ folk in the church. 

Back to the commercial... For a number of years our family did foster care.  We saw the horrendous situations of many children.  Some were eventually freed for adoption.  Sometimes their foster families adopted them but sometimes they did not for any number of reasons.  The older children had a much more difficult time getting "forever families" as did children with any issues ranging from emotional problems to physical disabilities.  It would not be easy to find a home for child like the one in the commercial - an elementary school aged girl who was also deaf.  The implication from Graham that somehow the little girl in the commercial would be better off languishing in foster care or an institution vs. adoption by a loving lesbian couple is just ugly.

I hope Graham follows up in two ways - first that he calls for each of his constituent families to adopt a special needs child and second, that he be consistent and refuse to do business with all LGBTQ friendly businesses.  Of course, the second step might be difficult to live out.  Eliel Cruz has included a list of 30 other major companies that, like Wells Fargo, received a 100 score from the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index .  Their list of 366 companies scoring 100 happens to include 14 of the top 20, 150 total of the companies on the Fortune 500 list.  Cruz goes on to observe that finding a national company with a zero score is virtually impossible.

His list includes: Target, Starbucks, Levi’s, Microsoft, Amazon, Ford, Home Depot, Expedia, Pepsi, Procter & Gamble, Gap, Oreo, Macy’s, Old Navy, Banana Republic, General Mills, J.C. Penney, Walgreens, Nike, Ben and Jerry’s, Google, Ebay, Orbitz, Jet Blue, Mastercard, Johnson & Johnson, Goldman Sachs, Cisco, Marriott, and UBS.  Likewise, Facebook, where Graham posted his call, scored 100.  Graham could be consistent with his stated goals and boycott all of those companies on the complete list... or he could argue that he is singling out Wells Fargo because they chose to advertise their position and so were actively cramming this moral decay down our throats.

I choose to live in a world more like the one portrayed in Wells Fargo's ad than the one for which Franklin Graham yearns.  If that equates with moral decay... bring it on.   Similar accusations were thrown at the earliest followers of Jesus.

Target Starbucks Levi’s Microsoft Amazon Ford Home Depot Expedia Pepsi Procter & Gamble Gap Oreo Macy’s Old Navy Banana Republic General Mills J.C. Penney Walgreens Nike Ben and Jerry’s Google Ebay Orbitz Jet Blue Mastercard Johnson & Johnson Goldman Sachs Cisco Marriott UBS - See more at: http://elielcruz.religionnews.com/2015/06/07/franklin-graham-calls-on-christians-to-blacklist-lgbt-friendly-companies/?email=robin%40awab.org#sthash.ru2MEuwy.dpuf

Target Starbucks Levi’s Microsoft Amazon Ford Home Depot Expedia Pepsi Procter & Gamble Gap Oreo Macy’s Old Navy Banana Republic General Mills J.C. Penney Walgreens Nike Ben and Jerry’s Google Ebay Orbitz Jet Blue Mastercard Johnson & Johnson Goldman Sachs Cisco Marriott UBS - See more at: http://elielcruz.religionnews.com/2015/06/07/franklin-graham-calls-on-christians-to-blacklist-lgbt-friendly-companies/?email=robin%40awab.org#sthash.ru2MEuwy.dpuf

foster kids

Some years back we did foster care and had a number of children come through our home.  Each had their own stories but for the most part, they were not happy stories.  In many cases, they had experienced things that children should never experience.   Each of those children made a place in our hearts and all these years later I find myself thinking about them - wondering what happened and hoping and praying for their best. 

We had one little boy whose life had been pretty bad who really caught our hearts.  Through the years, I have felt that we failed him even though we did our best for him.  My imaginings of his future were rarely positive.  Then the other day, I got talking about him with a church member and came home and decided to try to hunt him down on the internet.  I think I found him on Facebook.  Its hard to tell as he was just a child then and is now a grown man plus there is almost no biographical info on his facebook page and is name isn't an uncommon one.  Still, I'm pretty sure it is him. 

Here's the wonderful part, he looks to have gotten things together and found a positive direction for his life against what were terrible odds.  I hope it is him.  And whether it is or is not, that little boy, now a man, is still in my heart and my prayers.

I've thought about contacting him to see... but I'm conflicted between whether a contact from his past would be comforting (to know we still think of him and pray for him) or troubling as it would surely bring painful memories to the surface.  So, for now, I'm not contacting but continuing to pray and dream.