John Huffman, Jr., is getting used to controversy. Earlier this year the Presbyterian congregation he pastors in Newport Beach, California, withheld $300,000 in support from the Synod of Southern California because the synod refused to take disciplinary action against a pro-homosexual group. Instead, Saint Andrew’s Presbyterian Church directed the money toward starting new churches and supporting ethnic congregations within its presbytery.
During his 30 years as a pastor, Huffman has compassionately counseled practicing homosexuals in his congregation while acting as an outspoken opponent of same-sex practice in his denomination. He was one of the chief authors of the current, official statement against ordaining practicing homosexuals adopted by the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Here he talks about life on the front lines of a cultural battle.
Presbyterian pastor John Huffman is caught in the crossfire in his denomination’s homosexuality debate.
People on both sides of the homosexual issue consider you an enemy. Why?
I am seen in the denomination and in the secular press as anti-homosexual. Yet some who are familiar with my pastoral ministry believe I am too accepting of gays and lesbians.
Unfortunately, the dynamic center has fallen out of American social, political, and theological discourse. The high-volume people are the ones who get heard, and these are the people moving increasingly to the Left or the Right. Those of us who try to do biblical theology in a healthy, balanced way end up being misunderstood. We sound “political,” like we’re speaking out of both sides of our mouths.
Have you and your church taken heat for withholding money from the synod over the issue of homosexuality?
Ninety to ninety-five percent of the mail I’ve received has supported our stand. We’ve also gotten some vehement letters alleging that we’re “homophobic,” non-Presbyterian, and guilty of blackmail. The truth is that Presbyterians have long expressed their viewpoints with their dollars. We supported the Nestle boycott over the marketing of infant formula, for instance, the boycott of General Electric over nuclear issues, and sanctions against South Africa over apartheid.
Is it fair to say that pro-homosexual activists regard anyone who disagrees with them as “homophobic?”
That is the label immediately attached to any of us who raise a question about the validity of gay and lesbian lifestyles. We are trying to uphold biblical teaching; they say our interpretations are based on fear and hatred.
Does the term homophobia have a legitimate use?
Most definitely. Our society is shot through with homophobia, and I see that as a spiritual malignancy. The fear and hatred of homosexual persons is as serious a sin as homosexual practice. I believe God has designed in our human nature an initial resistance to that which goes against his will. But that does not justify what can only be called hatred of homosexual persons.
Despite your position that homosexual behavior is sinful, you admit practicing homosexuals into church membership.
I believe that the church should be open to all people who admit they are sinners and who trust Jesus Christ alone for salvation. We don’t ask people seeking membership if they’re practicing adulterers or gossipers.
What is the role of church discipline in this context?
I distinguish between church members and church leadership. The ordination vows are much more extensive than the vows for church membership. At our church of 4,500 members, we have been very careful to exercise discipline among church officers.
Should homosexuality, then, be an issue at ordination?
I oppose the ordination of unrepentant, practicing homosexuals. But I don’t believe that you confront a person up-front with a list of sins and have him or her check all that apply. Church leaders accept responsibility to live under authority of Scripture. When someone shuns that responsibility, it has a way of leaking out. In my 15 years at Saint Andrew’s, we have had to address three situations of leaders involved in adultery.
How have you balanced opposition to homosexual behavior with your role as a pastor to practicing homosexuals?
The best way to answer is with a story. About ten years ago a young man came to my office. He said he wanted to join the church, but he wanted me to know he was a practicing homosexual and disagreed with my interpretation of Scripture in this area. I told him he was welcome at our church, but I would not change my preaching and that, unless he changed his behavior, he would never hold a leadership position.
He decided to join. A few years later he came into my office weeping, because he’d just been diagnosed with AIDS. I wrapped my arms around him and asked him, as his pastor, to let me walk through this with him. We became very close friends.
At his funeral, my first words were, “The ground is level at the foot of the cross.” Then I said I looked forward to embracing this man, my brother, in the presence of Christ. But I also spoke of the pain that we experience when we live in disobedience to God’s Word.
Do you believe that a more accepting attitude toward homosexual persons strengthens the church?
I know I have been enriched by gay and lesbian persons. One of the persons most influential in my going into the ministry, I found out years later, struggled with homosexuality. I still thank God for the influence he had on my life.
I have found that homosexual persons tend to bring to the church gifts of sensitivity, spiritual awareness, and creativity. And so, whether they comprise one-and-a-half or 10 percent of the society, I would hope that we would not unnecessarily isolate these people from the church of Jesus Christ.
What are your cautions for those who take a strong stand against homosexuality?
All of us are sinners. I struggle daily with a sin that I believe is the root of all sin: pride. I must deal with the temptations of creature worship and personal advancement.
Nothing in the Bible says we should separate ourselves from sinners. If it did, we wouldn’t have any friends. On the other hand, we are to be discerning. We should guard against winking at a lifestyle because we’ve come to know and like a person. Jesus was sometimes perceived as being contaminated because of his associations. I believe we need to run that same risk, remembering that at the same time he did not compromise the truth.
How important is this battle?
It is of utmost importance. The issue to me is not just human sexuality, but biblical authority. On that basis, this becomes a confessional issue. We take vows to uphold the faith in its purity. If the Bible did not make an issue of homosexual behavior, neither would I. I don’t, for example, preach against issues such as birth control or masturbation, because I believe Scripture is silent on them.
Some leaders in my denomination are very committed to the ordination of gays and lesbians. They have tried to enlist my support, thinking that my concerns are related to membership and financial decline and assuring me that things would eventually settle down as they did with the women’s issue. These people do not understand or acknowledge my reasons for opposing homosexual ordination.
In some ways, the easiest thing for me—and those who stand with me—would be to walk away from our denomination. But we’re not called to schism. We believe that truth is on our side, and that we’re called to be loving and caring stewards of the resources of Jesus Christ and of those who have gone before. We are also called to love all people, regardless of their sin.
By Randy Frame.
