Ken Hutcherson, pastor of Antioch Bible Church in Redmond, Washington, has a message for politicians, especially those who support homosexual marriage: “Don’t mess with God’s people unless you want your office window view changed.”
Hutcherson hopes that a million Christians will join him on October 15 in Washington, D.C., during the “Mayday for Marriage” rally on the National Mall.
“You have awakened the sleeping giant, the church, and we are going to show you the power of what the church can do together,” Hutcherson said.
“Mayday for Marriage” is based on an earlier rally Hutcherson hastily organized at Seattle’s Safeco Field on May 1. That rally drew about 20,000 people and featured James Dobson of Focus on the Family and Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council. Hutcherson said the idea was to put out “an emergency call to say we are in danger here and all available Christians are to answer this call.”
Christian groups are responding. Among the supporters of the October “Mayday for Marriage” rally are the Family Research Council, Focus on the Family, Promise Keepers, Hank Hanegraaff, Luis and Kevin Palau, and Anne Graham Lotz. A list of supporters and news about the rally can be found at www.maydayformarriage.com.
Also planning to attend are representatives of Exodus International, a ministry that encourages people to come out of the homosexual lifestyle. “It is my prayer that our participation in this rally will not only communicate that change is possible to a questioning world,” said Randy Thomas of Exodus, “but that it will also communicate how deeply in love with the homosexual God truly is.”
Organizers hope the D.C. rally will spark a grassroots voter registration effort (although such efforts will be too late in many states to influence the November 2 general election). Hutcherson, a former professional football player and an African American, is not shy about taking controversial stands. In 2001 and 2002, he drew fire for a set of billboards protesting race-based fees for adoption. The billboards showed pictures of babies, each with a different price: $30,000 for a white infant, $10,000 for a Latino infant, and $4,000 for an African American infant. Hutcherson’s 3,500-member multiracial church runs an adoption agency that charges adoptive parents no fees.
Hutcherson argues that same-sex marriage is not a civil rights issue and that Christians need to “come out of the closet” and support traditional marriage. He and other “Mayday for Marriage” organizers see same-sex marriage as a key social issue. At Safeco Field, Dobson said that if same-sex marriage becomes legal across the United States, “the culture war is over and everything associated with it is lost.”
Hutcherson expanded on Dobson’s point. “When we talk about losing this battle, it isn’t just about the same-sex marriage issue,” he said. “We are talking about losing the identity of the church and ability of Christian morals to be a tremendous influence in society. If we lose this, we are going down a very fast, slippery slope.”
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Christianity Today‘s past coverage of the gay marriage debate includes:
Gay Marriage Roadblocks | California Supreme Court voids San Francisco unions as a federal judge says the Defense of Marriage Act is constitutional. (Sept. 01, 2004)
Banning Gay Marriage Is Not The Answer | Legal actions aren’t loving if they’re all we do, says the author of Loving Homosexuals as Jesus Would. (Sept. 01, 2004)
Thirteen Bad Arguments for Same-Sex Marriage | Why the rhetoric doesn’t stand up under scrutiny. (Aug. 26, 2004)
The Man Behind the Marriage Amendment | It’s just as well that Matt Daniels loves a good fight, because he has a big one on his hands. (Aug. 25, 2004)
A Crumbling Institution | How social revolutions cracked the pillars of marriage. (Aug. 24, 2004)
What God Hath Not Joined | Why marriage was designed for male and female. (Aug. 20, 2004)
The Next Sexual Revolution | By practicing what it preaches on marriage, the church could transform society. (Aug. 27, 2003)
My Two Dads? Not in Florida | U.S. Circuit Court upholds ban on gay adoption (March 11, 2004)
Speaking Out: Why Gay Marriage Would Be Harmful | Institutionalizing homosexual marriage would be bad for marriage, bad for children, and bad for society. (Feb. 19, 2004)
Let No Law Put Asunder | A constitutional amendment defending marriage is worth the effort. (Jan. 26, 2004)
Massachusetts Court Backs Gay Marriage | Christians say gay activists will overturn marriage laws (Dec. 10, 2003)
‘AMan and a Woman’ | Activists say the Federal Marriage Amendment will be the defining issue in the next election. (Nov. 24, 2003)
The Marriage Battle Begins | Profamily and gay activists agree: Texas decision sets significant precedent. (Aug. 11, 2003)
Canada Backs Gay Marriages | Conservatives say decision could put pressure on dissenting churches. (July 16, 2003)
Marriage in the Dock | Massachusetts case on gay marriage could set off chain reaction. (April 25, 2003)
Christian Conservatives Split on Federal Marriage Amendment | Law would protect marriage from courts, but legislatures could still extend marital benefits to same-sex unions. (July 20, 2002)
Defining Marriage | Conservatives advocate amendment to preserve traditional matrimony. (October 1, 2001)
No Balm in Denver | Episcopalians defer debate over same-sex blessings for another three years. (July 17, 2001)
Marriage Laws Embroil Legislatures | New Englanders push for domestic-partner benefits. (April 26, 2001)
Presbyterians Propose Ban on Same-Sex Ceremonies | Change to church constitution, which passes by only 17 votes, now goes to presbyteries. (July 5, 2001)
Sticking With the Status Quo | United Methodists reject gay marriage, ordination. (May 15, 2000)
Presbyterians Vote Down Ban on Same-Sex Unions | Opponents say vague wording led to defeat. (March 29, 2001)
States Consider Laws on Same-Sex Unions California to vote on ‘limit on marriage’ in March (Jan. 10, 1999)
Presbyterians Support Same-Sex Unions (Dec. 10, 1999)
Pastor Suspended in Test of Same-Sex Marriage Ban (Apr. 26, 1999)
Same-Sex Rites Cause Campus Stir (Aug. 11, 1997)
State Lawmakers Scramble to Ban Same-Sex Marriages (Feb. 3, 1997)
Clinton Signs Law Backing Heterosexual Marriage (Oct. 28, 1996)
