"OMG" Signs on Churches Sparks Discussion/Protests - Gay Is Not Okay

Signs on Churches Sparks Discussion?  

  DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- About 100 people gathered outside a Des Moines church on Sunday to protest because of the minister's planned sermon on homosexuality.   The protesters became upset with the Rev. Michael Demastus' message after he advertised the sermon with a message stating "Gay is not okay" on the marquee outside Fort Des Moines Church of Christ.
   Demastus says his message is about the sin of homosexuality but wasn't intended to condemn gay people.
   Demastus altered the message on the church sign after it was criticized.

The Rev Howard Langmead in front of the 'OMG' sign at St Paul's Anglican Church, Caulfield. PIC: SARAH MATRAY

IT TOOK only three letters for a church to become the talking point of the neighbourhood.

The ‘OMG’ (‘Oh My God’) sign on St Paul’s Anglican Church in Dandenong Rd, Caulfield North, has become the subject of photos, laughter and an internet frenzy.

>> Have you seen a funny church sign? Tell us where below.

The Rev Howard Langmead said the sign was put there to “catch attention and be unexpected”.

“People have been stopping to photograph it.

“A school bus went past and all the kids had their phones out clicking,” Mr Langmead said.

“People forget what they are actually saying when they say ‘OMG’.

“We’re reclaiming ‘oh my God’ for the church.”

After a post on Twitter, the church received phone calls of support from interstate.

Mr Langmead said the church’s signs, which include two large billboards, had encouraged people to visit.

Another billboard at St Clement’s Anglican Church in Brighton Rd, Elsternwick, is read by tens of thousands of motorists every day.

Its festive-season message, which is about to be replaced, says “Christmas starts with Christ”.

The Rev Rowan Fairbairn said people were worried that the church was changing the sign and were concerned it would be removed completely.

“People anticipate what’s next.

“We have a few ideas in the pipeline, some quirky ideas from some quirky brains,” he said.

“It’s really just a way for people who are sitting in their cars, staring ahead, to stop and reflect.”

>> Have you seen a funny church sign? Tell us where below.

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Funny? OMG has nothing on Fort Des Moines Church of Christ Pastor

Church's 'Gay Is Not Okay' Sign Sparks Controversy

Sunday February 12th, 2012

A protest is being planned Sunday outside a church where a sign reading "Gay Is Not Okay" appeared this week in Des Moines.“

"Demastus said his message has been misinterpreted."

"I wish more pastors did the same thing,” Shanks said."

Des Moines pastor says message about homosexuality on church marquee was misinterpreted

Church's 'Gay Is Not Okay' Sign Sparks Controversy

The Rev. Michael Demastus has found himself in the public eye again.

The senior pastor at the Fort Des Moines Church of Christ set off a social media firestorm this week after he posted “Gay is not okay” on his church’s marquee.

The message was meant to preview Demastus’ Sunday sermon on homosexuality. It did that and more. Protesters — and police — will be at the south-side church on Sunday.

And instead of fine-tuning his sermon, Demastus spent Friday answering telephone messages as well as questions from a reporter and radio talk-show hosts.

“I don’t desire any of this,” said Demastus, 41, pastor at the church for 14 years.

This isn’t the first time Demastus has garnered public attention for his statements. Last year, he was invited to pray before the Legislature, during which he asked for God’s forgiveness for abortion and asked lawmakers to honor the institution of marriage.

This week, a passer-by took a photo of the marquee and posted it on Facebook. Someone else created a Facebook page denouncing the message. And then the protest was planned.

Demastus’ outspokenness is a quality that church member Nathan Shanks said he likes in his pastor. He likes the fact that Demastus will stand up for the things he believes in.

“I wish more pastors did the same thing,” Shanks said.

Demastus said his message has been misinterpreted. His goal is not to condemn homosexuals, he said. What he seeks to condemn is the act of homosexuality.

“It’s not a sin to be tempted, by the way, with homosexuality; it is a sin to act out on that,” he said.

Demastus said people are trying to paint him as someone like Fred Phelps, the controversial pastor from Kansas. But Demastus disputes that image.

Shanks said the picture people are painting of Demastus as someone who preaches hate just isn’t true.

“There’s nobody Mike hates,” he said.

Nikki Payne has a different view of Demastus. Payne met Demastus in 2007, after her sister committed suicide. Payne said her sister struggled with depression and had recently started using a new medication. She also had recently broken up with a longtime girlfriend, Payne said. All of those things most likely contributed to the suicide, she said.

Demastus officiated at the funeral, Payne said, because her family didn’t belong to a church. The funeral home found Demastus for the family.

“He actually was really good,” Payne said.

Payne said she was so impressed that she decided to do some research about Demastus online. That’s when she stumbled upon his blog.

One post dealt with a young woman who had taken her own life. The names had been changed, but Payne said it was clear to her that Demastus was writing about her sister.

In the post, Demastus wrote that the woman’s lesbian lifestyle and the absence of her father were factors in her suicide.

Neither was true, Payne said. Their father had raised the sisters alone. Also, “she didn’t have any issues with her sexuality. She was fine with it,” Payne said.

Demastus did not dispute that he wrote the blog post, which he later took down. He admitted that the post dealt with the issue of homosexuality, but he denied having painted it as a contributing factor in Payne’s sister’s death. Neither, he said, did he portray the sisters’ father in the way that Payne claimed.

Demastus never apologized to the family for the blog post, Payne said. But Demastus said he felt bad that he had further hurt a family suffering through the loss of a loved one.

“I did everything in my power to make that right,” he said.

He said he sent the family a letter and returned the honorarium.

As for Demastus popping up in the public eye again, Payne said she wasn’t surprised he had stirred up controversy.

She said she would attend the protest, but she urged those attending to keep it peaceful.

As for Demastus, he said police would be on hand Sunday to make sure anyone trying to cause a disruption will be kept out or escorted out of the church. Those who don’t plan to cause a disruption, are not carrying signs and are “dressed respectfully” will be allowed inside the building, Demastus said.

“They’re welcome and I totally embrace that with open arms,” he said.

Megan Dodge, 17, of Des Moines waves a flag for motorists to see. Demonstrators stand in support of gay rights in response to a church marquee at Fort Des Moines Church of Christ which read "Gay is not okay."

Purchase ImageZOOM

Demonstrators stand Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012, in support of gay rights in response to a church marquee at Fort Des Moines Church of Christ which read "Gay is not okay." / Mary Chind/The Register

Church's 'Gay Is Not Okay' Sign Sparks Controversy

In wake of flap over "Gay is not okay" marquee, protesters demonstrate while pastor delivers sermon

About 100 protesters are headed home, as are churchgoers, after a Sunday morning sermon about homosexuality at the Fort Des Moines Church of Christ.

The group gathered at the Army Post Road site to protest an incident last week regarding a sign outside the church that said "Gay is not okay."

Most protesters stayed on public sidewalks, though some stood on a church lawn while talking with each other before the protest, and later moved.

The sermon

Inside the church, senior pastor the Rev. Michael Demastus served up an icebreaker at the beginning of the service that earned a few chuckles.

“Welcome to any other Sunday at Fort Des Moines Church of Christ,” he said.

But the pastor quickly acknowledged that wasn’t quite the case by warning anyone who protested during the worship service itself they would be escorted out of the building and possibly arrested.

No such protest took place during the hour-long service despite a handful of protesters being present for at least part of the service. Those who entered the church on Sunday were asked if they were either a protester or belonged to Westboro Baptist Church, which is known nationwide for its vitriolic demonstrations against homosexuality.

Demastus opened up his sermon by saying that Westboro’s tactics are not Christian in spirit and that the sin of homosexuality should not be singled out as unique or somehow unlike the sins of adultery and sex outside of marriage.

“It is not an unpardonable sin,” Demastus said.

But a sin it is nonetheless, he continued, asking his audience of about 150 people if any “God-fearing” person can be gay.

“Absolutely not,” he said. “You cannot be God-fearing and disobey God at the same time.”

For those who believe homosexuals are born that way, Demastus asked why the same approach to biology isn’t used to endorse alcoholism – which some also say can have a genetic component.

He also crafted an analogy around the purchase of an iPad and the instructions for how to use it. If people don’t follow those instructions, he said, they won’t be happy with the results.

“They wrote those instructions for my benefit,” Demastus said. “God created sex. He knows how it works.”

The protest

Patrick Boltinghouse, 28, of Des Moines, took the picture of the marquee that was posted last week on Facebook. He said within an hour there were 100 responses.

Outside the church this morning, Boltinghouse said he didn’t organize the protest. He said he wanted to come out and make sure a peaceful voice was heard.

“For someone to say ‘Gay is not OK’ is pushing kids more in the closet,” he said. “We’re in the 21st Century. You’d think that gays could be part of humanity.”

At around 10 a.m., radio talk show host Ed Fallon, a former state representative and outspoken Des Moines liberal, approached the church and asked to speak to the pastor.

Fallon said he wanted to invite Demastus onto his show, Fallon Forum 98.3 FM, but he’s not confident it will happen.

“I believe messages of hate need to be challenged,” he said.

Fallon asked church members at the door if he could come in to the building.

When asked if he was planning on protesting or worshipping, Fallon said neither.

Fallon was declined his request.

The marquee

Last week, Demastus, 41, set off an uproar on social media by posting "Gay is not okay" on his church's marquee Wednesday morning.

He altered the message (changing “Gay” to “Adultery”) about 12 hours later, but criticism endorsed by hundreds of people on Facebook created a more lasting controversy. Planning for the protest took form Thursday, as Demastus was interviewed by newspapers, television stations and radio hosts.

He said the message was meant to preview his sermon on homosexuality and was not a condemnation of gays.

"It's not a sin to be tempted, by the way, with homosexuality; it is a sin to act out on that," he said.

Demastus has been the subject of controversy before, including after a prayer at the Iowa Legislature last year in which he asked for God’s forgiveness for abortions.

More detail will be posted as soon as it becomes available.

http://screen.yahoo.com/church-s-gay-is-not-okay-sign-sparks-controversy-28255721.html  [Video]

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(Alrightythen....)  "OMFG... DON'T LET WORRIES KILL YOU LET THE CHURCH HELP"