Anti-Gay preacher Tom Brock “outed” but was it journalistically ethical?

A Minneapolis preacher Tom Brock railed against homosexuality in his sermons. He was attending a 12 step program that helps people deal with same sex attraction.  His involvement in the program was revealed by a local gay magazine.  The pastor was on leave from his church, Hope Lutheran. Lavender Magazine sent a reporter to sign up to be a part of the group, and monitor Brock’s involvement. They did not reveal anything Brock said during the sessions. When the story broke many in the gay and lesbian community applauded the outing of a hypocrite, but many are questioning the ethics of the reporting. “Many Lavender Web site commentators applauded the story. But among the critics was an unidentified advertiser who wrote she would pull her ads, because “12 step programs, regardless of what is at issue or who attends, are sacred.” National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association board member Michael R. Triplett blogged that the ethics of the reporting were “suspect.” Stephen Rocheford, the president of Lavender said it is not the policy of the magazine to out anyone. However there is one exception according to Rocheford and that is if a “public figure who makes public pronouncements against the gay community and is in fact a homosexual,” he said, noting that this was the only time he had invoked that exception.” Rocheford does not recognize Courage as a legitimate 12-step program. Rocheford said, “I don’t consider it a legitimate 12-step group. Those are there to help people with addictions and since when is homosexuality an addiction?” Is this real investigative journalism or is this a violation of privacy? Tell me what you think?

*New York Times

Preachers Can’t Say Vote for Obama, but They Can Say This

This is a historic time in our nation’s history. We will have an opportunity on November 4th to vote for a black man for president, but preachers can not tell their parishioners who to vote for in this election.  A friend of mine told me a joke her preacher shared with the members yesterday.

JOKE: This couple owned a parrot and every morning when the wife would come down the stairs the parrot would say “you are ugly.” She told her husband that he needed to talk to the parrot. So the husband told the parrot to stop saying it. The next day the wife came down and the parrot called her ugly again.  the husband told the parrot to knock it off or he was going to get rid of him. The next day the woman came down and looked at the parrot and the parrot looked at the wife and said “you know.”

So all the preacher needs to say is “you know.”

Barack Obama Finally Leaves His Church

Today Barack Obama did what some think he should have done a long time ago. He sent his church Trinity United a letter stating that he and his family were leaving the church. In light of the remarks made by his former pastor Rev. Wright and the most recent remarks made by Father Pfleger he had no choice. When I heard the statements this spring made by Rev. Wright I found them disturbing but I did not think the short snippets represented the totality of the ministry. In some ways I felt sorry for Rev. Wright because I knew that his church has done a lot of good for that neighborhood and I felt the media attack was unfair, but when Rev. Wright reappeared before the National Press Cub I had to take a more critical look at Rev. Wright.  He came across as very aggressive, flippant and almost arrogant as he performed on the national stage. This latest tirade by Rev. Pfleger was the straw that broke the camel’s back. It seems almost as if Trinity has turned it’s pulpit into a stage for political extremism. In looking at the priest on this past Sunday it leaves the viewer to ask “What would Jesus Do”? It was time for Sen. Obama to cut his ties with the church. Hopefully the hijinx at Trinity will no longer be a distraction this election season. This can only happen if the press stops giving Trinity United center stage.

Preachers Need to Stay Out of Politics and in the Pulpit

Campaign 2008 has shown us that mixing preachers and politics can be a lethal combination. We have seen the media tear two preachers to pieces. What both Jeremiah Wright and John Hagee said to their congregations was indefensible. In some cases their words were downright ridiculous.  After being tried and convicted by the American people both preachers have made similar statements. The media have played selected clips and each minister has been defined by their most outrageous statements. The good things they have both done for their communities are merely footnotes. In Rev. Wright’s case his statements have been and will be used against Sen. Obama for the duration of this campaign. The two ministers arrived in the spotlight two different ways. Rev. Wright was pulled out by the media. Rev. Hagee was invited into the spotlight by the candidate. Rev. Hagee represented the gateway to the white evangelical voters, but after his most outrageous statements started appearing on mainstream media McCain had to cut him loose.  In this political season the preachers have done more harm than good and they probably need to deliver their messages only to their members.