California Church Sponsors Billboard in N.C. Apologizing for Gay Marriage Ban
- Religion Today
- Published Jun 05, 2012
![California Church Sponsors Billboard in N.C. Apologizing for Gay Marriage Ban](https://i.swncdn.com/media/700w/crosswalk/resource/areas/crosswalk/resources/images/defaultimages/article-large-landscape.png)
A San Diego, Calif., church led by a gay pastor has sponsored a billboard in North Carolina apologizing to gay residents about the state's recent constitutional ban on gay marriage, the Christian Post reports. The billboard, erected on Billy Graham Parkway in Charlotte, N.C., reads, "Missiongathering Christian Church is sorry for the narrow-minded, judgmental, deceptive, manipulative actions of those who denied rights & equality to so many in the name of God." Missiongathering also said it might consider buying more billboards in other states where gay marriage bans have been proposed. "We feel it is ... important that we love the unloved and defend the discriminated," Missiongathering said on its Facebook page. "If, in the process, we ruffle the feathers of fellow Christians, perhaps that is an okay price to pay. Perhaps those feathers need a little ruffling." However, many Christian leaders maintain that Christians should love homosexuals without compromising the biblical stance that homosexuality is a sin. "There is a saying in the South that 'we just love people to death,'" said Dan Wilson of Harvest USA. "But as Christians, we need to love them to life instead of loving them to death. Most people, including pastors and church leaders, are afraid to talk to some about their sin. ... We simply need to all agree that we're all sinners and that the reason Jesus died on the cross is for our sins."