Anti-Gay Bigots Crash Church Services

Somebody's going to have to explain this one to me.

A conservative Christian values group has been interrupting services at two central Ohio churches to protest their support for homosexuality.

Minutemen United vowed to attend services every Sunday.

The group started its crusade when First Baptist Church in Granville hosted "Love Makes a Family," a traveling exhibit by the Family Diversity Project showing photos of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender families.

The night the exhibit opened in July, members of Minutemen United stood outside and protested the exhibit and the church's open attitude toward homosexuality, said the Rev. Kathy Hurt, senior pastor at the Granville church.

Since then, the group has been visiting the church every Sunday, she said.

On one of the first Sundays, six people came to the church's 11 a.m. service and addressed the congregation during a time designated for prayer requests and comments.

Hurt said a man, who introduced himself as a minister from the New Beginnings Church in Warsaw, Ohio, started to give a sermon about how the church was acting against God's word by accepting homosexuals.

Members of Minutemen United also visited King Avenue United Methodist Church in Columbus that same morning, said the Rev. John Keeny.

"They rebuked me as a pastor for preaching that God's love is for everyone," Keeny said. Anti-gay activists crash worship services

This has got to put the church in a strange position, don't you think? They can't have bouncers to throw these idiots out, that wouldn't be very Christian of them, but at the same time, what are they supposed to do? Just let them disrupt their services?

Once again, it's not a matter of what somebody believes -- I don't agree with these guys but they have the right to think whatever it is they think, I wouldn't be writing about it here just to criticize them for their ideas. But they feel it is their place to barge into somebody else's church and tell them that their Christianity is wrong, and that's just obnoxious.

"At our church, we welcome all people," [Keeny] said. "We would welcome them in worship, too, but we expect hospitality and acceptance to be demonstrated by all who come to worship here."

Max Erwin Sr., an evangelist with the New Beginnings ministry and a member of Minutemen United, said he attended services at King Avenue and First Baptist churches.

"What I do is not about hate; it's everything to do with love," Erwin said. "Homosexuality is a sin."

He said he plans to concentrate his efforts on First Baptist Church. He will be outside the church building every Sunday, as long as it doesn't rain.

"There are people there who are truly hungry for the true word of God," Erwin said. "The word of God is the word of God. It is not subject to private interpretation."

And as if to prove his point, he continued:

"People point us out to be haters," he said. "Jesus loves the homosexual, but he doesn't love homosexuality. This is about holding each other accountable."

Of course Jesus never said he doesn't love homosexuality, this is pure "private interpretation.