Leader of Saddleback Church Isn’t Sure If ‘Married’ Gay Folk Who Get Saved Should Divorce
You cannot put asunder what God has not joined together
In a newly unearthed clip, Andy Wood, the new pastor of the 25,000-member, 14-campus Saddleback Church that recently raised eyebrows after ordaining several women’ pastors’ and having a “Blacks Only Worship Service” where no white members were allowed in, so the “black fold” could have a “safe space” to “heal,” says some troubling things about homosexuality.
We discussed Saddleback Church a few days ago after revealing they have gay-affirming pastors on staff and that they promote and partner with the pro-LGBTQ+ ministry ‘Embracing the Journey” which seeks to counsel parents of children confused about their sexuality.
In the snippet, which is several years old, Wood says that he doesn’t know if a homosexual couple should divorce if one of them becomes saved, and later says he’d attend a gay wedding/ marriage and even get the couple a gift.
Q: I have gay friends who came to Jesus after they were married and adopted children. God hates divorce. How would you approach the situation?
Andy Wood: “I don’t know.”
Stacie Wood: “It’s really hard.”
Andy Wood: “I don’t know if there’s a black and white answer. And I think I would sit with them in it. And I would pray with them. And I would try to wrestle through that decision. And I think it’s such a life- it is such a massive, massive decision that I would probably say, ‘read the Bible, ask the Holy Spirit to lead you, and I will journey with you with it, in it.’
And as you journey through it with them, I would have an ongoing conversation to ask them how the Holy Spirit is leading and guiding them, I think is how it would handle it. Because I don’t, I don’t know.“
He continues:
Andy: “You know, Laurie and Jason, our friends are on the line. They were missionaries overseas, and they would see people come to faith who had in polygamous cultures, and they had five spouses. And so what do they do? Do they divorce four of the spouses and keep one of them? Or… I don’t, I don’t know.
So I think, read the bible, pray, ask the Holy Spirit to speak. That would be my encouragement, and then journey with them through it.”
Staci: “Yeah. I think that people that draw hard, strong lines, and it gets really difficult. It doesn’t take into account how complicated the individual situation can be. (Andy: “Yeah”) , it has to be navigated with nuance, and a lot of wisdom and grace.”
Andy: “Yeah. And I think that part of what the enemy does in our minds is that there are some situations that are black and white and there are some that are gray. And I think that the situations that are more black and white, call for a decision, and situations that are more gray call for more discernment, prayer and scripture, I mean, processing and talking through it.”
Reacting to the video, prominent scholar Robert Gagnon notes on Twitter: “The level of theological ignorance here is stunning. Do they honestly think that, had the incestuous man in 1 Cor 5 “married” his stepmother, Paul would have faced a conundrum about whether to insist on dissolution of this egregiously immoral union?”