Wednesday, July 30, 2003

7:48 PM President Bush gave a wise and compassionate answer to a question about “gay marriage” at his press conference today:

Q Thank you, sir. Mr. President, many of your supporters believe that homosexuality is immoral. They believe that it’s been given too much acceptance in policy terms and culturally. As someone who’s spoken out in strongly moral terms, what’s your view on homosexuality?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, I am mindful that we’re all sinners, and I caution those who may try to take the speck out of their neighbor’s eye when they got a log in their own. I think it’s very important for our society to respect each individual, to welcome those with good hearts, to be a welcoming country. On the other hand, that does not mean that somebody like me needs to compromise on an issue such as marriage. And that’s really where the issue is heading here in Washington, and that is the definition of marriage. I believe in the sanctity of marriage. I believe a marriage is between a man and a woman. And I think we ought to codify that one way or the other. And we’ve got lawyers looking at the best way to do that.

7:45 PM Early this AM I was at Moody Broadcasting taping five devotionals to be aired on the Mark Elfstrand morning show in a few weeks and also on the network stations around the country. Then I was in Carol Stream for a meeting at Christianity Today to discuss a proposed “Christian think tank” in the areas of theology, leadership and media. It’s an exciting concept that will bring together resources to help the church engage the culture on crucial moral and spiritual issues. Late this afternoon I rode my bike and finally crossed the 2000-mile mark for the year. Current mileage: 2005. 6:32 PM Several months ago Christianbook.com interviewed me about about my book, “The God You Can Trust.” That interview has just been posted here.

Here’s the Legacy Campaign prayer request for today: “Pray for the power of the gospel to transform lives—from Oak Park to the ends of the earth.” The long-awaited renovation project at church has finally started. The west parking lot is now a construction zone, the portico has been dismantled, the Resource Center is being dismantled, the gym area is closed for construction, and we have to wear hard hats when we move around in the building. Everywhere you turn, you run into construction workers carrying equipment. As you would expect, there is a bit of dust and noise. It’s actually very exciting to see the work progress. God willing, the project will be finished by early November.