People need to seriously relax. The Duck Dynasty thing on all fronts is absurd. I’ve seen & heard few reasoned responses to this. Here are the key thoughts:

1) The comments that are creating the storm are woefully taken out of context. People are zeroing in on one part and ignoring the rest. Given who Phil is, his response to the question is consistent. That people are shocked is what is shocking. This can’t be stated enough: Phil consider’s himself a deviant because of his lifestyle prior to meeting Jesus. A&E’s response to this just polarizes the issue father. Expecting someone to be what they’re not is crazy. This whole thing shouldn’t be a crisis at all.

2) There hasn’t been a reasoned and/or civil discussion on the LGBT issue. Many states had the issue forced upon them by a court overturning a democratic vote. This is highly problematic and creates polarization rather than a calm and civil response. The LGBT could learn much from MLK, Ghandi and Jesus. Christians and other opponents playing on rigorous defense could also do the same. In polarization there is little listening and no peacemaking. How the story with Chickfil-A ended is a model BOTH sides need to move towards.

3) Ad hominem attacks are in poor taste. automatically labeling those who disagree with LGBT as anti-gay, homophobic, haters and/or ignorant doesn’t help their cause. Calling someone a hater when they’re not will destroy your credibility in the long run. You may vehemently disagree with another’s position, but doing what you can to silence and denigrate them will also lose you credibility in the long run. This also holds true for Christians who label LGBT community as anti-God with a one way ticket to hell. Bible makes clear all have sinned, it’s a matter of what sin, not if.

4)  The need for biblical clarity is huge, especially in peacemaking. The Bible describes all sex acts outside of a heterosexual marriage as sin. There are some who try gimmicks to work around that, but the Bible is clear on the matter. The biggest frustration I see in this crisis is many professing Christians who are really clueless on handling the Bible and communicate it in ways that unbiblical.

5) I can’t say this enough: boycotts are really lame. Be a peacemaker, stop adding to the conflict. Also, intolerance doesn’t solve intolerance. Hate doesn’t solve hate.

6) Stop shouting and start listening. GLAAD’s response to the situation and the response to those supporting Phil are both part of the problem. Could Phil’s answer be more gracious? Yes. Could GLAAD’s response been more gracious? Yes. Could people’s response today be more gracious? Yes.

7) The first amendment is an issue. I’ve heard a few times that “It’s ok for him to hold and discuss such views in private but it has no place in the public square.” That sentiment is expressly against the first amendment. I disagree with gay-marriage, but I’d fight tooth and nail for their right to discuss their belief in the public square. The reverse should also be true.

Let both sides of this issue take the harder road of listening and peacemaking. It’s easy to shout at one another. But, in the end we all lose. Let’s call this for what it is, as a society we all dropped the ball and could do better. Rather than fire Phil, have him sit down with those in the LGBT community and listen to each other and both learn from each other. We may disagree strongly, but we can still love, serve and live together as one community.