A few weekends ago The Marin Foundation held our first Weekend Modular Track #2 Classes for the straight religious community. What a blessed opportunity it was to be able to impart knowledge, experiences and skills to others in the Christian community who have a heart in building bridges within the GLBT community; all set in an intimate, weekend intensive environment. Yet that opportunity does not only bring us at The Marin Foundation joy and excitement in seeing others’ passion and inquisitiveness towards this difficult subject, it also brings along a seriousness that is instilled in our spirits by way of holding us accountable in everything we not only teach, but also live out. Each point that is taught, questioned or thought about in class is another point in time that The Marin Foundation is held responsible for what the Lord has entrusted us to live out, and then in turn, give to others.

Looking back on the existence of The Marin Foundation’s two tracks, it seems as though when each wave of classes end I tend to always enter into a time of internal and eternal reflection. Internally, no matter what the size of the group, how many questions were asked, or how I felt leading the discussions, I always wonder if giving my all was actually good enough? Within that set, I always then drift off into a broader eternal context of reflection. I never know what the impact of the classes will be; will the people be able to turn around and integrate themselves as a bridge builder? Is there someone out there who is in the GLBT community, whom I may never know or meet, which was eternally impacted by someone through The Marin Foundation? These questions are the questions that I take very seriously, and without truly ever knowing the answers, I can only be faithful and believe in what I feel I have been put here on this earth to do.

I was told one time by a colleague of mine who is an experienced preacher that after he preaches a message, he feels convicted through the responsibility he has as a leader toward his congregation, and the responsibility he has as a servant to be obedient toward the Lord as well. I started to recently think about that preacher and what he said to me as I examined my own feelings regarding the past weekend. Throughout this time, the only thing that kept running through my head was the concept of one’s legacy. Legacy…what a fitting concept, as the day that I am penning this newsletter is Valentine’s Day. For most people, Valentine’s Day brings on a time of reflection; one of love and life; past, present and future. I do not know if the concept of legacy is innate to all of us as humans, but for the most part I do know that everyone wants to know that their purpose and ultimately their legacy here on earth is not an invalid one, but rather a life lived that had made some impact; somehow, somewhere.

One of the sections in our curriculum speaks to the concept of legacy, yet I never really thought that the concept of legacy could have ever had such a profound impact until a good friend of mine in the GLBT community brought up an insightful point during a discussion in front of a large group of people. He said very slowly, and very clear, that I want to know that I will have a legacy after my time here is over. The more I began to think about that statement, the more I realized that I had always associated one’s legacy as being an inherent part of life. I realized at that moment that legacy is not something given to us as a human right, but it is rather a choice on our part to go and make our own legacy. Immediately I began to think about another friend of mine in the GLBT community. The principled theory surrounding his life I call the Christopher Rule.

This friend ‘came out’ at a young age and was promptly kicked out of his house, church and community. He moved to Chicago and began a new life as a gay man. He built himself a nice life apart from God; nice job, nice condo, nice car and a loving partner. When I met this man he was advanced in his years, and I had the blessed opportunity to see him come to know and love Christ Jesus. What I did not know was that behind the scenes he and his partner had adopted a multitude of sick, underprivileged and disadvantaged children from various foreign countries over the years. They would bring these children back to America and gave them a life and an opportunity to succeed in our country, away from the slums and poverty they once lived in. The main point to this story is that each one of this man’s kids are straight, all grown up, have families of their own, and are all now currently saved and go to church because their gay dad first believed in Jesus. This my friends is the Christopher Rule, and the great debate that always follows: is this gay man’s eternal legacy based solely on his sexual orientation, or is this man’s eternal legacy directly correlated through what he eternally did for his family, and his family’s family for generations to come? Please think about this the next time any of you meet someone who is in the GLBT community…are you just talking to someone who is gay, or are you talking to someone who has the ability to eternally influence many others?

Thank you and God Bless,

Andrew Marin