We don’t mow around a denial of biblical truth. The doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture means that we are not to call something a sin which the Bible doesn’t. Nor are we required to do something unless the Scripture requires this of us. That gives us the freedom to mow around stumps when it comes to personalities, preferences, and disputable matters. But it doesn’t give us the freedom to not take a biblical stance when the Bible is clear.

I read a helpful illustration somewhere about the nature of pastoral ministry. The illustration likened ministry to mowing around a troublesome stump in your yard. Ultimately things would be easier if the stump were removed and you could just mow a straight path. But uprooting the thing might cause more trouble than it’s worth and so you just learn to mow around the stump. People and preferences are like this. There are hills to die on and there are stumps to mow around.

I thought of this illustration when I read a recent interview with Lauren Daigle on the topic of homosexuality. She was asked whether or not she felt that homosexuality is a sin? Here is her response:

You know, I can’t honestly answer on that, in the sense of I have too many people that I love—that they are homosexuals…“I don’t know. I actually had a conversation with someone last night about it. I can’t say one way or the other. I’m not God,” she continued. “So, when people ask questions like that, that’s what my go to is. Like, I just say, ‘Read the Bible and find out for yourself. And when you find out, let me know because I’m learning too.’

Now, I’m not Lauren Daigle so I don’t her motivations. I’ll admit that I’m reading between the lines a bit and trying to fill in some gaps. It’s possible that Lauren Daigle truly doesn’t fully know her own stance on homosexuality. Or it’s possible that she does have a position but she is uncomfortable with the implications of that position. In other words she knows that if she affirms homosexuality she’ll lose a swath of her Christian audience, but she’ll also lose followers if she is unequivocal in saying that homosexuality is a sin.

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