The end point is good but the illustration to get there is rocky. I think he is just trying to justify being a Lady Gaga fan.
This is what I think. I think every Christ-following church should start talking to their youth groups, saying unambiguously: We want you to be a wall of protection for kids like Jamey. Seek out and protect--emotionally and socially--every weird, weak, nerdy, lonely, queer kid at your school. We don't care if they are a goth, or a druggy, or a queer. Doesn't matter. Protect these kids. Churches should train their youth groups to be angels of protection, teaching them to find these kids and say, "Hey, I love you. Jesus loves you. So no one's going to bully you. Not on my watch. Come sit with me at lunch." That's what I think. I think every Christ-following church should start Guardian Angel programs like this, teaching their kids to stick up for kids like Jamey. Not with violence. But with welcome and solidarity. Because it's hard to bully a group. So let's welcome these kids into a halo of protection and friendship.I couldn't agree more.
But I'm confused. In one paragraph, Richard writes that Gaga's group is so supportive. A few paragraphs before that, he states that one of the people who found comfort in Gaga's support network killed himself. Not a good example of the support network I want to encourage.
As a commenter after the post expressed, Gaga actually encourages remaining a monster rather than being redeemed and transformed. It's the "this is who I am and don't need to change" mentality. Or one could say they were born this way. We might like the beat and the feel of the music, but the message is not one that lifts people up and brings about freedom in Jesus. It gives an endorsement to remain in a state of sin.
To use the story that Richard uses, the support network of Gaga did not give enough support to Jamey. Do I wish the church would have been there to support him? Of course I do. And I bet it was. But many people don't want support or acceptance, they want approval and an endorsement of who they think they are rather than encouragement to become who God destined them to be. We were all born with a sinful nature, but we are each destined for something greater.
