AM~Erica's Open Post to OMM & JCP

So anyway...

I want to talk about JC Penney & the marketing changes the company has made recently. For quite some time, the company was a parallel to Kohl's in their overall set up. But now a brilliant change has been made all the way around. I applaud the changes.

There was another change up made, too - choosing Ellen DeGeneres as the spokesperson.

This is an exciting & genius choice. She is very recognizable, fun, wholesome, does so many good things, and has quite a reach to a wide array of people. She's big on honesty & kindness to others. So, this brings me to something that upsets me very much:

After the announcement of Ellen being the JC Penney spokesperson, One Million Moms (OMM) has gone on a rampage about this. This is supposed to be a group of Christian mothers trying to make the world a better place...but...they have really fallen off. They have become a group that make those of us who are Christian look really bad.

I have been following this group for quite some time because they were focusing on important things. In the last several months to a year, they have gotten so many things oh-so-wrong. And the media is letting them have a platform of hatred and bullying.

They were once a group that were trying to keep things cleaner & more family-friendly on our screens & advertising. Now they are urging people to take a stance against another of God's children. I find this so disheartening.

(Sorry, here comes a cliche')
I have several gay friends. (Yep, I went there.) Whether I agree with what they do or not, it doesn't change my friendship with them. I look at them as a person, not a sinner. We are ALL sinners. And by pointing out what is so "wrong" about ANYTHING someone else is doing, we are throwing verbal stones.

We are all human...and...we are all God's children. However, as humans, we have this bad habit of judging others when it is not our job. God has the last word on each of us.

There are groups out there who try to make their verbal stoning OK as a ministry. It's sad to see & think that they consider what they do "ministry". When their mission becomes hate done in God's name, where is this OK? The crusades were wrong. And it's sad to see these modern day crusaders trying to make a mark & making the rest of us Christians look bad. Somehow, society begins to lump us all together. The idea of "convert, or else" is awful. We need to live out our faith & convert through our own actions. People should want what we have in our hearts, not be made to feel like they are going to be forced into a faith like a hostage. That's not right.

I am going to circle back around now to let my thoughts on this situation be known. I am a Christian woman, a wife of a pastor, and I believe in true ministry. Even if she doesn't realize it, Ellen DeGeneres does good ministry. She is inspirational & makes those around her feel good. She inspires me. And I believe in her ministry in the world more than the so-called ministry of OMM.

People out there, OMM needs prayed for. Especially if they view their ministry as being OK. I see it, at this point, much like Westboro Baptist's ministry. It truly is verbal stone-throwing.

I also am happy to be a JC Penney customer & have been very pleased with ALL of their changes. I will continue to go there, as well as my family.

Ellen will speak to people as a whole. She is not going to go out & wave a big rainbow flag for JC Penney & tell people that to shop there & be gay. Does that sound ridiculous? Of course it does! She doesn't do it on her show. She doesn't do it just to do it. She talks about uplifting people. She has fun. She believes in the positive.

I love Ellen. I love JC Penney. I love this partnership. I watch Ellen everyday. I am a JC Penney customer. I can no longer stand behind the OMM movement. And I would like each of you to stop & ponder as to which set of actions has been more Christ-like.

Seems to me that it would be Ellen that is the epitome of The Golden Rule.

Keep it up, JC Penney! Keep doing what you do, Ellen!

And I am going to close this post with the way Ellen closes her show daily:

"Be kind to one another."

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica