Miss California Goes To Church

In the span of a week and a half Carrie Prejean has become the most sought after runner-up in recent memory.

Her stand for traditional marriage in response to Miss USA contest judge Perez Hilton’s question about the issue created a whirlwind. It was sparked by Hilton’s profane comments about Prejean on his video blog after the contest.

Prejean appeared Sunday at her home church, The Rock Church in San Diego, to lay out her story piece by piece with the guidance of Pastor Miles McPherson.

McPherson has a tale to tell in his own right, having overcome drug addiction during his time as a defensive back with the San Diego Chargers in the mid-’80s to accepting Christ and building a ministry that has grown into a 3,500-seat megachurch.

In the video of her appearance at The Rock, Prejean and McPherson recount a series of events they describe as God’s will having independently placed them both in New York last week as she embarked on a series on interviews repeating and defending her gay marriage stance.

McPherson was a proponent of Proposition 8, a ballot measure which overturned the right for same-sex couples to wed in California. The fate of Prop 8 is pending a decision by the California Supreme Court. McPherson said he was able to coach Prejean and help her articulate answers on the issue from his background.

There are unquestionably Christians on both sides of this issue. McPherson acknowledged that to congregants Sunday.

He and Prejean both thanked members of the gay community for their kind words toward them – even in disagreement on the issue – and in saying Hilton’s tirade is not an accurate reflection of the gay community as a whole.

We have also seen division here at Everyday Christian with our coverage of gay marriage in Iowa, where same-sex couples began applying for marriage licenses Monday.

Prejean’s appearance also started a tete-a-tete with the Miss California pageant, which denies her statement at the church that she was told to set aside her faith on the gay marriage issue.

That ability to take a stand for belief is the biggest thing to take out of Prejean’s appearance. Regardless of how you may feel about her, Hilton or gay marriage in general, her follow-through to give an answer she knew would likely cost her the title speaks to a conviction all too uncommon.

Poignantly for her situation, she and McPherson referenced 2 Timothy 3:12-13 – “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.”