For me, the valuable take-aways from the Salvation Army situation are:

1. Be completely honest with the public.
2. Avoid taking polarizing positions that are not part of the organization’s core mission.
3. Recognize that donors have freedom of choice.
4. Recognize that donors will give to organizations whose mission AND values they can support.

The interview seems to have led to the widespread view that the passage Romans 1:18-32 says that “gays should be put to death.” It is lamentable that the Major did not correct that view and, I think, Michael, that you are right in saying he was woefully unprepared for the interview, and bungled it badly. The contentious phrase in the passage is “deserve death,” and it comes some way after the reference to homosexual acts, which itself is not the main point of the passage. The phrase needs to be understood in the context of the rest of the book of Romans – later in ch 3 v 23 it states “ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” and again in 6:23 it says “The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.”

Now, I’m not here to preach and say this is what you should believe — however, I hope that it clarifies the intended meaning of the passage — that we are ALL spiritually dead sinners, who have the offer of life in Christ. The passage is part of a much larger argument for hope, in the first eight chapters of Romans, not for condemnation.

There of course remains the issue of whether it is saying that all homosexual activity is “a sin.” I once considered this to be true, but have re-evaluated my position on this as a result of evidence — meeting many gay people whom I am pleased to call my friends and whom I accept, and reading what gay and “straight” accepting Christians have said about the relevant passages.

It would take too long in a post to go over the relevant passages, but it is my opinion having studied them all carefully in their textual and cultural context, that the Bible is actually silent on the issue of homosexual orientation — that the acts described are not those corresponding to a loving commitment between two people of the same gender. The passage in Romans appears to relate to people who were by nature heterosexual, but who abandoned them in favour of homosexual acts. I am convinced that many people are homosexual by nature, and for them it is not a case of “abandoning natural desires.”

I am sure the Salvation Army would disagree with me on this, and would state that homosexuality is sinful. However, I do not consider it so.

Perhaps the best response to this issue with the Salvation Army (which is well known for its active planned giving program) is that all the “spritually dead” that have included the Salvation Army in their estates take a truly living action and change their wills, trusts, and pod designations to support another organization.

Just my personal opinion but if you have to make excuses for what you believe, nonprofit or otherwise, you might want to re-evaluate who you are in society.

This is one of the very important lessons of this story: Donors have choices. In this case, it’s not about helping those in need or not. It’s about helping those in need through The Salvation Army OR some other, more liberal, social service organization.

You mentioned that The Salavation Army has helped gay people. Unfortunately, there are also stories about how the organization has not helped or has otherwise discriminated against gay people. That’s what has inspired the boycott movements in Australia and the USA. Again, donors have choices as they seek to help those in need.