“Don't take your moral cues from animals.â€
Never a truer word than this, spoken by Christopher Yuan in a video I was watching last week, which explored yet another one of the reasons given by some Christians for the acceptance of homosexual behaviour as being from God. (Video now available on our resources page)
I was honestly surprised that he felt the need to make this video, as I have not heard this one particular argument much before. However, to my surprise, at a speaking engagement this weekend where I was talking about how to make our churches spacious places for people to explore faith, one of the leaders of a gay affirming church in Blackpool, stood up and challenged what I was saying. You guessed it, she tried to argue that because animals exhibit homosexual behaviour it must be a God-given and natural behaviour for us as humans.
I love how Christopher Yuan responds to this, so will not try and reinvent the wheel, have a look at the video. But what I do want to remind you of is the fact that there is so much deceit in the world, and people are looking for the answers they want to hear. Most often they will hear what their community tells them and work with it. If members of the LGBTQ+ community find a church that publicise itself as gay affirming, of course they are going to be surrounded by those who will tell them, “what their itching ears want to hear.†(2 Timothy 4:3).
Our huge challenge is to make our churches attractive and welcoming places where people are shown love and acceptance, but where they won't be deceived. We need to make our churches gay friendly and welcoming, but not gay affirming.
Of course, this is difficult but not impossible and I could share many testimonies of people who found churches where they were given space to hear from God for themselves. Let's not worry about how we help someone from the LGBTQ+ community to find their way to Jesus. All we need to do is to make sure that they find a loving community who will speak truthfully in love to them, trusting that the Holy Spirit does the work of conviction.
Check out our teaching resources on how to make your church a Spacious Place.
Never a truer word than this, spoken by Christopher Yuan in a video I was watching last week, which explored yet another one of the reasons given by some Christians for the acceptance of homosexual behaviour as being from God. (Video now available on our resources page)
I was honestly surprised that he felt the need to make this video, as I have not heard this one particular argument much before. However, to my surprise, at a speaking engagement this weekend where I was talking about how to make our churches spacious places for people to explore faith, one of the leaders of a gay affirming church in Blackpool, stood up and challenged what I was saying. You guessed it, she tried to argue that because animals exhibit homosexual behaviour it must be a God-given and natural behaviour for us as humans.
I love how Christopher Yuan responds to this, so will not try and reinvent the wheel, have a look at the video. But what I do want to remind you of is the fact that there is so much deceit in the world, and people are looking for the answers they want to hear. Most often they will hear what their community tells them and work with it. If members of the LGBTQ+ community find a church that publicise itself as gay affirming, of course they are going to be surrounded by those who will tell them, “what their itching ears want to hear.†(2 Timothy 4:3).
Our huge challenge is to make our churches attractive and welcoming places where people are shown love and acceptance, but where they won't be deceived. We need to make our churches gay friendly and welcoming, but not gay affirming.
Of course, this is difficult but not impossible and I could share many testimonies of people who found churches where they were given space to hear from God for themselves. Let's not worry about how we help someone from the LGBTQ+ community to find their way to Jesus. All we need to do is to make sure that they find a loving community who will speak truthfully in love to them, trusting that the Holy Spirit does the work of conviction.
Check out our teaching resources on how to make your church a Spacious Place.
Recent
Archive
2024
February
September
2023
January
February
March
August
September
November
2022
September
October
November
Categories
Tags
1 Corinthians 6
24 hours of prayer
Baptism
Bible teaching
Christian art
Christian
Church
CofE
Daniel 4
Emily Sargent
Fitting in
Highest authority
Jesus is the way
John 8
LGBTQ+
LGBT
Leicester
New Creation
Progress Pride Flag
Pure Joy
Rev12 Project
SSA Christians
SSA Christian
SSA teenagers
SSA
TBGL
The Times
abbas heart
accountability
affirming church
bible study for parents
biblical sexual ethic
blessed
born gay
born this way
brotherlylove
build the wall
calling
celibate christian
children and pride
christian parents
christian response to Pride
christian teenagers
christian teen
church and same sex marriage
church and sexuality
church deceived
church leaders
church training
codependency
come out
coming out
conversations about sexuality
conversion therapy ban
conversion therapy
discipleship
emotional dependency
faith and sexuality
false teaching
find Jesus
former LGBTQ
former LGBTQ
freedom in christ
freedom of religion
gay affirming
gay celibate christian
gay children
gay christian
gay teenager
glory to glory
hell
homosexuality
hope shouts louder
humility
idolatry
inclusive church
indoctrination
intercessory prayer
jesus
joanne highley
john 1:2-4
john 3:16
justiceforchristians
labels
lgbtq prodigals
lgbtq
love is love
love your neighbour
matthew 5:11
ministry
new identity
once gay
overcoming sin
parenting in faith
parents of prodigals
pastoral care
peer support
persecution
powerofprayer
poweroftestimony
prayer wall
prayer
praying for LGBTQ
praying for our children
praying for prodigals
pride
prodigals
prodigal
progressive church
psalm 18
reflecting god
relative truth
responding to Pride
rev12project
rev12
roots of SSA
safe and welcoming church
same sex attraction
same sex marriage
same sex relationships
samesexfriendship
sex and relationships
sexual fluidity
sexual identity
sexual immorality
sexual sin
sexuality and faith questions
sexuality and faith
side a christian
side b christian
single friendly church
small group
smoke and mirrors
space to meet God
spacious place training
spacious place
spiritual armor
spiritual armour
spiritual warfare
such a time as this
such were some of you
teenager
temptation
testimony
thinking straight
transformation
transformed by gods love
transformed family
transformed international
transformed ministries
transformedbygodslove
transformedministries
transformed
transgender in church
transgender
trans
true freedom
truth
uncommon love bible study
uncommon love
welcome church
what did Jesus say
what is truth
why me
woman in adultery