Netflix's "Pray Away": Beware of False Dichotomies
Netflix's "Pray Away" presents a false dichotomy between ex-gay theology and progressive sexual ethics, erasing gay celibate Christians who hold fast to Biblical wisdom while accepting that sexual orientation rarely changes.
Happy (Spiritual) Fathers Day
From Fathom Magazine - On Father’s Day, spiritual fathers without biological children are easily overlooked. They witness the holiday celebrations of biological fathers, and Satan’s lie strengthens in their hearts and minds: “If you don’t have physical children, you won’t make a difference.”
Is it really better to marry than burn with desire?
From Fathom Magazine - Today, more Christian young adults are postponing marriage or considering never marrying than ever before, and the church at large fears plummeting marriage percentages and the declining birth rates that follow. As those numbers soften, their refrain booms louder: “If abstinent singleness isn’t easy for you, don’t worry. Just get married.” Armed with 1 Corinthians 7:9, they plead with the under-thirty crowd, “PLEASE. Get married.”
Why say gay? Expanded 4-Part Series
Read this 4-part series explaining why I uses “gay” and “gay Christian.”
Why say gay? A response to “Yes to Gay Identity, No to Gay Sex?”
From Juicy Ecumenism - Won't people think I'm having gay sex? That God made me gay? Am I identifying with sin? Compromising my identity in Christ? I've finally written what I hope is the last explanation I'll ever have to give for why I call myself a gay Christian.
God’s Good for Gay People
Watch this video seminar exploring whether the gospel is good news for gay people. What do I believe, why do I hold those beliefs, and what should Church do differently?
God sets the lonely in families
From Nashotah House Theological Seminary - Read this devotional for the Second Tuesday of Lent (featured in their Lent + Eastertide Daily Reflections).
The Case for Vocational Singleness
From Christianity Today - How can our churches raise up more kingdom workers to heal our communities with undivided attention? Our churches need to become places where young adults genuinely discern whether God is calling them to vocational singleness or Christian marriage.
5 Strategies for Your Church
Are gay people thriving according to God’s wisdom in your church? Watch this video about five common challenges churches face and five proven strategies for becoming churches where LGB people flourish according to a traditional sexual ethic.
Leveraging Christian Singleness
Watch this video to deepen your vision for how God wants to use singleness, whether temporary or lifetime. What is vocational singleness? Why does God call people to vocational singleness?
Gay People, the Holy Spirit, and the Church
Watch this three-part series about Gay People, the Holy Spirit, and the Church. We explore the harmful ways Christians in the past have used the Holy Spirit as a weapon against gay people, key questions about the Holy Spirit and sexual orientation change, how the Holy Spirit ministers to gay people, and how the Holy Spirit yearns to guide the Church.
Can Anglicans in North America Offer Something Better Than Gay Marriage?
The congregations that would become the ACNA endured decades of TEC slowly (or not so slowly) abandoning orthodoxy on many fronts, but sexual ethics served as the breaking point. At least in the eyes of this cradle Anglican, a belief that God had something better to offer gay people than gay marriage was at the very center of the ACNA’s origins. Plus, many perceive the ACNA as the first major group to leave a mainline denomination over gay marriage. For these reasons, fulfilling our commitment to offering gay people a viable path for thriving according to God’s wisdom is central to our credibility. To put it simply, many people have been waiting to see if we meant what we promised or if we just didn’t like gay people.
COVID–19 Targets Single Christians
Our necessary social distancing and church cancelations have eliminated the primary ways widows, single parents, divorcees, and those called to singleness for the Lord experience family in the body of Christ. Single Christians rely on community groups and worship services to meet most of their needs for human connection in healthy ways. Coronavirus has left single Christians feeling even more alone and empty than usual. But our churches can do something about it.
Made for Intimacy and Family
How had God created all of us for human intimacy in the context of lived-in, lifelong family? Watch this video exploring healthy intimacy need fulfillment.
How to Provide the Sacrament of Family to Single People
What happens when single people don’t have family to turn to? A 2017 study found that single people were less likely to rebound from doubt and more likely to lose their faith. While 65% of Christians have doubted for some period of time, the most common response is for Christians to seek comfort from their families. Yet without this safety and solidarity in the home, single adults are twice as likely to lose their faith in the face of serious doubt.
Chick-fil-A Won't Save the Church
“What do you think about this Chick-fil-A thing?” Those were the first words out of my mentor’s mouth when we met, and for good reason. Chick-fil-A’s announcement that it would stop donating to groups who don’t support gay marriage is relevant to my work, but for the wrong reasons.
Where is God in all of this?
Gay people desperately want to feel close to God, but they don’t know how anymore. How can Christian leaders care for gay people in this space?
Did I choose to be gay?
Pastors often get this question from gay people they are serving: Do you think I chose to be gay? Or just as commonly asked: Do you think people are born gay or choose to be gay?
Shame Watching a Football Game
For the first twenty years of my life, I believed that being gay—merely experiencing same-sex attraction—was bad. I believed that I should feel shame and embarrassment each time I find myself attracted to another man. Because I believed those things for twenty years, my automatic reaction to finding the football player attractive was shame.
Responding Compassionately to Gay Pride & Coming Out
Check out this preview of a seminar focusing on National Coming Out Day and Gay Pride Month.