In Evangelism class the other day, we were talking about how Christians are often times not dangerous. They are not dangerous in the sense of no longer having a positive and transforming effect on the community. After reading Moose's blog on the movie Brokeback Mountain, it was again made evident to me that the issue of homosexuality is something that will need to be addressed within the church and in my ministry.
Right now, it seems that many Christians fit within the mold of name-calling, bashing, and running away from anything homosexual. To confess, I would have to say that I have some of these very attributes. Other Christians, who do not fit in that definition, fit into the area of being totally all right with homosexuals being Christians and even being ordained into roles as pastors. The Christians who fit out on either side of these camps are either very few or very quiet when it comes down to it. To be honest, neither of those two previously listed camps fits into a Biblical framework, or even a framework that makes sense to me as a believer in Jesus.
If we are Christians, then we should love our God with all of our hearts, minds, and souls. If we do not use times and chances to build relationships with the lost, including homosexuals, then are we really doing what we are supposed to be doing? I do not condone homosexuality, especially not within the church. However, I do condone the Great Commission, Jesus' exemplified ethic to ministry, and the love and patience we are to have as Christians.
My last post talked about the Good As New Bible, and although the man was trying to dialogue with homosexuality, he did it in a way that compromised doctrine and the original text. However, I do believe we need to dialogue and evangelize to the homosexuals. Relationship building is the best way to perform ministry and obtain times to have a discourse with homosexuals. To me, that freaks me out a bit. I don't know anyone who is gay. I am not well versed enough to handle much of the cultural drives that often times encourage people to be gay either. (For instance, in the Northeast, it is very common for many people to experiment at an increasing rate) Nonetheless, I think it is something Christianity needs to address, respond to, and share the message of Jesus with. I don't know much about the homosexual community, if anything at all. I don't know how I would reach out to evangelize to them. And to be honest I doubt that I would really enjoy it at all. However, we do have a mission to be a light to the world. Again, I'm not disputing Biblical Authority; homosexuality is not acceptable for Christians. However, I'm saying we need to reach that community; let me know if you know how...
Right now, it seems that many Christians fit within the mold of name-calling, bashing, and running away from anything homosexual. To confess, I would have to say that I have some of these very attributes. Other Christians, who do not fit in that definition, fit into the area of being totally all right with homosexuals being Christians and even being ordained into roles as pastors. The Christians who fit out on either side of these camps are either very few or very quiet when it comes down to it. To be honest, neither of those two previously listed camps fits into a Biblical framework, or even a framework that makes sense to me as a believer in Jesus.
If we are Christians, then we should love our God with all of our hearts, minds, and souls. If we do not use times and chances to build relationships with the lost, including homosexuals, then are we really doing what we are supposed to be doing? I do not condone homosexuality, especially not within the church. However, I do condone the Great Commission, Jesus' exemplified ethic to ministry, and the love and patience we are to have as Christians.
My last post talked about the Good As New Bible, and although the man was trying to dialogue with homosexuality, he did it in a way that compromised doctrine and the original text. However, I do believe we need to dialogue and evangelize to the homosexuals. Relationship building is the best way to perform ministry and obtain times to have a discourse with homosexuals. To me, that freaks me out a bit. I don't know anyone who is gay. I am not well versed enough to handle much of the cultural drives that often times encourage people to be gay either. (For instance, in the Northeast, it is very common for many people to experiment at an increasing rate) Nonetheless, I think it is something Christianity needs to address, respond to, and share the message of Jesus with. I don't know much about the homosexual community, if anything at all. I don't know how I would reach out to evangelize to them. And to be honest I doubt that I would really enjoy it at all. However, we do have a mission to be a light to the world. Again, I'm not disputing Biblical Authority; homosexuality is not acceptable for Christians. However, I'm saying we need to reach that community; let me know if you know how...
good post...if you ever do watch the movie the movie, let me know what you think.
i've no idea how to reach out to this community either, but i'll keep you posted as look into this stuff.
Well, a number of my friends are homosexual. I don't have a catch-all key to addressing and ministering to the homosexual community, but I have found that a willingness to deal with them openly, and not freak out 'cause they are homosexual is especially useful.
I think Christians need to accept them, be their friend, and live as an example. Should we condone homosexuality? Obviously not. But we should admit that we don't always live exactly as Christianity dictates that we should-- thus implicitly demonstrating that we won't reject them simply because they are homosexual. Once we've done that, we'll look much different than the rest of society, which by-and-large rejects homosexuals. And then they'll listen to us. Some might even be willing to accept Jesus' message in spite of the implications-- just like everyone else in the world.
Homosexuality is a disease, a cancer. Something has gone horribly wrong with a natural function of the body and now it consumes the person from the inside out. Hate the cancer, seek to heal the body. Hate the sin, love the sinner. God can heal cancer, and God can heal homosexuality.
Watch it Spork! You'll catch the gay!
Ludwhig's wisdom of today...
When talking with a lesbian, don't laught at something and say "that's gay!"
I suffered no personal embarrasment in this way, but don't do it.