A Gay Friend.

How do we love others?

How do we love others who live different lifestyles than us, than what we hold to be moral?

What if a friend of yours (a son, a daughter, a parent, a sibling, a classmate) spoke up and told you that they were gay.  As a Christian (a follower of JESUS, a disciple) how would you handle the conversation and relationship?

Here is one writer’s take on the situation (Relevant Mag link).  But what about you, how would you handle it?

Would you …

cry for them?
cry with them?
pray for them?
pray with them?
beat them with a bible?
compromise the bible?
ignore them?
move closer to them?
support them?
shy away from them?
love them more?
love them any less?

How would you be JESUS to them?

In Matthew 28:19, JESUS commands us to go into all nations, teaching and baptizing others with and in the truth – HIS truth.  Now the Jewish people thought that they were the only ones GOD loved – which HE still does.  But when JESUS made that statement (among others), HE extended an invitation of love and grace to the ‘least of these’ found all over the world.

‘All nations’ implies all peoples of every nation, tongue, and tribe.  Why is it that Christians can go into the depth of the African jungles and love those who want to kill them – because they know no other way – and yet at the same time stand at the church door and deny some people groups to enter?  Since when did the Great Commission and the Great Commandment have limitations on them?  When did GOD give over HIS lordship and kingship to us, HIS bride?

As one person commented on the article from Relevant (again, link), these same questions can be assigned to any people group who are marginalized by the Church.  These types of questions interest me … they get me thinking … they remind me of why six11 strives to exist and minister to the surrounding culture.

So ask yourself these questions, not only in light of having a gay friend, but also in light of having a friend who does drugs, who is addicted to porn, who is divorced, who has molested a child, who is an atheist, who has been turned off by Church … who has been marginalized by the Bride of CHRIST.  You get the idea.

iTune for the Weak.

This week’s song is from Dennis Jernigan – a worship leader who takes everyone back to the heart of GOD, where we all need to be.  The song, “It’s Going to be Alright“, is from Jernigan’s new album Kingdom Come.

Dennis’ words speak volumes about GOD’S eternal love, saving grace, and victorious Spirit; and how going through the valley’s doesn’t mean defeat, rather it means that GOD is trying to pull us closer to HIMSELF.  May this words minister to you, as they have been ministering to me over these past few days.

It’s Going to be Alright

It’s gonna be alright, child
Even through the darkest night, child
I’ll even use the darkness
To teach you how to hear Me
It’s gonna be alright now
Even if you don’t see how
I’ll even use your failure
To help you to draw near Me

Hear Me. I am calling,
“Child, come falling deeper in love with Me.”
Trust Me, you must let go
Or you will never know any deeper love in Me

It’s gonna be alright here
If you will let Me hold your heart near
I’ll even use your sorrows
To teach You how to love Me
It’s gonna be alright, child
I’ll hold you really close and tight child
I’ll even use Your woundings
To help you know more of Me

Hear Me. I am calling,
“Child, come falling deeper in love with Me.”
Trust Me, you must let go
Or you will never know any deeper love in Me

Why do you hold on to the things of your past
Let go and cling to Me and love that will last
How can you know Me if you do not trust My love
Let go! You’ll find My love is more than enough

Paris teaches us a lesson.

Like much of the world, I tuned in yesterday to watch Michael Jackson’s memorial at the Staples Center.  In all honesty, I was actually quite impressed with the respect and sincerity in which he was “sent off,” despite the rumors from the press that such things like a parade of elephants would also be appearing.

I remember as a kid, growing up in the 80’s, trading Michael Jackson ‘baseball-cards’ with friends, watching Thriller on TV, and even attempting to do the moonwalk at dances.  Alas, I was no Michael Jackson – nor did I want to be – but I loved how the man could write music.

Then it started.  Newspapers and news channels carried the same stories, “Jackson has been charged with molesting kids.”  Even some started calling him, ‘Wacko-Jacko’.  I will admit, I was caught up in the whirlwind of accusations, and even wrote Jackson off as a child-molester who just needed to go away.  I re-told the jokes, I believed some of the stories, and I even started turning the dials when his face (his music) came on.

In fact, truth be told, I reacted this way up until yesterday, when GOD sort of re-focused my attention onto something bigger that was occurring.

Paris Jackson, Michael’s daughter, spoke after everything was finished.  Her words, and her face, still cause me to come back into reality.  If, by chance, you missed her message, below is what she said (as seen on TIME):

“I just wanted to say, ever since I was born, Daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine,” she said. “And I just wanted to say I love him so much.”

Let me first say this, before going into what I really want to say here.  I am not trying to erase the past; nor am I trying to fight for Michael to get his face stamped.  I am not going to pull on of those ‘leave-Brittany-alone-moments’; nor am I jumping onto the ‘Michael Jackson fan band-wagon’.

Instead, I want to challenge everyone to re-focus his or her attention on something that GOD has laid on my heart to share – and focus on.  Despite all the accusations and “weirdness” of Jackson, you have to admit the man was a musical genesis.  On top of that, he was a great humanitarian – as Congresswoman Jackson-Lee so (politically) told us yesterday during her “visit” to the Memorial.

Though, even beyond all of that, lest we forget that Jackson was a father.  I am not saying that he always did the right things with them, but then again, he tried his best to always put his kids first.  Let’s face it, every parent has his or her flaws that seldom get publicized as Jackson’s faults have.  (And thank GOD, right?)  So why have we forgotten that maybe, just maybe, to his kids, Jackson was the world and their hero?  Why have we dismissed the fact that three (more) kids are now going to grow up fatherless, along with hundreds of other kids in this world?

Not to be cliché, but, have we thought of the children?  As the TIME article writer states, “… Paris’ words made it abundantly clear that Jackson — a controversial subject in life and in death — was also someone’s beloved father.”

Maybe for their sake, we (the world and it’s press) need to step back, allow his family to grieve, and show his kids the truth: “Your dad wasn’t half bad actually.  In fact, he wasn’t ‘Wacko-Jacko’ … he was a man who was hard pressed by the world to be something he wasn’t.  Your dad tried.  Through it all, though, we know he loved you.  I’m sorry for your loss.”  Or something along those lines.

It’s the least we could do.

So let’s stop the congressional fighting, the tabloid headlines, the lies, jokes, rumors, and off-color comments about Jackson.  Let the man rest in peace.  Let his kids remember their dad the only way though know how – which none of us has the right to distort or interpret.

As JESUS once suggested, “treat others as you would want to be treated”; so put yourself in Prince, Paris, and Prince Jr’s shoes – imagine if your father passed away and people were just kept talking/debating about him as if nothing had happened – how would you feel?

Now, go and do likewise.

Lust Hurts.

Here’s another article from Relevant Magazine: The Hardest Lesson in Lust.  By now, you know the drill: a summary of the article, then a link to the entire thing.

Get going, it’s a goody.

One day, we were both hit with the same realization. Sexual purity is so important because the ultimate relationship we have with our wives or husbands is one that is meant to reflect the relationship we have with God. This epiphany opened our minds to so many of the other reasons why sexual purity is so heavily championed.

I finally understood the baggage that comes with participating in the pseudo-dating hookup scene that was so prominent in my own adolescence. The young women who I kissed, touched and held would forever be a part of me and me a part of them. This was particularly hard for my girlfriend to hear even though she knew it was true. Even though society tells us to date around and experiment to gather research on a potential partner, such a mentality is so harmful. I hate the fact that I will always have that piece of the other women I have been with. Even though I do not actively think back on them, I will never be able to erase my past experiences.

An honest conversation about the truth so many of us fail to see.  Good job Jordan Davis.  Filling your mind with lust, is like quenching your thirst from a urinal – both leave a bad taste in your mouth … and life.

Masturbation … uhm?

In preaching about purity, I frequently get asked: what is your opinion about masturbation?  Wow … talk about a loaded question.  As with a lot of things in today’s culture, many believe that this issue is a “gray” one within a biblical context.  Some, on the other hand, say it’s as defined as black and white.  And there are others, sprinkled throughout the Church, who choose not to talk about the issue at all – hoping it will just go away.  Unfortunately, issues like masturbation seldom go away quietly, or without a heated debate.

Relevant Magazine has posed this discussion on their website, offering a “debate” between both sides of the issue – all in a gracious context of course.  Here’s the link for this discussion.

My thoughts?

While each person must face up to, deal with, and live out their own convictions from the Holy Spirit, my conviction about masturbation is this: it’s a sin.  This is what I have come to understand through study, experience, conviction, and prayer.  This is what I teach teens and adults (males).  I have seen too many cases where people excuse masturbation as a healthy alternative to escape the presures of “pre-martial sex”, and end up carring this “alternative” into their marriages – doing more damage then good.

I could give many other scriptures, which talk about purity, that support my conviction, but I think this passage clearly says it all:

1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 (NIV)

³It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; ⁴that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, ⁵not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God

What are your thoughts?

I Surrender All?

I came accross this article from “neue ministry”, part of Relevant Magazine.  It’s an article about surrendering.  That word alone gets my mind whirling around in different directions.  Lets face it, most of us – including myself – don’t really like to surrender … especially if we really want something we can’t have, or shouldn’t have.

Still though, GOD calls us to surrender everything to HIM.  Everything.

The author makes some a good points; and while the article doesn’t solve every dislike we have against surrendering, it does give us some good reasons to like it – and in some cases, desire it.  The article link follows the insert.

Saying that surrendering gets easier is not the whole truth. There are ways in which surrendering gets harder. This is the irony: the more you give of yourself to God, the more He gives in return. What He gives may not necessarily be what you want or the way you want it, but more nonetheless. The more you have to hold on to, the harder it is to give it up again, and again, and again.

More?

Seeking Common Ground.

A few weeks ago, it was reported on various sites (including Ex-Gay Watch) that the Barna research group had unveiled a surprising study among the gay community and the Church.  Here’s a summary of the findings and a link to the results:

George Barna, whose company conducted the research, pointed out that some popular stereotypes about the spiritual life of gays and lesbians are simply wrong.

“People who portray gay adults as godless, hedonistic, Christian bashers are not working with the facts,” declared the best-selling author of numerous books about faith and culture. “A substantial majority of gays cite their faith as a central facet of their life, consider themselves to be Christian, and claim to have some type of meaningful personal commitment to Jesus Christ active in their life today.

“The data indicate that millions of gay people are interested in faith but not in the local church and do not appear to be focused on the traditional tools and traditions that represent the comfort zone of most churched Christians. Gay adults clearly have a different way of interpreting the Bible on a number of central theological matters, such as perspectives about God. Homosexuals appreciate their faith but they do not prioritize it, and they tend to consider faith to be individual and private rather than communal.

“It is interesting to see that most homosexuals, who have some history within the Christian Church, have rejected orthodox biblical teachings and principles – but, in many cases, to nearly the same degree that the heterosexual Christian population has rejected those same teachings and principles. Although there are clearly some substantial differences in the religious beliefs and practices of the straight and gay populations, there may be less of a spiritual gap between straights and gays than many Americans would assume.”

Read the rest here.

My reaction to this: I can only hope that the Church begins to wake up and smell the coffee.

The gay community is not THE threat to Christianity.  THE threat comes from those who claim to be Christian but then choose not to follow after GOD’S Standards.  And both sides of the fence are guilty of this … though, truth be told, the Church is more prone to this hypocrisy than anyone else.  Still, we (meaning both sides) need to stop the bickering and figure-pointing, and instead seek common ground.

Now, I believe the common ground is JESUS … some may disagree, but then again, I am coming at this from a Christian-monotheistic point of view.  As I think about the Church and her relationship to the gay community some questions arise within:

• What if the Church treated the gay community just like any other person who doesn’t know CHRIST, or who is struggle in their walk with the LORD?  Why is the sin of homosexuality the mother of all sins?
• What if the Church loved on the gay community, as JESUS would, in order to help them seek a stronger relationship with CHRIST?
• What if the Church stood back, and instead of doing the Spirit’s work for HIM, actually let the Spirit work in ways we could never imagine?
• What if the Church actually became a safe place for gays and lesbians?
• What if the Throne of GODS Grace was actually made available, through the Church, to the gay community – as scripture states ALL are invited to approach and kneel before (Hebrews 4:16)?
• What if the Church stopped protesting the person, looked past their faults, and began to see the gay community through the eyes of JESUS?
• What if the Church put all political junk aside (like gay marriage, and so forth) and sought a common ground with the gay community based on the fact that they too love JESUS, and desire a relationship with HIM?

Just some questions … looking for answers.

Vacations and White Man.

I’m headed on vacation with my family – so there will be no new post next week.  Though be sure to look for some when I get back.  While I’m away, and when I have downtime, I plan on pre-writing some posts that have been on the shelf for sometime; as well as continue writing my book.  LORD willing, I’ll get something accomplished.

Have a great week, and be sure to spend time with loved ones … which reminds me, check out this awesome song and video by The Michael Gungor Band: White Man.

Standing for purity.

Here’s a great article from the folks at Relevant Magazine.  The article calls us Christians, and actually everyone, to take a hard stand against cheap sex and to stand up for purity – moving beyond, “Because GOD says so.”

Here’s a clip of the article:

When we promote purity in today’s world, we must understand the whole issue at hand. Purity is more than personal chastity, and we must take a stand for purity with more in our hearts and heads than a simple “Because God says so.” We must see purity for all that it really is: commanded by God with the intention of setting us apart from the world, but also as a powerful form of protest against the cheap, casual sex peddled by this world and the heartbreak and slavery that result from buying into it.

Taking a stand for purity means taking a stand in support of the whole person, soul and all. We recognize every person is an eternal being, and sex is not simply a casual physical act. We recognize the spiritual implications of sex: the union of two becoming one on a very deep, spiritual level. As individuals we must believe purity can serve as a powerful voice of change in today’s world, and we must view our stance on purity as a protest against the enslavement of men and women to something that strips them of their spirituality.

Read the rest here.

New [gay teen] article.

Just to let everyone know, I have updated the “Ministering to Teens” article on the site.  It now includes a bit more discussion, some practical thoughts for youth workers to ponder, and more explanation on ministering to gay teens within your youth ministry (bible study, church, etc).

Any questions, contact me.  Enjoy.