Posted on 11/02/2016 7:18:48 AM PDT by SoFloFreeper
If this were 1999—the year that I was converted and walked away from the woman and lesbian community I loved—instead of 2016, Jen Hatmaker’s words about the holiness of LGBT relationships would have flooded into my world like a balm of Gilead. How amazing it would have been to have someone as radiant, knowledgeable, humble, kind, and funny as Jen saying out loud what my heart was shouting: Yes, I can have Jesus and my girlfriend. Yes, I can flourish both in my tenured academic discipline (queer theory and English literature and culture) and in my church. My emotional vertigo could find normal once again.
Maybe I wouldn’t need to lose everything to have Jesus. Maybe the gospel wouldn’t ruin me while I waited, waited, waited for the Lord to build me back up after he convicted me of my sin, and I suffered the consequences. Maybe it would go differently for me than it did for Paul, Daniel, David, and Jeremiah. Maybe Jesus could save me without afflicting me. Maybe the Lord would give to me respectable crosses (Matt. 16:24). Manageable thorns (2 Cor. 12:7).
Today, I hear Jen’s words—words meant to encourage, not discourage, to build up, not tear down, to defend the marginalized, not broker unearned power—and a thin trickle of sweat creeps down my back. If I were still in the thick of the battle over the indwelling sin of lesbian desire, Jen’s words would have put a millstone around my neck.
(Excerpt) Read more at thegospelcoalition.org ...
... and IF we do not see the latter happening ...
The stance of “Christianity” matters a lot less than the stance of Jesus. “Christianity” didn’t die on a cross for her.
Thanks for the education. :)
Can’t apologize ‘cause I admit I didn’t follow your entire conversation back to the beginning. You just said “Methodist”, and I remember when the Methodist Church was good. Of course, most of the Methodist churches now are off the rails with women preachers, homosexuals, etc. But the one who’re true to the Wesleys’ founding tenets aren’t wicked, although they’re few and far between. The ones who’ve fallen into the PC cesspool are “wicked”. So I guess we’re both right!
The UNITED Methodist Church brand is particularly wicked. They are the largest of the nominal “Methodist” or Wesleyan groups, and are about as liberal as the PCUSA, embracing redefined sodomite “marriage” in practice, if not in formal doctrine. Of course, I’m not referring to ALL individual congregations under this umbrella, since I’m sure some of them are still Bible believing, but why associate oneself with such a wicked hierarchy?
“I’m sure some of them are still Bible believing, but why associate oneself with such a wicked hierarchy?”
All true. People have to be careful and do their research before settling into a church. You should see my list of questions I ask pastors when we relocate and search for a church! It embarrasses my husband, but I don’t care.
Like the Methodists, the hierarchy of the main faction of Baptists, the SBC, is something we avoid at all costs. We find a fundamental, Bible-believing independent Baptist church with everything local. The preacher had better preach loudly against homosexuality, abortion, etc.
LOL!! You, too? I thought I was the only one who did this.
When I ask a pastor of a church under consideration if he has time to answer a few questions, they often act as if I'm an enemy infiltrator, or can't find the time to answer at all.
That pretty much answers my question.
I worked for years for a major ministry that fought the “gay agenda.” One team member was a former lesbian. Very well grounded and mature, or so I thought. Found out later that she reverted to the dark side. Had one email contact with her not too long ago. Left me shaken to see the power of evil working in her life.
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