Posted on 04/28/2011 5:55:29 AM PDT by ZGuy
Being gay is a gift from God, asserts one church in Ohio.
That’s the message that Central United Methodist Church is spreading throughout their community via a digital billboard, launched on Monday.
This “simple statement,” the church announced, is “intended to be a gift to those who have experienced hurt and discrimination because of their real or perceived sexual orientation.”
“The Church seeks nothing less than the healing of the world, and Central UMC wants to offer words and acts of healing to those hurt and marginalized,” the website states.
Jeff Buchanan, the director of Exodus Church Equipping & Student Ministries, agrees that the Church must display love and compassion for those in the LGBT community. But he opposes the message that CUMC is sending through their “Being Gay is a Gift from God” campaign.
“Why would God bestow this ‘gift’ only to condemn it throughout the Bible? This would seemingly contradict His character as a God who is loving and just.”
The Toledo church’s controversial billboard ad is directly connected to a long month-long sermon series by its new pastor, Bill Barnard. The church is hoping that the ad will move the public towards tolerance, reported ABC 13, and not perpetuate anti-gay attitudes and behaviors, which were harming the LGBT community.
The purposes of their recently launched campaign are threefold: to offer welcome to all persons who are gay; to challenge the larger Church to fully accept persons who are gay into the life of the Church; and to call on all people to bring all the gifts of who they are to God.
“By welcoming and living in community with faithful Christians who happen to be gay, we have come to understand that being gay is part of who God made them to be,” CUMC proclaims on their site. “And by gay Christians bringing all that they are to God, the body of Christ has been strengthened.”
“In fact, we would experience the body of Christ as incomplete without LGBT persons.”
Barnard told ABC, “We really believe that being gay is a gift from God, and it’s not anything that anyone has to apologize for or be ashamed about. So that’s how [the campaign] came to be.”
Believing sexuality to be a “good gift from God” – or as they declared yet another way in God’s infinite diversity – CUMC defines sin as denying who God created them to be.
“The overwhelming scientific evidence is that people are born with their sexual orientation, that it is not a choice,” the church contends. “Fully accepting one’s sexual orientation and identity is key to leading a normal and healthy life.
“Forcing people to act against their God-given sexual orientation will lead to disordered lives. Allowing people to act in accordance with their God-given sexual orientation leads to reconciliation.”
While deeming the marginalization of LGBT persons as “unjustified” – mentioning that Jesus did not speak directly regarding homosexuality – the Toledo church recognizes that the Church today continues to be divided over interpretation of Scripture related to homosexuality.
Just two months ago, 33 retired United Methodist bishops urged the denomination to remove its ban on homosexual clergy, prolonging the undying debate within the church body.
CUMC hopes to unify believers by focusing more on “things that [they] agree on, such as kindness, justice, and humility,” instead of contributing to hate and discrimination, which they believe leads not to reconciliation, but to self-destructive practices within the LGBT community.
“Holding people responsible for matters in which they have no control is irrational and immoral,” the church declares. “We believe that both those within and without the Church are hungry for dialogue about homosexuality that reflects compassion and humility rather than intolerance and strife.”
Buchanan contends that CUMC’s message “tells people that the only option they have is a gay identity.”
But “people need to understand that thousands of men and women have found there is another way and have found freedom from homosexuality through the power of Christ,” he says.
Even if there was conclusive evidence supporting the theory that people were “born this way,” Buchanan stresses that Christians were called to be “born again.”
“While we may not choose our desires, we do have the ability and responsibility to choose whether or not we act on those desires. Our goal should be living a life that is congruent with Scripture,” he says.
“Genesis describes the fall of man and the permanent effects that sin has on us spiritually, mentally, and physically. Just because something may be inherent does not mean it was intended.”
Despite the outcry of many from the Christian community against CUMC’s campaign, Barnard continues to proclaim that homosexuality is a “gift” and has people come and remain just “as they are.”
Working to accept persons who are gay into the full life of the Church, CUMC is a founding member of the Reconciling Ministries Network, which is the United Methodist movement for gay equality in the denomination.
Two of the volunteer staff members at their church, including the music director and lead team chair, live with their partners and have served the church for over seven years.
Grieved over the misinterpretation of Scripture and false teaching that is being promoted by CUMC and many other churches like them, Buchanan encourages churches to deliver the message of Christ with love and grace, but also with accuracy and uncompromised truth.
“We must always remember that authentic love is built upon a foundation of grace and truth.”
Are you telling me that your church doesn't teach you to celebrate homosexuality ? Are not all of our desires given to us by God and therefore beautiful, even pedophilia? :)
The liberal ‘preacher’ that gets me is Rev Jim ‘Jesus would take money away from the rich’ Wallace. He preaches the marxist Jesus.
Lemme see if I have this right.... You accept Jesus Christ as your savior, and if you tell a little white lie, or use a curse word, Christians are supposed to shun you?
Is that about right?
Have you heard the latest? Now, after getting homersaksuality approved, the next step that the "progressives" want is polyamory -- or multiple people all living and doing it together as some kind of "family unit"
The evidence that mammals can only evolve heterosexually is a transcendent reality itself...
And as I said earlier, nothing outside of Genesis is relevant .
Marriage is an invention of man, not an absolute manifestation of God’s law in nature.
That makes perfect sense. Who are we to judge 3 or more people that want to marry each other? Romney might go for that too being Mormon.
True, But that sounds like something that could be used by liberals as a justification of legal homosexual marriage.
Evolution in mammals is only possible heterosexually...
The government of men's external actions by religion, pretending the change of nature in their consecrations cannot be esteemed a work extraordinary, it is no other than a conjuration or incantation, whereby they would have men to believe an alteration of nature that is contrary to the testimony of sight and of all the rest of the senses.
No. Where on Earth did you get that impression?
I don’t have a clue what gave you that impression. Nothin in my comment implied what you twisted it to mean. For your reference, here are God’s instructions regarding those who become Christians but continue to sin.
1 Corinthians 5:9-13 NIV
I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.”
Telling a “little white lie” or using a curse word doesn’t make one “wicked.” Repeatedly and willingly sinining without repenting (essentially with no sense of guilt) makes one “wicked.” One cannot claim to love and serve the Lord while wilfully sinning against him.
No Christian can disagree with those 8 points. If they disagree or won’t answer, then they aren’t Christians. If one has a heart for the Lord, one is glad to shout those points from the roof top ... especially from a keyboard.
Correctly put -- these are basics of our Christian faith. I see no point in discussing Christian topics with someone who does not share these basics with us.
As Christians we can discuss, debate even argue, but we have a common faith in Our Lord, God and Savior.
I asked you a simple question
Who is saved by the cross of Christ? How is one saved?
Do you have an answer.. more does your church have an answer ?
I have said many times that I am conflicted regarding the Trinity, which I cannot find clearly established in Scripture but, in fact, was a doctrine developed over several hundred years. OTOH I find many instances where Jesus clearly states otherwise. For example; John 14:28 You heard me say to you, `I go away, and I will come to you.' If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I go to the Father; for the Father is greater than I
That said, Scripture clearly states that Jesus has All authority in heaven and earth and I believe He is my Lord and Savior.
MATTHEW 28:18 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Thank you for acknowledging that -- we all are on our learning journey in Christ. May God lead you and guide you and watch over your steps.
May God bless you and your own, your family, friends and neighbors.
Regards,
Cronos
I shudder to think if they have added any new sacraments to the list.
I am not conversant in either Latin nor Greek and am not qualified to comment on any but plain English text. However, I find Jesus to be subordinate to His Father throughout Scripture.
You are correct.
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OK which is it, that I’m not qualified to comment or that Jesus is subordinate to His Father throughout Scripture? :-)
If the first, I understand it is at odds with orthodox Christianity.
If the second, you are skating on thin “Christian” ice. :-)
Did Jesus die for the whole world? What did Jesus death accomplish ?
Once one gets past that whole "Limited Atonement" Calvinist Karma crap the answer is a resounding and unambiguous YES!
John 1:29, "The next day he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!'"
John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life."
John 4:42, "and they were saying to the woman, 'It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.'"
1 Tim. 4:10, "For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers."
1 John 2:2, "and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world."
1 John 4:14, "And we have beheld and bear witness that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world."
You have not simply “pointed out,” but made this into a mantra,* supposing it to be an argument, i suppose, to impugn the supremacy of Scripture, which rejects unity based upon implicit assent to men, and requires division because of truth, while those who hold Tradition as equal to Scripture (or being the same) differ from Roman version of it.
And with each other on what Rome means, including whether evangelicals can be saved - whether they be Pentecostals or Calvinists - while i hold anyone may be, if they abased themselves as souls who are damned for their sins and destitute of any merit whereby they may gain Glory, and so cast themselves upon the mercy of the Biblical God in Christ, trusting the risen Lord Jesus to save them by His blood. With a kind of faith that is counted for righteousness, and which will characteristically respond in obedience toward its Object, by the Spirit and accordance to His Scriptures.
Those who were saved on Pentecost, and in Acts, in the same hour they heard the Word, did not know of the various theological disputations as to free will, or more more than the above, which is what is more crucial, but which conviction and conversion institutionalized religion does not foster under any heading.
* And which issue, and your habitually reposting of the same, has already been dealt with rather extensively and need not more of the same: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2669128/posts?page=2077#2077
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2669128/posts?page=1966#1947
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2695492/posts?page=145#145
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2676202/posts?page=1308#1308
So then all the world is saved? Every one is going to heaven?
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