“These are people that are in our churches.”
Spit, puke. NPR found their ear-scratching false prophet. Maybe we should try just preaching the Word of God. KJV!
Roger that. Such preachers should be preaching fire and brimstone, the eternal habitat for homosexuals unless they repent.
1. Why? The Body of Christ is made up of regenerate believers. Unregenerate believers should never be invited to "yoke" with believers in a church setting...unless it is for outreach only, with the purpose of sharing the Gospel. Sunday morning is NOT that time. Everything that happens on The Lord's Day, can only be partaken of by people possessing the Holy Spirit. Praying - Spirit needed. Singing Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs to the glory of God - it is impossible for those without the Spirit to please God...by song, prayer, or otherwise. Communion - Spirit needed. Confessing sins one to another - maybe we don't do that enough because we sense unbelievers in our midst, waiting to pounce on that information. All this leads me to;
2. Our current thinking that man somehow is capable of "convincing" sinners to repent and believe has led us to a man centered gospel. Thus the attraction to "appeal" to the visual and audio senses. We think that by working a man's emotions, we can get him to make a decision...ala Warren quote, "In fact, on p. 219, he states, “It is my deep conviction that anybody can be won to Christ if you discover the key to his or her heart . . . . The most likely place to start is with the person’s felt needs.”" - Link
It is God who draws. God who convicts. God who takes out the heart of stone and replaces it with a heart of flesh. God who grants a man the ability to repent and believe. He will show mercy on whom He will show mercy. All this leads me to;
3. We have many who think they are saved, and are not, because THEY made a choice to come to God on THEIR terms. The pews need to be purged. This, Paul Washer, should be shown in churches all across America! When the purge happens, you will see this "softening" for sin leave. All which leads me to this;
4. Any regenerate man still sitting in a pew defiantly sinning in ANY sin, including but not limited to: homosexuality, murder, fornication, adultery, gossip, slander, fits of rage, drunkenness, disobedient to parents, etc...should fall to the biblical mandate of Church discipline...which the lack of in this post Christian culture has exacerbated our problem.