'Welg, but not affirmg': beg gay and Christian

Contents:

• SHOULD A CHRISTIAN HAVE GAY IENDS?
• HOW SHOULD CHRISTIANS RPOND TO GAY FRIENDS OR FAY MEMBERS?
• THE GOSPEL FOR A GAY FRIEND
• HOW SHOULD CHRISTIANS RELATE TO GAY FRIENDS, NEIGHBORS, AND FAY?
• INTERACTG WH A GAY-INTIFIED FRIEND
• CAN CHRISTIANS BE GAY?
• CAN YOU HAVE GAY FRIENDS IF YOU THK HOMOSEXUAL BEHAVR IS A S?
• CAN SOMEONE BE GAY AND CHRISTIAN? IS POSSIBLE TO BE A GAY CHRISTIAN?
• CAN A CHRISTIAN HAVE A GAY IEND?
• SECTN 2: KNOWG GAYS AND LBIANS, RELIG CONFLICTS, BELIEFS ABOUT HOMOSEXUALY

SHOULD A CHRISTIAN HAVE GAY IENDS?

In nsirg whether a Christian should have gay iends, we need to ask ourselv whether J would have gay iends. We learn om the gentle way He alt wh sful people that He would have offered homosexuals the same passn and opportuny to “go and s no more” (John 8:11).

If possible, J would have clud homosexuals when He ate at the hom of “notor sners” (Le 15:1, NLT).

HOW SHOULD CHRISTIANS RPOND TO GAY FRIENDS OR FAY MEMBERS?

From a biblil perspective, many nfed people are trapped the s of homosexualy and need to be livered. Followg Christ’s example, we n extend iendship to gay people, monstrate His love for them, pray for them, and celebrate as much mon ground as we n fd.

In our teractns wh gay iends, we mt be reful not to give the imprsn that we are validatg their s. A Christian is simply a sner who has accepted the gospel and now reprents Christ to everyone, cludg our gay iends, wh grace and tth (John 1:14). That’s bee Kaltenbach has an sir perspective, havg been raised by a dad and mom who divorced and penntly me out of the closet as a gay man and a lbian.

Today, he manag the tensn of holdg to the tradnal biblil teachg on sexualy while lovg his gay parents.

THE GOSPEL FOR A GAY FRIEND

Kaltenbach’s unique story is tailed his new book Msy Grace: How a Pastor wh Gay Parents Learned to Love Others Whout Sacrificg Convictn and land him on the ont page of the New York Tim June.

If someone who is LGBT says that ’s not maly about sex, why immediately throw the “homosexualy vers” their way? Many examed Scripture, believe that sexual timacy is for a man and woman marriage, and aren’t homophobic or hateful.

However, all passag alg wh homosexualy agree that same-sex timacy isn’t God’s sign — monogamo or not.

HOW SHOULD CHRISTIANS RELATE TO GAY FRIENDS, NEIGHBORS, AND FAY?

’07) is the lead pastor at Disvery Church Simi Valley, Calif., and the thor of Msy Grace: How a Pastor wh Gay Parents Learned to Love Others Whout Sacrificg Convictn. Though his parents distanced themselv and old iends turned a ld shoulr, Josh felt he was fally ee his new inty as a gay man. It n be timidatg for people who have never stggled wh same-sex attractn to share the gospel wh a gay man or woman.

INTERACTG WH A GAY-INTIFIED FRIEND

On the one hand, some have laid asi God’s clear teachg that homosexualy is a s a misguid attempt to show God’s love.

CAN CHRISTIANS BE GAY?

On the other hand, some have neglected passn and harbored a nscendg attu toward people who practice homosexual s. Ask God to help you to see those the gay muny as he do so you n mister wh Christlike nvictn and passn.

As was for Josh, the gay muny is a refuge om the rejectn and ner turmoil many gay people experience. ” But I tst that as we build relatnships wh gay iends and ve them to our hom and to our liv, they will see the te muny of which they have only dreamed. One of my most stctive tim the past was seeg a new believer get baptized and share openly about g out of a gay liftyle.

As you build relatnships wh gay iends, ve them to your life that they may hear the gospel, but also let them see portrayed through the life of your lol church.

CAN YOU HAVE GAY FRIENDS IF YOU THK HOMOSEXUAL BEHAVR IS A S?

Jt like the kids who approached me at a church event, Christian adults also wonr, “How should I relate to my gay iends or -workers?

” Parents have asked me, “Will I promise my stance on biblil sexualy by beg kd to my gay child’s partner? That don’t mean we approve of every life choice somebody mak… Parents of [gay] teenagers who “e out” to them sometim thk, “If I accept my child, that means that I’m approvg of a same-sex relatnship. I was makg a prentatn and a lol gay activist ntacted our universy and said “I’m gog [to be there].

CAN SOMEONE BE GAY AND CHRISTIAN? IS POSSIBLE TO BE A GAY CHRISTIAN?

” Then, he did a YouTube vio llg for all of his gay, lbian, bisexual, transgenr and other iends to e and jt s the ont uple rows and stare me down… so I ved them to e. ” And… he was jt eviscerated by people wh the gay muny who felt like he should’ve been tougher on me….

Intertgly, the prottor got more ph-back om the gay muny than he did om Christians who extend a hand to him.

Book: Caleb Kaltenbach, Msy Grace: How a Pastor wh Gay Parents Learned to Love Others Whout Sacrificg Convictn. The simple answer is that you relate to a gay-intified dividual as you would relate to anybody else.

CAN A CHRISTIAN HAVE A GAY IEND?

The challenge of relatg to a gay-intified iend or fay member assum a very different aspect when he or she already claims to be a follower of J. In this nnectn, bear md that there’s a ccial distctn to be ma between a Christian who experienc same-sex attractns but do not act out those clatns, and an active homosexual who claims to be a believer. You n ve greater pth by askg, “Are you open to talk wh me further about what the Bible has to say on the subject of homosexualy and sexual moraly?

SECTN 2: KNOWG GAYS AND LBIANS, RELIG CONFLICTS, BELIEFS ABOUT HOMOSEXUALY

Would you be willg to learn how other Christians have walked away om gay self-intifitn or homosexual sex? Compassn Whout Compromise: How the Gospel Fre Us to Love Our Gay Friends Whout Losg the Tth.

If you have homosexual or bisexual tennci, this is not jt a theologil bate, but speaks to the re of how you see yourself and how God views you. The homosexual nversatn impacts not jt those who intify themselv as LGBT (Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgenr), but all of . You will have to make cisns about whether to go to a same-sex weddg, whether to have your dghter and her partner over for dner, and whether to attend a church wh a gay pastor.

In today’s changg world, statg that homosexualy is anythg but an acceptable liftyle, approved by God, is seen as unlovg, judgmental, hateful, and some plac, crimal. If you have read much on this issue, you know that there have been valiant attempts to reterpret the six passag that specifilly addrs homosexualy (Genis 19, Levic 18:22, Levic 20:13, Romans 1:24–27, 1 Corthians 6:9, 1 Timothy 1:10). They also terpret the ss of Sodom and Gomorrah as vlence and lack of hospaly rather than homosexual behavr.