     |
Finding A Bible Believing, Gay Affirming Church
Being around other Christians will encourage you, challenge you to walk with the Lord and build you up in the faith. Fellowship with other Christians who love and pray for you will also encourage your personal spiritual growth. These blessings of Christian fellowship should fill your heart with the joy of the Lord. In Ephesians 4:11-12, God tells us the purpose of pastors is:
 One of the problems gay Christians face is finding a Bible believing, gay affirming church. Not every gay affirming church believes the Bible. As growing Christians, we desire to unite with a church which teaches the Bible, nurtures our faith and encourages authentic Christian discipleship. Our goal is to find a local church where the Bible is taught as God’s faithful word. The most important part of choosing the right gay affirming church is not the music program or the youth program or the beautiful building. What the church and pastor believe about the Bible is the most important factor in choosing the right church. Five Important Questions To Answer When Choosing A Gay Friendly Church
An old-timey log cabin church.
What About Being “Out” At Church?
If that is the case in your area, you have three options.
As gay Christians, we have the option of living “in the closet” and keeping our homosexual orientation secret. But living a secret life does emotional and spiritual damage which may affect us the rest of our lives. Its not a healthy way to live. We can go into stealth mode whenever we’re around nongay Christians but that is damaging to us and to those we love. Again, living in stealth mode is not a very healthy way to live. Some gay Christians have made the decision to go to a church which is not a gay friendly church and just keep quiet about being gay. By doing this, they are able to have some fellowship with other Christians, hear the Bible preached and taught and learn to exist in a ‘Christian’ environment which is not particularly friendly to them. The body of Christ needs to know that gay Christians exist and that we love and serve the same God they love and serve. Only you can decide if, at this point in your life, you are up for the challenge of being out at church and possibly getting disfellowshipped or pressured to join an Ex-Gay group. Questions To Ask The Pastor When Choosing A Gay Affirming Church
The answer to all of these questions should be Yes.If the pastor does not affirm and teach these essentials of Biblical Christian belief, then you have some decisions to make. 1. Can your spiritual needs be met attending a church which doesn't believe all of the Bible? 2. Does fellowship with other gay Christians offset the lack of a strong, positive, Bible teaching ministry? 3. Does the church you're considering answer yes to some of our five basic questions? Sometimes, our best choice is to settle for a less than perfect situation. It beats sitting at home, alone and lonely, when you could be getting some Christian fellowship and a little bit of Bible teaching. For me, the bottom line is the Bible. If a church or pastor doesn't believe the Bible, as nice as they may be in other areas, I tend to seek fellowship with folks who believe the Bible. How To Find A Bible Believing, Gay Affirming Church In Your Area
For example, gay affirming church Chicago or affirming church Tampa might turn up some interesting possibilities. If you want a particular denomination, try affirming Baptist church + your city name. Use the name of the denomination you are looking for. Internet Lists Of Gay Affirming Churches
I cannot vouch for all of the churches in the Links below.These Links are provided to help you get started in your Search. Some of the churches listed at the Links below may not believe the Bible. You must exercise your own sound judgement to pick a gay affirming church in your area which preaches and teaches the Bible. Also, please keep in mind that every church may not define Welcoming Church and Gay Affirming Church the same way. Walk in the Spirit, go with a friendly heart and ask God to show you which Bible believing, gay affirming church is right for you. Click on the Logos below. These Links will open in a new page.
Remember that the Bible is the top priority when choosing a good church. If they don’t make the Bible a high priority, if they don’t believe and teach the Bible, don’t waste your time. Find a church where the pastor and congregation believes the Bible. You’ll be glad you did. Gay Christian 101 - Spiritual Self-Defense For Gay Christians, our incredible new, 400 page book, is available now. There are four popular analogies which are used to validate Gay Relationships as blessed by God. Here is a real-life example of a prominent gay partnership in scripture - the amazing true love story of Jonathan and David is the greatest human love story in the Bible. Jesus identified the sin of Sodom and it was not homosexuality. I am saying that the Holiness Code was aimed at Israel, in a specific place, the land of Israel, in a specific time period, while Israel was in the land, living under the Law. And what some Christians wrongly interpret as a universal prohibition of all gay relationships is, in reality, a prohibition of shrine prostitution in worship of the Canaanite fertility goddess. What was a sodomite in the Bible? Was it a homosexual, as many conservative preachers insist or was a sodomite in the Bible always a shrine prostitute who worshipped the Canaanite fertility goddess? Those who believe that the Centurion’s pais was only a servant and not the same sex partner of the gay Centurion, cite Greek lexicons to prove their case. Since most Biblical Greek lexicons do not mention beloved or same sex lover as possible meanings of pais. most nongay Christians insist same sex lover could not possibly be the meaning of pais. 4. Family Values in the Bible are so different from Traditional family values as taught by Focus On The Family that modern Christians would totally reject the "family values" practiced by Abraham and Sarah, Ruth and Boaz and many of the heroes of faith in the Old Testament. Gay Christian 101 - Spiritual Self-Defense For Gay Christians. There are four popular analogies which are used to validate Gay Relationships as blessed by God.
|
