Musings Of An Authentic Gay Christian - November 2007 and December 2007

November 2007 and December 2007...

GC101 News Blog - Monday, December 17, 2007

Lessons From An Obscure Pop Opera

Are you familiar with the pop opera ‘bare’ ? It ran for 16 months in Los Angeles, 2000-2001 and off-Broadway at the American Theater of Actors, April - May, 2004.

The storyline is about two roomates at a Catholic boarding school who fall in love and struggle with that experience, something most of us can identify with. Here are the lyrics of “Are You There?” one of the songs in the opera.

MATT - Do you know—well, of course you do—What it’s like to stand outside? To watch the world and wish You didn’t hurt so much, you cried?

I know I’m not the only one, And I know I shouldn’t care; But when I feel these things are real, I wish I felt you there. And if I did, I’d ask you, How come life is so unfair?

PETER - Do you know—well, of course you do—What it’s like to be afraid? That nothing will become Of all the plans that you have made?

So I watch the girls surround him, And he says it’s just a game, I guess that I believe him But it hurts me just the same, And I’m all about this stupid act So who am I to blame?

BOTH - Are you there? Are you there? Do you watch me when I cry? And if it’s in your power, How can you sit idly by? I try so hard to please you But you never seem to see.

MATT - Is it my fate to sit and wait?

PETER - Wonder what my struggle means?

MATT - I wish I knew that someone out there cared.

PETER - Are you there?

Do these lyrics speak to your heart?

God stepped out of eternity into time in the person of Jesus Christ. Born on earth as a baby boy, raised by Mary and Joseph, Jesus was all God and all man.

We sometimes think He doesn’t know what its like to be human, to love and be rejected, to hurt and desire comfort, to fear and seek solace. When we think that, we are wrong.

Scripture tells us Jesus was tested in every area that we are tested. He knows by intense personal experience the vagaries of human existence. He literally does feel our pain.

He did love and was rejected by those He loved. Jesus has been there, done that.

He was hurt by the choices people made concerning Him and He did seek comfort.

He was afraid, “let this cup pass from me,” and He sought and found solace in His heavenly Father’s love.

“Do you know... What it’s like... To watch the world and wish You didn’t hurt so much you cried?”

Yes, Jesus experienced the pain of not fitting in. He knows what that is like.

“I wish I felt you there, And if I did, I’d ask you, How come life is so unfair?”

Real life is sometimes hard and often unfair. We have no control over what life throws at us but we can control how we react to life. Life can make us bitter or life can make us better. God always leaves that choice to us.

Real champions, the winners in life are those who make a choice to be better, not bitter.

No matter what life throws at winners, they always come out the winner because they focus on what they can do, not on what they can’t do.

“Are you there? Are you there? Do you watch me when I cry? And if it’s in your power, How can you sit idly by?”

Those are fair questions. God is God but even God cannot have the result of the process without the process. Pain and suffering, difficulty and defeat are the stepping stones to greatness. Every winner became a winner by being a loser. The difference between winners and losers is that winners never quit.

Jesus promised before He left that He would never leave us nor forsake us, Matthew 28:20.

“If God is for us, who can be against us?”

We are already winners if we slog through the difficult days and refuse to quit. And along the way, its a good idea to help someone else keep going, like someone helped you. Helping others makes you stronger and encourages them to do the same.

Merry CHRISTmas!

GC101 News Blog - Saturday, December 15, 2007

Incredible, Incredible Christmas

Christmas can be a lonely time for some people. This is the perfect opportunity to do something to be a blessing to others. Today my friends and I went caroling at two nursing homes full of Alzheimer's patients.

We sang our hearts out for them and gave each lovely person a stuffed animal for Christmas.

It was amazing to watch them as we sang. They smiled and mouthed the words as they sang along with us. For a short time this afternoon we brought joy and love and Christmas spirit to folks who needed to know that someone loves them.

Saturday evening I wrote poetry for a friend - a gift from the heart.

For me, Christmas is about not just the baby in the manger but the Savior on the Cross. Without the Cross, the Christmas story has no meaning. Mary's wonderful baby boy was born to die. That is precisely how awful our sins are to God. He cannot ignore our sins. Instead, He had to pay for our sins.

The real meaning of Christmas is the resurrection. The resurrection of Christ is God's gift to everyone who will accept it.

Have you ever complained that God never gives you anything you ask for?

If you ask for the gift of God, He WILL give you eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

And that gift keeps on giving for eternity.

You are loved because God loves you extravagantly, just as you are, right where you are.

Merry Christmas!

Rick

GC101 News Blog - Friday, December 14, 2007

We Are Spiritual and Physical Beings

I'm always focused on being well-rounded spiritually, physically, emotionally, intellectually. Its important to be more than just a physical body and more than just a spiritual person.

God created us body, soul and spirit, with enormous intellectual capacity. How we develop ourselves is up to us. We can be lazy or we can be focused. Some people never grow much beyond high school. They may be 40 years old but basically, they've only relived the same year since high school 22 times.

I am not content to live that way. I want to learn, to grow, to stretch, to continually challenge myself. I'll bet you feel that way too.

Today my scripture reading is in the Old Testament book of I Kings, chapter 11ff. Reading scripture always helps me center down. I love reading scripture aloud so that I'm seeing it with my eyes, hearing it with my ears and saying it with my mouth. I especially love reading scripture aloud with my friends. Do you ever do that?

The Old Testament illustrates how God deals with nations and how contrary to God human nature can be.

The New Testament illustrates how God deals with individuals and how gracious God is to us even when we are stubborn against Him.

My physical workout today includes 12 minutes on the Total Gym XL, working biceps, shoulders, hamstrings and abs. Next comes a 10 mile mountain bike ride. I wish you were here to ride with me because I'd really enjoy conversing with you as we ride... Time to make my chocolate protein shake with creatine monohydrate and then hop on the mountain bike.

The gay Christian/green novel I'm writing is progressing nicely. Characters, once conceived and developed, seem to take on a life of their own, pushing the novel in directions I never imagined. Its exciting each day to write and watch the characters grow.

For me, life is always a grand adventure with God, full of challenges, defeats, triumphs and underlying it all, a constant well-spring of joy.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: You are loved!

Rick

GC101 News Blog - Wednesday, December 5, 2007

There’s an interesting December 3rd post from Steve over at Ragamuffin Ramblings Blogspot. This Link will open in a new page.
Its worth your time to read it. Sometimes we get so focused on religious rules, we get sidetracked from the concept of God’s grace to us in Jesus Christ. Here’s an interesting excerpt:
There are days when I feel like a spiritual Concorde - mighty and powerful, designed by God to be of immense service to God's kids. And then there are days when I feel like an old spiritual bi-plane - revving and then spluttering, climbing and then losing altitude, just barely hanging in the sky.
And when I heard people quoting verses like "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48), I felt that I would never, ever be able to be one of "those Christians," because I'd never, ever be able to measure up. The people who I met in church seemed so "good," and I kept comparing my insides (which seemed dirty, damaged and broken) to their outsides (which sure looked on their way to "perfection"). Those were definitely "losing altitude" days...
There is a reason Jesus was born in a manger. There is a reason the first person he revealed his true nature to was a Samaritan woman, by a well. There is a reason Jesus hung around with disciples who were more "misfits" than "good fits." There is a reason that we are all eligible to be waiting for the Christ child to arrive this season.
We qualify as Christians precisely BECAUSE we are broken.
Read Steve’s entire post at: Ragamuffin Ramblings Blogspot. This Link will open in a new page.
Has this been your spiritual experience? You can comment if you want to by scrolling down the page and sharing your spiritual experience with thousands of readers in 93 countries around the world...
GC101 News Blog - Tuesday, November 13, 2007
A friend whom I care deeply about told me recently of a happy new relationship in his life. I wrote the following letter to him and post it here in the hope that it will encourage others.
Dear C----
I am so thrilled to hear of your joyful new relationship. It makes me happy to know that you are happy. Isn't it incredible when such empathetic love blossoms? After all your years of struggle and longing to be loved, God has brought the right man into your life.
You're starting a wonderful relationship which we all hope will bless both of you for the rest of your lives so getting it started off right is important.
Through all the dark corridors of the past, when you ached and struggled and longed for peace in your heart and someone to love you for you, God was preparing you for a very special man.
This is an important time in your life. You have a lot of options, some good and some that could take you outside God’s will for your life. He has brought you through so much. Your present is overflowing with joy and your future is full of adventure and promise.
Walk with God and with each other one day at a time. Sometimes our emotions can run away with us and cause us to move too quickly. Be careful not to go on emotion alone because emotion cannot sustain your relationship.
Emotions can lead us astray and cause us to overlook things we would not overlook in more rational times. After emotions have subsided a bit and the nitty-gritty of daily life reasserts itself, your relationship will survive and prosper if you've grounded it on reality and shared spiritual values.
If you can enjoy, love and support one another when the stresses of daily life press you down and emotions are not running so high, that is a good indicator that your relationship is on the right track.
Build your friendship on reality so that friendship can grow into a lifelong relationship. Honesty and integrity and your shared spiritual values are the cornerstones of a solid relationship.
Take time alone with the Lord, to pray for the man God is giving you and ask God to show you what He is doing in his life and how you can be helpful in his spiritual growth. Be sensitive to God's guidance and allow Him to hold both of you to His pace. I know it is difficult but exert your will so as not to get ahead of God.
Taking it slow now will pay dividends for the rest of your life. Acting too quickly, in the emotion of the moment, could sabotage your hopes of this becoming a lifelong partnership.
I encourage you to ground your relationship on the word of God. If you are to have a relationship pleasing to God, it must be fueled by more than emotion. Slow down enough to factor in God's will. Sticking with God's timetable for you is important.
You mentioned to me that you enjoy reading out loud. I encourage you both to develop the sweet habit of quiet time together, where you read aloud to each other (from the Bible and perhaps from Joel Osteen's book or other devotional books) and have prayer together.
This will strengthen both of you spiritually and develop a wonderful spiritual empathy between you. Perhaps verses from one of your favorite passages, like the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5-7 would be a good place to start.
I know your heart is hungry for God, to know Him, to follow Him, to obey Him. And I know you want to be loved whole-heartedly, for yourself and not for what you can do for someone. And I sincerely believe you deserve that kind of faithful, committed love.
If both of you are on the same page spiritually and you have shared spiritual goals, what a sweet, fulfilling relationship you will enjoy together.
I encourage you to begin recording in a journal, the things God shows you at this wonderful time in your life. As God speaks to you through scripture and everyday life, write down your thoughts and hopes and dreams and what God shows you about your relationships.
Perhaps in the last 1/4 of your journal, you should have a place to write down your prayer requests and God’s answers to your prayers. Every time you use your prayer list, you will be reminded of your need to depend on God and of His faithfulness in answering your prayers and meeting your needs.
Through all the events of your life, in all the ups and downs, God prepared you and protected you. Everything you’ve experienced, good and bad, has produced the delightful man you are today. You deserve an equally delightful man who will love you without any reservations and whom you can love the same way. I am so happy for you.
You are loved,
Your brother in Christ,
Rick
GC101 News Blog - Monday, November 12, 2007
Dealing With Loneliness
I think everyone struggles with loneliness at times and lately, I’ve been struggling with loneliness.
I am tired of coming home to an empty house. I am tired of going through life without someone I dearly love to share the joys and adventures, the challenges and triumphs.
Life is great - I'm in a good place but my heart feels like it has a hole in it the size of Texas because I have not yet found that significant other with whom to share spirituality and God's extravagant blessing. My life right now lacks a certain pizazz because it is not shared with someone I love who also loves me.
Do you struggle with loneliness?
The problem of loneliness can sometimes be solved by partnering with the person God has prepared for you. Being partnered does not mean you'll never be lonely again. But God created us to need companionship. In Genesis 2:18, God Himself points out that Adam, a perfect man in a perfect world, with no sin to struggle against, was incomplete. Said God:
"It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him."
If Adam, who did not have a sin nature, needed a help meet, how much more do we need a help meet in our fallen world. But how do we find that special one?
My friend, Dr. Ralph Blair, founder of Evangelicals Concerned, has a great seminar on Gay Relationships. I attended the 2005 EC Conference at San Francisco State University where Dr. Blair spent several hours giving us a mini-seminar and answering questions about Gay Relationships, particularly gay Christian relationships. Here are three things that I remember from that summer afternoon.
Requirements For A Successful Relationship
There must be a mutual imprinting. This means an initial attraction on some level, a mutual appreciation of each other’s persona.
There must be shared values. Both of you must be on the same page about the things that are important to you.
Both of you must be willing and able to work as team players. Many people are willing to be in a relationship, with all the give and take and sacrifice that requires but they lack the skills, the ability to be a team player.
Conversely, many people have the skills to be a team player but are unwilling to make the commitment or put forth the effort it takes to grow and nurture a successful relationship.
Dr. Blair encourages gay Christians to seek a compatible partner in a shared values venue. If you’re a gay Christian, a shared values venue might be a church service or a Bible study.
There are no guarantees that we will find the wonderful relationship we seek. But God tells us,
“Seek and you will find.” Matthew 7:7
New Hope Christian Center, Pensacola, Florida
I recently made a new friend at my local church, New Hope Christian Center. A church is a wonderful "shared values" venue - an excellent place where we may reasonably expect to meet someone who is on the same page with us spiritually.
We are building a friendship and I confess it is encouraging to meet another gay Christian man who loves God and wants his life to count for God. Gay Christian guys who believe the Bible, live authentic Christian lives and are serious about serving God are rare treasures.
If you want to meet new people, I have a question for you.
What is your passion? What do you greatly enjoy doing?
Whatever the answer to your question, find a local group where you can explore what interests you. It might be mountain biking or movie festivals or cooking. Perhaps its art or fitness training or dog shows. I'm a writer and I enjoy gleaning knowledge from other writers. Whatever your interests, join a group, take a college class, participate in what fascinates you. That way, you'll be around others who share your passion - a perfect "shared values" venue.
You may be pleasantly surprised when you meet someone who "gets" you and shares your interests and outlook on life. I suppose at the most fundamental level, there are no guarantees in life. Friendships usually don't turn into partnerships for life. But friendships do help to assuage the loneliness, they offer hope for the present, they give us someone interesting to interact with and minister to and someone else to care about on the adventure of life.
Never, Never, Never Give Up!
If you’re lonely and have been praying for a partner, don’t give up hope. God is not ignoring you. He has heard the cry of your heart and He is working in ways you are totally unaware of, to answer your prayers. Are you willing to trust Him to do that?
Your task is to be the kind of guy or gal you hope to partner with. If you’re looking for a serious, committed Christian, then be a serious, committed Christian yourself.
If you’re looking for someone who is physically fit and eats a healthy diet, then get physically fit yourself and learn how to eat healthy.
There’s an old saying that opposites attract. But as one of my favorite writers, Alex Sanchez says:
“Opposites attract but similars stay together.”
Keep trusting God and look for someone who shares your spiritual values, who is on the same page about the things that are important to you. Seek and you will find. Because God loves you extravagantly and He has promised to meet your needs - Philippians 4:19.
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Some interesting Links for you.

You've read my November 2007 and beyond blog. Click here to return to GayChristian101.com Home Page.
Gay Christian 101 by Rick Brentlinger
Discover why readers LOVE our NEW Book! Gay Christian 101 cuts to the chase and deals head-on with the false allegations, inconsistent interpretations and outright misrepresentations of scripture by Christians who take verses out of context.
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?
Speaking of Analogies, Here are Five More, Strong Analogies in Scripture, for Affirming Gay Partnerships.
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