More Paradigm Shifts

I went to church this past Sunday at a church where nobody knew me. Just as a visitor…no responsibilities or others looking to me for an answer.

It was really nice.

You notice different things when you’re just one of the people in the congregation. I suppose I was like most folks in the fact that I wanted only a few things out of the service. I wanted to laugh one good time, find something in the sermon that meant something to me personally, and I wanted my children to have a good time. That was it. Yep, I was that guy – the guy ministers complain about all the time: the consumer. But I noticed something by the end of the service. The pastor was trying so hard. I felt bad for him. I’ve tried that hard before. It sucks.

I see arena-style church services everywhere I go. But never before have I been so disillusioned with them. These are the ones where the guy or girl gets up in front of everyone. They all face the same direction and watch Pro Presenter backgrounds. Everyone is trying so hard to engage a lethargic group of people.  I’m personally in a the midst of a radically changing paradigm.  Much of the professional church world is consumed with its own progress. And that progress is most often tied to “nickels and noses.” Money and attendance. In fact, the success touted by many churches over Easter weekend had to do with attendance rather than heart change.

As a minister, I think I’m pretty much done with that game. I have two new goals now. One has to with my job as a minister and on has to do with those to whom I am serving. My new job description is this: to partner with what God is already doing rather than “starting” something that others will find appealing. Honestly I’m just too tired to do that any longer. And for people, my goal is to help them realize what God thinks of them and assist them in doing the ”greater works” that Jesus talked about. It’s not to get them to sit down and listen to me. It’s to help them listen to God. I can’t help anyone anyway.

I’m not sure where that is going to lead me. But I plan to enjoy the journey.

Pay Me What You Owe Me: The End of a “Profession”

I had a watershed moment this past week.

I attended a conference with a number of church planters from around the world. I’m not talking about our average “safe” conference where everybody flashes a lanyard to get in and sits around citing demographical research and discusses the latest Zondervan book. I have been to those and find them helpful. But this was different. These people were planting churches where no statistical data is available, if you get my drift. These people were hardcore. They were extremely kind and accommodating to me. But it became pretty clear that I was sitting with a class of minister far above my own.

One story struck me in particular. A guy had been making advances into a country for several years. Now, when I say that, I’m not saying that he’s got a 500 member congregation and health benefits. We’re talking about four converts in three years. That kind of thing. Hardcore. He was giving praise that someone in that group had invited him to visit again and was going to pay for his travel costs.

Here’s where it gets radical. I said, “Isn’t that a standard arrangement? How else would you get there?”  He said, “No. Normally I have to pay them to have the opportunity to witness to them. That’s why it’s a miracle.” Read that again. He has to pay them.

We send speakers and ministers around the world at our own expense. After all, motivational  speakers and ministers are worth the money right?  In the U.S? Yes. Elsewhere? Nope. In the U.S., the people who are paying are already Christians and deeply entrenched in that consumer paradigm. Outside of that paradigm, no one else gives a rip. A flying rip.

Don’t call me a doomsday prophet just yet, but I believe this is on the horizon in all Westernized nations as well. Many would say it’s already here. Presently, I would venture to say that roughly anywhere between 10-20% of any U.S. city has contact with Christianity and that number is decreasing every day. As it decreases, any prestige associated with the “profession” of ministry will eventually collapse. It’s status as a reputable and viable occupation will cease and (as in other nations) it may bring scorn upon those who embrace it.

Then something else will happen. People will have a choice: they will either wait for someone to fund them or they will spend their own money to share Christianity with others. Right now, ministers and church planters still think someone else needs to pay for their services. But ministers of the future will no longer ask for funding for themselves and their families. They will ask for funding so they can “pay” someone else to listen to the Gospel.

Do you think that’s a radical idea? Let me know what you think.

Goodbye First Methodist

My time at First Methodist has come to an end. I packed up my office this week during off hours. I brought two highly skilled individuals to help the moving process.

The most difficult part of that process was finding a place to store 500 books. Fortunately, a good friend had a vacant room in their home and let me stack boxes of obscure monographs there. I learned a tremendous amount at First Methodist – much about leadership, people and their spiritual desires, and (above all) about myself. I was afforded opportunities there that I otherwise would never have been given. I had moments of success, failure, and everything in between…all in three and a half years.

Over the last two years, I encountered some specific struggles in ministry I had not experienced up until that point. Some I handled well. Others not so much. I learned a lot about myself in that process. I also learned a very important lesson: some situations have nothing to do with me whether I’m personally affected by them or not. I found my ability to correct those situations is limited. I’m sure I’ll reflect on my time there over the next several years. I am extremely thankful for that time. I’ll take the lessons I learned there into future ministry. I imagine some day I’ll be having coffee with a church staff member or another pastor and I’ll hear myself say the words, “When I was at First Methodist…”

Over the last three years, I began to collect sayings and tape them to my computer monitor…tacky, but necessary. Some days I followed them to the letter. Other days I failed to follow them at all. I thought I’d share them with you. You might find it interesting that there is not a single Bible verse listed. Nor is there a well-known theologian quoted. Maybe they will mean something to you, too. If so, why not tape them to your computer monitor?

Hereafter, if you should observe on occasion to give your officers and friends a little more praise than is their Due, and confess more fault than you can justly be charged with, you will only become the better for it. Criticising and censuring almost every one you have to do with, will diminish friends, encrease Enemies, and thereby hurt your affairs.                                                                                                 -  Benjamin Franklin to John Paul Jones, July 5, 1780

The greatest need of my congregation is my own personal holiness.                                                                                                             –  Robert Murray M’Cheyne

Most unsolicited feedback is for the sender.                                                                                                                                                 – Harvard Business Review Article

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.                                                                                                                                 – Plato of Athens (apocryphal)

In the end, everything will be okay. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end.                                                                                                               – Playwright Carolyn Myers

The Preachers

In two potentially narcissistic posts, I’d like to share some of the preachers/teachers and books that have really shaped my worldview, influenced my reading of the Bible, and transformed my preaching style.

Now, as I’ve said before, I’m a spiritual “mutt.” I have no problem with this. Mutts can be good dogs, too. And I think this becomes fairly clear when I start listing influences in my spiritual life. Though I’m Wesleyan through and through, there aren’t many Methodists in this list. It’s also interesting that I’ve met very few of those that have influenced me the most.

Malcolm Smith. Hands down, this guy is the most spiritually influential teacher in my life. Somewhere along the way, my grandmother pulled out a series of tapes (yes, tapes) by a Charismatic Episcopal Bible teacher named Malcolm Smith. He said more about theology, practical living, and pastoral guidance in one sermon than all the sermons I’d previously heard combined. I listened for hours. I’m still listening.

Martyn Ll0yd-Jones. Lloyd-Jones is an icon in Christian circles. Pastor of Westminster Chapel in later years, he is one of the most articulate and precise preachers I have ever heard. For years, Lloyd-Jones was a medical doctor and when he answered the call to preach, he brought that same “surgical” expository style to his sermons. Listening to ”the Doctor” is like watching someone peel back layers of an onion. For him, the gospel was only as good as it was practical.

Greg Boyd. Theology professor turned pastor, listening to Greg is like listening to a mad man. He’s all over the place. But his understanding of God and his ability to relay the importance of the cross is unmatched. Greg goes where many preachers do not go – he always has a fresh perspective. Rarely have I seen a male pastor give so much attention to soul care and the emotional, intuitive side of Christianity. He’s a joy to listen to.

John Lynch. This guy is a new find for me. Mix a dry wit and a message of radical grace and you’ll get John’s sermons. He’s the teaching pastor at Open Door Fellowship Church in Phoenix, Arizona. I love the fact that John never gets tired of his central message: the love and grace of God. But more than a conceptual model, John talks about how grace makes its way into our practical lives. Good stuff.

There are others I listen to: Andy Stanley, John Eldredge, Craig Groeschel, etc. But for many people, the guys above are off the radar. Give them a listen when you have time.

There’s one more preacher I should mention: my former boss, Leigh Ann Raynor. She’s the Senior Minister at Porterfield UMC in Albany, Georgia. The first time I heard Leigh Ann speak, I was fascinated. Previously, I had preached countless sermons in a more extemporaneous style…and all the pitfalls that came with it: lack of clarity, rambling, and flippant regard for the time of those listening to me. Somewhere along the way God began to convict me that if I couldn’t say what I needed to say within about 25 minutes, then I was being a bad steward of the time I was given to speak. Now, that’s not for everyone – it’s just what I felt God was saying to me. So, while attending her services and serving on her staff I took notes not only on what Leigh Ann said but how she said it. Every word was chosen carefully and delivered with an extemporaneous feel…but she was preaching from a transcript. After a slow marriage of the two, I now preach in a style that is similar to hers. The point? Don’t ever underestimate the influence of a local minister. If you are one, take heart –  people are listening more than you think.

Puréed People

Hey.

I’ll post something more “theological” in a little while. I’ve been pondering some very different ideas the last week or so.

I live in a small town. It’s nice and easy-going. I know a lot of people – if I walk down Broad Street or go to Publix, I can count on having to wave at half a dozen friends and acquaintances. Sometimes I feel like I know everybody. But other times I get overwhelmed with the inner complexity of people. Everything I don’t know about those same friends and acquaintances. Humans are more than just their greetings and clothes. More than niceties and laughter. They are very, very complex. And that overwhelms me. There are millions of fragile cognitive interactions and emotional reactions that play into the behavior of any given individual. I get the privilege of helping people sort through those intricacies when they rise to the surface. It’s the most daunting thing a person can do: attempt to understand another person.

I like to describe the composition of the human psyche in a way that we can all understand: chocolate and vanilla swirled pudding snacks. Yep. That’s how I look at the human race. Intrigued? Read on, friend. People are born hard-wired with a natural disposition toward certain behaviors and attitudes. But then life happens…and with it, a myriad of relationships, habits, lifestyle choices, and information. Some has more staying power than others. Most people start out complex to begin with – like the image to the left. But when all these other heartaches, triumphs, fears, and celebrations are added in, it’s the equivalent of someone taking a spoon and swirling up all the “flavors” of life to the point they become indistinguishable from another. Puréed people. It’s no longer chocolate and vanilla. It becomes…”choc-nilla”…or something. And that’s what scares me.

I was in a room full of people this morning. Not a huge amount – enough to fit in a medium-sized room. But when you imagine the depth of their psychological and spiritual makeup, the abyss of who they truly are runs so deep that I imagine it would come out on the other side of the planet. I can’t sort everybody out. But I believe God can. The layers of identity that exist beneath what I encounter on a daily basis is far beyond anyone’s ability to investigate. That is still very much God’s territory. Only a fool would think otherwise. It does help me to be sensitive though. To understand that for every action that surfaces, there were thousands (maybe millions) that contributed to its arrival. And that’s something I can always keep in mind simply because it serves as a foundation for extending grace to others. The same grace I hope others will extend to me.

Are You a Christian Rock Star?

I know I start off a lot of blogs this way, but I’ve been thinking about something. Sometimes I notice little trends in the language choices of Christians or during church meetings. And when you add them all up they point to something worth discussing. Lately, I’ve noticed lots of Christian language about the need to do something “special” for God. Christians say stuff like that pretty often. You know, the whole “do something great for God” language. Usually it’s couched in potential ministry or an opportunity that God has especially for “you.”  Do I think God has specific things that he wants us to achieve as his sons and daughters? Sure. But there’s a flip-side to that equation…

I came across a quote the other day that said something like this: “If you insist on behaving like a rock star, just make sure you actually are one.” Humorous, but true. I feel like sometimes we set up Christians and congregations to look for chances to become a Christian rock star.  Opportunities to serve morph into something larger and worthy of more recognition. This is reinforced by Horatio Alger type stories in the Christian world: where the simplest acts snowball into something far beyond the expected results. As if that’s the “payoff” for giving your life to God. This is easy to do with the Bible,too. Sometimes we forget that “rock star” events in the Bible occur with large spans of time in between. Or that each “rock star” experiences countless failures prior to his/her newly found status as flavor of the month. Yet we pull these passages out of thin air as if they have no work ethic supporting them and dangle them in front of people and call it inspiration and vision-casting.

But what I think God really wants from each of us is to live a life daily that reflects him. It doesn’t have to be super impressive. It doesn’t have to be amazing or conspicuous. The Christian walk needs to be only two things: consistent and true. The responsiblity of the Christian is to live life consistently in each of life’s scenarios. Here’s why. You only get the chance to do something for God that will be categorized as amazing our life-changing in life once. Maybe twice. And even then that doesn’t mean anyone will recognize what you’re doing. But if you live life consistently in regards to your family, finances, profession, and relational choices, then you will be in a position to risk something out of the ordinary because the rest of your life will be stable.

If you feel called to be a minister, don’t quit your secular job. Start by memorizing a Bible verse or two. If you desperately want to raise funds for missions, try paying off your credit card first. If you want to be the world’s greatest dad, start by simply leaving the office earlier each night. And if that goes well, then empty the dishwasher without any fanfare. Want to do something amazing for God? Do the basics. Draw your sword, raise your battle cry, and charge up the hill to conquer the obvious and the insignificant.

Are you a Christian rock star? Don’t be.

The Most Well-Known Person in the Room

We live in a society of over-exposure. Information is overly-accessible for anyone who wants to know something about someone else. Yet, on a very real level, we are very closed to those around us. We rigorously protect our feelings, opinions, and personal preferences from those with whom we work and socialize. Why? Mostly because we are afraid of disclosing information about ourselves that will reflect negatively on us. It’s the reason we refuse to offer a contrary opinion in a business meeting, speak candidly with someone at church, or are deathly afraid to update our Facebook status. We are afraid of what others might think.

Now, some people have the opposite problem – they have no personal boundaries at all. They are more than happy to tell a co-worker or acquaintance far more than they are truly interested in knowing. There’s debate as to whether such honesty is appropriate. I read this article the other day that addresses this exact issue. But whether the infomation is honest or not, where is the line for self-disclosure in our society?

I’m going to suggest something radical for church leaders here: be the most “well-known” person in the room. In the secular workplace, they expect you not to overstep the boundaries of disclosure enforced by corporate culture. That’s a good rule to follow. But what about in a church environment? Few things are more important than authenticity among church leadership. People need to know what we are thinking. If you are willing to leverage your power and authority, also be willing to leverage any semblance of personal pretense.

Now, of course, vulnerability through self-disclosure opens us up for criticism. But here’s the thing: you’re going to be criticized regardless. So, the least you can do is provide a foundation of honesty and self-disclosure that helps explain the decisions made and the vision that is cast. And, of course, there are levels of disclosure that are healthy and those that are not. No one needs to know all the details. Also, self-disclosure does not necessarily equal intimacy. You can know much about Tiger Woods (and join the swelling chorus of those criticizing him for his public mistakes) yet never sit down and have a conversation with him. However, becoming vulnerable can allow you to lead from a place of authenticity that moves beyond power structures and politique. And that’s why, though the congregation and staff surrounding you may choose to remain closed, leaders can lead by example through self-disclosure. That’s the difference between preaching with well-crafted words and preaching with your life.

To put a theological slant on the matter, we rejoice in God’s willingness to self-disclose his nature in the person and ministry of Jesus Christ. And that level of self-disclosure constantly put Jesus at the mercy of angry and misinformed people. Yet, at no point did he recoil from that place of vulnerability. In fact, Jesus gave everyone ample opportunity to find something wrong with him and to crucify him for it. I don’t want to be crucified anytime soon, but the least I can do is be personal, open, authentic, and real. And each of us have to take the initiative to do that. No one is going to do it for us. But there’s something appealing about following the most well-known person in the room. You know what you are getting. And that personal vulnerability entreats us to follow the most revealed individual of all time: Jesus.

Marriage Resources

I listen to lots of podcasts. I’ve noticed that many of them lately have focused on marriage and family. I thought I’d pass along some of the links to the ones I’ve most enjoyed.

Andy Stanley’s “Imarriage” series (Nov.-Dec.): http://feeds.feedburner.com/npm

Craig Groeschel’s “Once Upon a Marriage” (started Feb. 8th): http://feeds.lifechurch.tv/LifechurchtvMessageSeriesaudio

Wayne and Sara Jacobsen’s “Living Loved in Marriage”: http://www.lifestream.org/audio-library.php#llim

John and Stasi Eldredge’s “Love and War”: http://www.ransomedheart.com/more_podcast.aspx

I’ve only found one definitive resource for marriage that I constantly refer back to. It’s Jeff VanVonderen’s book, Families Where Grace Is in Place. Some people like Jeff and others don’t due to his role on the A&E show Intervention and his own personal struggles with addiction. That aside, the Christian perspective on marriage and parenting he puts forward in this book is the best I’ve read. In fact, he deals with issues at the heart of marriage that more “formulaic” marriage books (if you do this, your spouse will do this/five steps to a better marriage, etc.) never touch. I’ve read The Love Dare, Love and Respect, and the marriage books that involve waffles, spaghetti, Mars, and Venus. This one is better.

When Beth and I were first married, we really struggled. Really struggled. We both grew up in great homes with both parents present. Both sets of parents modeled a loving marriage well for us. We did all the premarital counselling. We read Gary Chapman’s Five Love Languages. We did personality tests. But we had serious trouble learning how to live together without killing each other. As someone on staff at a church where we encouraged people to be honest about their struggles, we hid ours. After all, ministers don’t struggle with anything, right? I was listening to a speaker one day who suggested this book. I bought it the same day and read it cover to cover twice in a week. It didn’t magically “fix” our marriage, but it made us confront our expectations for each other and gave us a different perspective about marriage. And it exposed me for the controlling/suffocating spouse I was. Since then I have bought about 20 copies to give away and have read it eight times over the last decade. Every time I feel myself slipping away from the grace-oriented perspective that is the mainstay of our marriage, I read it again. When I find myself manipulating the behaviors of my children and controlling them for the sake of appearances, I read it again.

In fact, I just finished it.

Making the Lenten Season Relevant Again…

I meant to get this post up about a week ago. Oh well. But for all you know, I may have given up punctuality for Lent…

Lent has a rich and storied tradition in the church – forty days of self-denial, reflection, and prayer. I must confess that I have not been overly enamored with Lent (which isn’t the best frame of mind for those who serve a church that places emphasis on the liturgical calendar). There’s a good reason for this – Lent became something else for me to do. Some other rule to keep among a host of others. I gave up rule-based Christianity for a heart-based version about eight years ago. In doing that, my relationship with God improved drastically and I became a tolerable individual. Plus, it keeps my heart-rate down. Now, I run away screaming from anything that resembles legalism in the slightest.

Lent for most folks today is a second chance at recouping the losses of New Year’s Day resolutions…only this time, there’s a little divine intervention. Others opt for silly self-denials – caffeine, sugar, candy. I happen to agree with the eleven year old boy who told me last week: “I’m denying myself coke and candy right after I eat and drink it.” Evidently the futility of such tactics is not lost on any age. We are left to stress out over Lenten commitments or to trivialize them. Neither does anything for the soul.

What’s more, I understand the importance of fasting, but am put off by people gearing up to fast for a specific period of time without being prompted by the Holy Spirit. The only thing worse is going on a “pleasant bread” or Daniel fast…as if that represents anything close to the biblical understanding of fasting. Once God began to show me the importatnce of living a fasted life, my need for a calendar date to start a fast went out the window…and with it, the relevance of Lent. But (as is often the case) I’m wrong. Not for decrying triviality or legalism, but for not approaching Lent in a different way. Lent is important when it promotes serious reflection, healthy spirituality, and improves relationships. Okay. Great. But how? Well, this is what I’ve come up with. You’re welcome to adopt it to your own interpretation.

I now longer fast sweets or sodas. I try to fast things that will improve my quality of Christianity. Here are two examples. First, I have fasted people for Lent before. Rather I should say that I fast a person’s influence over me. Let me explain. We all have people in our lives that irritate us or get under our skin – classmates, co-workers, relatives, even our friends. I don’t fast their presence in my life – they are gonna be around me anyway. But I do fast their control over my emotions and ability to wreck my mood. I fast those sleepless nights where I continually play a conversation I had with them while thinking up extremely clever comebacks to say. I figured out that when I do those things I am giving that person extreme control over my thought life that would be better used for something that actually matters. So I “fast” that person for 40 days. It’s absolutely liberating.

Another example: I have fasted expectations I have for another person for 40 days. Often times, my disappointment with another has to do with what I believe they should be willing to do rather than what they actually are doing. Of course, this can be a problem in marriages, but it applies to all the same people groups I mentioned above as well. Most times our anger towards others involves a big SHOULD: how we believe others should behave rather than allowing them the liberty to live their own lives as they please. So, I will locate an individual upon whom I have placed unrealistic expectations – a spouse, child, co-worker, church leader – and I’ll completely relax any expectations of them for those 40 days. Of course, I don’t tell them, but I do notice that our relationship improves dramatically simply because they can feel that freedom in our relationship. The great thing is that after the 40 days, the relationship is usually going so much better that I continue that relaxed state. Truthfully, God means for our relationships to be that way all the time – Lent is just a way to jump start that process.

Be creative with Lent this year – you’re only a couple of days in and can adjust your Lenten commitments if needed. If used correctly, Lent can be a liberating way to create new avenues of spiritual health in our lives. Forget the cokes and candy. Go after something truly transformative!

I Love Gay People

I’m going to embark upon a topic that is fraught with emotion for most folks: Christianity and homosexuality. Few topics anger, confuse, and sadden more than this one. And what I have to say will merely flow into the larger spectrum with little impact one way or the other. I have not touched this subject in three years of blogging for that reason. Still, I feel that I am at a place where I can speak frankly, yet in a balanced and gracious way. In other words, I’m gonna make everyone angry by not making anyone happy. So, here it goes.

I really like the gay people I know – the friends and the acquaintances. They are hysterical and fun-loving. I find them to be quick-witted, open, honest, and real. Often times, much more authentic than the straight folks I know. They embrace a life of artistry and humor and make me laugh out loud at their clever perspective and charming love of the finer details of life…once again, something often missed by my straight friends. I love their take on the arts, particularly music. In fact, some of the musicians I listen to most often are gay (I’m actually listening to Rufus Wainwright as I write this). One of Beth’s best friends in college was gay – while waiting tables at a restaurant, their friendship began when they both broke up with their boyfriends on the same weekend. Misery loves company I suppose. They have names, live accomplished lives, and their sexuality is merely one aspect of their rich identities. I don’t label/group them anymore than I would call all Germans Nazis or all whites imperialists. And they don’t label me. Neither am I for banning gay marriage - refusing to allow two people to marry  insults the dignity of two people in love and denies equal rights that are vital to the civil fabric of our nation. 

At the same time, I am a minister. Many of my Christian friends are anti-gay. Although the Methodist Church desires to create and open and welcoming atmosphere for the gay community, other friends of mine who are also in ministry take a very hard line on the issue of homosexuality. And that’s understandable. The Bible really is fairly strict about homosexuality and anyone attempting to call his/herself a Christian must deal with that. Sorry - there’s no way around the biblical passages that condemn that sexual orientation. No, David and Jonathan weren’t in a relationship. The intimate language associated with those passages has to do with the covenantal context that we also see in the biblical language God uses towards humanity. Though it hinges upon unconditional love and acceptance, there’s nothing sexual about it.

So, what’s a minister to do? I made myself a promise several years back that I would not make a doctrinal point at the expense of someone else. I believe that I can uphold a scriptural position without sacrificing the dignity and individuality of others. So, here’s my solution. For Christians, the issue of homosexuality shouldn’t be addressed in the area of conversion (“You’re a Christian, therefore you can’t be gay”). For me, it seems to be more of an issue concerning sanctification. What’s sanctification? It’s the idea that as part of our journey with Christ, there is a slow and gradual change in our behavior. Our likes and dislikes begin to reflect our Maker.

So, how does that work in the gay debate? Well, let’s take a heterosexual male. The New Testament is pretty clear that all sin (though having different ranges of consequence) is equal in spiritual significance. That means there are no “pet” sins that separate us from God more than the others. More significantly, all sin stems from our unwillingness to yield our individuality to God…including the area of sexuality. So for a heterosexual male, Christians celebrate the transformation of his sexual identity using concepts of abstinence, selfless acts of romance, and monogamy. Often times, it takes time for these traits to fully take hold of the male sexual identity – they are entrenched in genetic disposition as much as anything else that makes us human. From what I can tell (and this is going to sound simplistic), the propensity to be gay can be seen in the same way…whether you believe it’s a lifestyle choice or DNA-driven.  If  God is able change the heart of someone in any area, then over time God can also change the parameters of their sexual orientation.

People are always messing around with the core element of Christianity. Most people say that the good news would be “forgiveness.” I’m not so sure that’s the case. I think the core of Christianity is “change.” It’s the chance to allow God to transform your predispositions towards something more like him. I don’t think homosexuality is any more “wrong” than pride and judgment – which is what most gays hear from the church. But it’s important for anyone who wants to change in any area to know that Christianity promises they can. Now, notice I didn’t say anyone had to change. That’s different than wanting to change. I also didn’t say it was easy to change. But that’s the beauty of the Christian message: unconditional love and acceptance surrounds those who decide to undertake change.

My title is slightly misleading…actually, I just love people. And I love watching God change people as they fellowship with him. We all need God to bring change in our lives. For me, sexual orientation/identity is just as subject to sanctification as gossip, gluttony, or legalism. It falls within the scope of a loving God who sees his reflection in our faces.