There Is No ‘Third Way’ — Southern Baptists Face a Moment of Decision (and so will you)

Southern Baptists will be heading for Baltimore in just a few days, and the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention is to be held in a city that has not hosted the convention since 1940. This time, Baptists attending the meeting will face an issue that would not have been imaginable just a few years ago, much less in 1940 — a congregation that affirms same-sex relationships.

Just days before the convention, news broke that a congregation in suburban Los Angeles has decided to affirm same-sex sexuality and relationships. In an hour-long video posted on the Internet, Pastor Danny Cortez explains his personal change of mind and position on the issue of homosexuality and same-sex relationships. He also addressed the same issues in a letter posted at Patheos.com.   Continue at Al Mohler

See also: A Resolution on Transgender for the SBC

5 Things Churches Can Do to Help Those Who Struggle with Same-Sex Attraction

Wise counsel from Sam Allberry, drawn from his book  Is God Anti-Gay? And Other Questions about Homosexuality, the Bible and Same-sex Attraction (The Good Book Company, 2013), 

1. Make it easy to talk about
2. Honor singleness
3. Remember that church is family
4. Deal with biblical models of masculinity and femininity, rather than cultural stereotypes
5. Provide good pastoral support

You can read an explanation of each point here.

HT: Justin Taylor

Can We Trade Sexual Morality for Church Growth?

From time to time we hear some telling us that evangelical Christianity must retool our sexual ethic if we're ever going to reach the next generation. Some say that Millennials, particularly, are leaving the church because of our "obsession" with sexual morality. The next generation needs a more flexible ethic, they say, on premarital sex, homosexuality, and so on. We'll either adapt, the line goes, or we'll die.

This argument is hardly new. In the early 20th century, this was precisely the rhetoric used by liberal Protestant Harry Emerson Fosdick and his co-laborers. Fosdick was concerned, he said, for the future of Christianity, and if the church was to have a future we would have to get over our obsession with virginity. By that, Fosdick didn't mean the virginity of single Christians but the virginity of our Lord's mother.

The younger generation wanted to be Christian, the progressives told their contemporaries, but they couldn't accept outmoded ideas of the miraculous, such as the virgin birth of Christ. What the liberals missed is that such miracles didn't become hard to believe with the onset of the modern age. They always had been hard to believe from the beginning.   Continue at Russell D. Moore

Should Christians Use the Term “Gay Christian”?

In his new book God and the Gay Christian, Matthew Vines seeks to legitimate homosexual practice among evangelicals. I responded to this heretical teaching yesterday in my post about the new Southern Seminary eBook, God and the Gay Christian? I quoted a section from my chapter on the church’s historical teaching, a chapter that has now been posted in full over at the Council on Biblical Manhood & Womanhood.

 

Today I’d like to think a little more with you about Vines’s use of the term “gay Christian” (I also commend to you this excellent and stirring post from my SBTS colleague and New Testament expert Jim Hamilton). This is not a new descriptor, but Vines has infused new meaning into it. Authors who have previously used it have done so with the understanding that “gay Christian” is essentially equivalent to “born-again believer who experiences, to some degree, ongoing same-sex attraction and who willingly resists gratifying this desire.” Vines, however, uses the term to essentially mean “born-again believer who experiences same-sex attraction and indulges this desire in mutual, covenantal relationships to the glory of God.” There is a vast and unbridgeable gulf between these two definitions.  Continue at Owen Strachan

God, the Gospel, and the Gay Challenge

Evangelical Christians in the United States now face an inevitable moment of decision. While Christians in other movements and in other nations face similar questions, the question of homosexuality now presents evangelicals in the United States with a decision that cannot be avoided. Within a very short time, we will know where everyone stands on this question. There will be no place to hide, and there will be no way to remain silent. To be silent will answer the question.

The question is whether evangelicals will remain true to the teachings of Scripture and the unbroken teaching of the Christian church for over two thousand years on the morality of same-sex acts and the institution of marriage.

The world is pressing this question upon us, but so are a number of voices from within the larger evangelical circle — voices that are calling for a radical revision of the church’s understanding of the Bible, sexual morality, and the meaning of marriage. We are living in the midst of a massive revolution in morality, and sexual morality is at the center of this revolution. But the question of same-sex relationships and sexuality is at the very center of the debate over sexual morality, and our answer to this question will both determine or reveal what we understand about everything the Bible reveals and everything the church teaches — even the gospel itself.   Continue at Al Mohler

Why Homosexuality Is Not Like Other Sins

Homosexuality is not the only sin mentioned in 1 Corinthians 6:9–10.

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

It’s not the only sin mentioned, but it is different from all the rest, at least right now. At this moment in history, contrary to the other sins listed here, homosexuality is celebrated by our larger society with pioneering excitement. It’s seen as a good thing, as the new hallmark of progress.   Continue at Jonathan Parnell

The End of Morality Laws? Not Exactly

Does the legalization of same-sex marriage and polygamy mean the end of all morality laws? George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley thinks so, and he openly celebrates the death of all morals legislation—or, at least he says he does.

Turley was the lead counsel in the “Sister Wives” case in Utah that legalized polygamy in that state last month, a reversal of the very morals legislation that the U. S. government required of Utah for that territory to be admitted as a state in the late nineteenth century.

Here is how Professor Turley explained the case:  Continue at Al Mohler

This Is Not Worth Quacking About

Did A&E know what would happen when it suspended Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson? Whether it was intentional or not, they are cashing in on trillions worth of free advertising.

Perhaps it’s really about LGBT rights at the cable and satellite television channel, half owned by Disney-ABC. But then there’s also the almighty dollar. Conceding to the LGBT agenda is increasingly what’s most profitable, what saves most face, and what brings least financial repercussion. And even more profitable is a firestorm that mobilizes the nation’s mass media and social media into doing more free promotion for the show and the network than anyone could ever pay for.

If it is a calculated move, we’re falling for it, hook, line, and sinker. And in trying to raise the question, even this post must slide halfway into the same trap. I’ll try not to mention the show and network by name again and lend any more help to the campaign.    Continue at David Mathis

Next Up: Force the Churches to Perform Gay Weddings

Hello, “gay rights” proponents.

I’d like to ask you a question.

Think very carefully before you respond, because I will hold you to your answer.

It’s a two-parter, and here it is:

Do you believe in freedom of association? Do you believe in freedom of expression?

Wait! It’s a trap! Mind your step, my friends. Think about this. Take a break, meditate on the question, and then come back to it.

OK, now, after careful consideration, I ask again:

Do you believe in freedom of association? Do you believe in freedom of expression?

You do? Of course you say you do. Your entire philosophy is built on these two freedoms. Personally, I don’t think either are actually relevant to the fundamental question of whether or not the union between two men can be equal to the union between a man and a woman, and therefore whether two men can actually be “married,” but I’m accepting your premise for the sake of argument.

Freedom of association. Freedom of expression. The latter explicitly protected under the First Amendment, the former implicitly. Both, in my mind, pretty unrelated to this subject, yet consistently trotted out by gay marriage advocates.

So, alright, let’s go with it.    Continue at Matt Walsh

Should the Church 'Get Out of the Marriage Business'?

Christians are frequently tempted to excuse themselves from the kerfuffle over same-sex marriage by insisting that the church should get out of the marriage business altogether. Many suggest that we should separate the conception of marriage into the "sacred" and the "secular." These evangelicals aren't questioning the Scripture's teaching on homosexuality. Some Christians just want to bypass debate and focus on weightier matters within the church's walls—like preserving the theology of marriage from being corrupted by democratic fiat.

This argument assumes that Christians can maintain and safeguard their own definition of marriage by refusing to impose a particular viewpoint in the public square. Often with good intentions, some Christians wish to privatize marriage into a strictly ecclesial practice, treating it like we would the Lord's Supper or baptism.

But therein lays the problem: The church's theology on marriage, while certainly ecclesial, isn't sectarian. Marriage leads one outside the walls of the church and into the public square because marriage, by design, reveals a certain cosmology about our essence as being made male and female. Marriage has an innately public purpose by bringing together the two halves of humanity. If you embrace man as man and woman as woman, you might be on the losing end of a culture war over marriage, but you'll be on the side of truth when the dust settles about human nature.    Continue at Andrew Walker

Homosexual Activists at the Church Door

ALEXANDRIA, La. (BP) -- Homosexual activism in America may have started as a movement for toleration. In recent years, however, it seems to have developed into an intolerant campaign to force complete acceptance of a lifestyle many regard as immoral behavior.

Most historians trace the homosexual rights movement's beginnings to what is known as the Stonewall Riots that began June 28, 1969, in New York City.

According to the History Channel website, "Just after 3 a.m., a police raid of the Stonewall Inn -- a gay club located on New York City's Christopher Street -- turns violent as patrons and local sympathizers begin rioting against the police.

"Although the police were legally justified in raiding the club, which was serving liquor without a license among other violations, New York's gay community had grown weary of the police department targeting gay clubs, a majority of which had already been closed.

"The crowd on the street watched quietly as Stonewall's employees were arrested," the History Channel report continued, "but when three drag queens and a lesbian were forced into the paddy wagon, the crowd began throwing bottles at the police....    Continue at Baptist Press

Warning All Churches

Over this year, there have been a number of news reports on another movement in the church advocating for the acceptance of homosexual behavior and same-sex relationships. Matthew Vines, an openly homosexual 23-year-old student at Harvard University, posted a video on YouTube of a speech he gave on homosexuality and the Bible. In the talk, he claims repeatedly that God’s Word does not condemn monogamous same-sex relationships.

Now, a recent report from the Christian Post highlighted the amount of compromise happening within the church on this issue. The headline of the article explains, “50 ‘Hand-Picked’ Christians Trained To Convince Churches To Re-Interpret Scripture’s Gay Boundaries.” Vines apparently hosted a training conference recently in his home state of Kansas for Christians who want to convince their churches to accept same-sex relationships.   Continue at Ken Ham

The Gay Marriage Debate

Recently I’ve attempted to argue that in our discourse about homosexuality we need to return the discussion to the basic description of the acts themselves. I’ve suggested  that on two grounds, one fairly implicit, the other stated explicitly. Implicit in my previous posts was the assumption that the entire premise of homosexuality as social identity needs to be questioned. I didn’t develop this thought, but it was working in my description of how the public conversation about homosexuality turned so quickly and decisively. The more explicit statement was that we need to turn the conversation to the sex acts themselves because the success of the pro-homosexuality campaign depends on our not considering those things actively.

This week a couple of pieces make those points far more eloquently and  helpfully than I could  ever do.

Understanding the Perception and Rhetoric

The first comes from a New Yorker profile of Edith Windsor, the plaintiff in the DOMA case. At one point in the interview, the discussion turns toward rhetorical strategy and public perception. Here’s the relevant bit:   Continue at Thabiti Anyabwile

George and Barbara Witness a Wedding—When a Private Act Sends a Public Message

Former President George H. W. Bush and his wife Barbara attended a wedding a few days ago, and it made national news. According to The Washington Post, the elder Bushes attended the wedding of Bonnie Clement and Helen Thorgalsen, held at Kennebunkport, Maine. The two lesbians, co-owners of a general store in neighboring Kennebunk, were married in an outdoor celebration attended by family and friends. The 41st President of the United States was present, along with the former First Lady. Bonnie Clement told The Washington Post, “Who would be best to acknowledge the importance of our wedding as our friends and as the former leader of the free world? When they agreed to do so we just felt that it was the next acknowledgement of being ‘real and normal.’”

As it turns out, President Bush did not merely attend the wedding. He also served as an official witness, signing the legal documents for the ceremony and the Maine wedding license. Under a photograph with the former president the couple added the words, “Getting our marriage license witnessed!”    Continue at Al Mohler

Are Your Church’s Governing Documents Ready for a Post-DOMA World?

One of the more interesting discoveries I made when researching Baptist polity a few years ago was the lost practice of “recognition councils.” Most Baptists are familiar with ordination councils, in which a local church calls together a group of elders and messengers from like-minded area churches to examine an aspiring minister’s fitness for ministry, and thereafter to advise the church either to pursue ordination, to delay ordination until the examinee is more fit for the ministry, or to deny ordination entirely. Recognition councils occur when a new assembly calls together a group of elders from like-minded area churches to examine its governing documents, and thereafter to advise the assembly to pursue chartering, to delay chartering until its documents are in order, or even to abandon entirely its plan for a new church.

Typically, recognition councils examined a prospective church’s constitution and by-laws, doctrinal statement, and covenant. But there are a great many other documents that may also be subjected to examination: mission statements, philosophies of ministry, employee job descriptions, teacher policies, nursery policies, facilities-usage policies, etc. What I’d like to suggest in this post is that the lost practice of recognition councils be formally revived, or, at the very least, that churches informally pool their collective minds to assist one another in creating ecclesiastical documents that are orthodox, orthoprax, and in our litigious society, as litigation-proof as is possible.   Continue at Mark Snoeberger

RESOURCES: Same-Sex Attraction

Here’s another resource page for your one-another discipleship counseling ministry…

BOOKS/BOOKLETS

• Coming Clean: Overcoming Lust through Biblical Accountability [free E-book] (Luke Gilkerson, Covenant Eyes)
• HELP! My Teen Is Gay (Ben Marshall)
• Hope for the Homosexual – E-book (Paul Tautges)
• It’s All About Me: The Problem with Masturbation (Winston Smith)
• Out of a Far Country: A Gay Son’s Journey to God, A Broken Mother’s Search for Hope (Christopher Yuan)
• Sexual Addiction: Freedom from Compulsive Behavior (David Powlison)
• The Bible and Homosexual Practice (Robert Gagnon)
• Washed and Waiting: Reflections on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality (Wesley Hill)  See the rest HERE

Same-Sex Marriage and the American Church

On Wednesday, five members of the Supreme Court struck down a 1996 decision by the people’s representatives that had limited marriage to one man and one woman.

We have included for you a number of insightful posts addressing this issue below, but let me offer 4 brief thoughts of my own by way of introduction.

1. As one of the articles below says, we as believers must get used to being a “missional minority” rather than a “Christian majority” in our culture. 

This is not altogether a bad thing—the church does best in environments like these. The end result of our culture’s departure from Christianity will probably not be less actual Christians (i.e. true disciples of Jesus), but simply the elimination of more cultural Christians. What is sad is that when any people depart from God’s righteousness, their society deteriorates. As Proverbs says, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” God uses his church as salt and light in their community (Matt 5:13–16), praying for the peace (shalom) of our city (Jer 29:7), and pleading with the civil magistrates to preserve our freedom to be disciples of Jesus in our culture (1 Tim 2:1–4).   Continue at J. D. Greear

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Gay Marriage and the Eclipse of Religious Liberty

Ever since the court handed down its DOMA decision yesterday, it has becomeincreasingly clear that we are one lawsuit away from gay marriage being ensconced as a Constitutional right. My hunch is that such a lawsuit will come sooner rather than later, and that the matter could end up before the Supreme Court in relatively short order. President Obama is already saying that gay marriages performed legally in one state should be recognized by every other state in the union. This matter will be litigated, and—as Scalia noted in his dissent—that other shoe is going to drop.

In any case, the Supreme Court has led us to the precipice of legal gay marriage in all fifty states. As gay marriage moves forward, there is a real question whether proponents of gay marriage will allow any legal accommodation for the consciences of those who hold marriage to be the union of one man and one woman. Observant Christians, Jews, and Muslims would all have religious reasons for defining marriage in the traditional way, but will their religious liberty be respected as gay marriage becomes the law of the land?   Continue at Denny Burk

See also:

What has the Gay Lobby Revealed to You about Your Faith

Where the Prop 8 ruling leaves us?

How Should You Explain the Same-Sex Marriage Debate to Your Children?

Supreme Court Defies God’s Clear Teaching on Marriage
 

7 Lessons for Christians from the “Gay Victory”

Back to Egypt for Exodus International?

By now, many readers will already have heard the news that Exodus International is closing-up shop. What was once a leading evangelical ministry to those struggling with homosexuality has now become defunct. This is in no small part due to the influence of its charismatic president, Alan Chambers, whose views have led the organization into a theological cul de sac.

Chambers announced the ending of Exodus in connection with an extended public apology to those who have been hurt by Exodus’ years of ministry. His apology, however, has caused much confusion and consternation for evangelicals (like myself) who have been watching this unfold from the outside. Among other things, Chambers writes,

I am sorry we promoted sexual orientation change efforts and reparative theories about sexual orientation that stigmatized parents.

For me, this expresses the underlying problem with Chambers’ leadership. I understand the skepticism about reparative therapy. In fact, there is nothing necessarily Christian about reparative therapy, and I am quite skeptical about some of its claims myself.   Continue at Denny Burk

Military Suffers Wave of 'Gay' Sex Assaults

A recent military report on sexual assault in the military shocked many in Washington and around the nation, but a leading expert on military personnel revealed the prevalence of men assaulting other men is one of the major headlines in this study.

The extended analysis of the report first appeared in Monday’s edition of the the Washington Times.

The Defense Department survey of sexual assault in the military during fiscal 2012 estimated 26,000 assaults took place in the armed forces. Nearly 3,000 of them were formally reported. Just more than 6 percent of women reported being victims of assault and 1.2 percent of men said the same. Given the much larger number of men in the military, those numbers suggest 14,000 of the assaults in the Pentagon study happened to men.

Among the assaults formally reported, 88 percent of reports came from women and 12 percent from men. The numbers are getting dramatically worse.

“The number of reports of sexual assaults among military personnel have actually increased by 129 percent since 2004,” said Center for Military Readiness President Elaine Donnelly, who pointed out the number of formal reports of sexual assault jumped from 1,275 to 2,949 in just eight years.   Continue at WND

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