Quote:
Originally Posted by ForeverBlessed
I personally know a homosexual living an overcoming life in an Apostolic church.
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I know of some as well. And I'm happy they're overcoming, as the rest of us struggle to overcome our 'thorns' as well.
I mentioned Henri Nouwen, a famous Christian minister and author who wrote some very, very insightful and inspirational stuff. It wasn't until after he died that personal papers revealed his lifelong homosexuality. He fought it every day and chose to live a celibate lifestyle and did not practice or indulge his homosexual predilection. Many people were shocked at this because he gave no indication of his orientation or struggle during his life. Yet he lived for Christ and produced a marvelous body of work and life example that many of us have benefited from on a spiritual level.
Unfortunately, I think too many such people in our churches feel they don't have this option and are shamed in a sense into feeling like they're somehow worse than the rest of us and they leave the church because they aren't welcome. This situation reminds me of Christs admonition that we should never cause God's children to stumble and it'd be better off if we hand a stone around our neck and jump in a lake than face God's wrath for our actions.
As the small groups pastor of a growing church I once commented to a church board member, 'Our groups should have such love and community that a gay person could come out of the closet without fear of rejection or disfellowship". His response? "That'll NEVER happen! Not in MY group it won't!". Another board member of this same church proclaimed that he didn't want gays coming to his church and using the same toilets as he and his grandchildren. And this is a church that viewed itself as 'progressive'. Not so much, imo, and one of the reasons I'm no longer there.