Complicated Relationships

Tags

ministry, relationships

Relationships are, for me, complicated. It’s not a complication I retreat from…not as a bona fide extrovert. No, no…relationships are the lifeblood of my existence. I’d sooner do without air than friends. It’d be less painful.

Matt Moore: Not Ex-gay

Tags

Gospel, homosexuality, sexual sin, sexuality

I agree with him. If he hasn’t been reoriented, calling himself ex-gay would be inappropriate. It’s why I don’t call myself ex-gay. He’s also right…people in the Church don’t often understand the terminology because they don’t understand what “gay” actually even means in today’s English usage.

This is Matt Moore’s testimony:

Let’s pray for this brother. I appreciate his candor and his repentance.

“You’ll Make a Good Pastor.”

Tags

depression, encouragement, loneliness, prayer

This morning, I woke up after having stayed up way too late with two friends of mine…one Catholic and the other Baptist…talking about theology and liturgy (and of course, Mary). I had a headache, but I pulled my prayer book (the one I just recently purchased from CPO in Springfield, MO…published by Concordia) out and prayed one of the prayers for Sunday morning.

I dragged myself to church this morning. I was feeling really low. I literally sat at my desk at 11:20 (5 min. after church had started, 10 min. away), and thought, “What’s the use?”

What Hope Is There?

Tags

groaning, lament, prayer, Revelation

My church had a lessons and carols service last night. What is that? you may ask.

Briefly, it’s a service that’s structured around readings from Old and New Testament passages which talk about the promise of a Savior. It’s something Presbyterian churches (and I’m sure other traditions as well) this time of year.

One of the readings that was done came from Revelation 22. I cried.

Patrick Henry College

Tags

christian circles, conservatism, patrick henry college, religion, Scripture, sexuality

A friend of mine posted up a link to the latest to come from Patrick Henry College. You can read about it here, but the gist of it is this:

Patrick Henry College in Loudoun County is among the country’s most conservatives centers of higher learning. The Christian college is so conservative, in fact, that its founder and chancellor recently rejected the possibility that any gay students might even attend, reports the Loudoun Times:

Gay students at Patrick Henry College in Purcellville don’t exist. They can’t exist. 

So says Dr. Michael Farris, the college’s founder and chancellor.

It’s simple, really. Homosexuals can’t exist at Patrick Henry College because the students sign an honor code, Farris claimed.

“[Homosexuals] could not sign our honor code,” Farris said, adding that he considers the actions of gay men and women “sinful.”

“Part of the honor code is to be sexually pure,” he added.

The honor code in question (available from their website) states:

We, the students of Patrick Henry College, fully aware of our daily dependence on the grace of God, commit to set ourselves apart in thought, word, and deed, to honor Jesus Christ, and to love our neighbor.  We passionately aspire to live our best for the Lord by conducting ourselves in the spirit of Titus 2:11-12:  “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age.”

Therefore, I pledge, by the grace of God, to submit to proper authorities, to be honest, to respect the property of others, and to speak edifying words.  I will refrain from using any substances, such as alcohol, tobacco, and drugs, in any way prohibited by proper authority such as the government, church, family, or school.  I will reserve sexual activity for marriage, shun sexually explicit material, and seek parental counsel when pursuing a romantic relationship.  Finally, I will seek biblical resolution and reconciliation in my conflicts.  I pledge to hold my fellow students accountable to these principles and ask that they do the same for me, in order that Jesus Christ might be honored and glorified.

Now, let’s be fair to the chancellor. In conservative Christian circles, being gay means having multiple partners, sleeping around, no marriage vows to secure a place in the bed of the person you’re sleeping with (by default, of course). And, given the way many (though certainly not all) activist and parade-gay types have acted, this is sort of understandable. The mores in question are not held in common and this creates repulsion and aversion.

Reflections on year 3, semester 1 of Seminary

As in all things, I supposed, there was a great deal of frustration and heartache, coupled with joy and being overwhelmed with the goodness of God.

Regardless of my final grade in one class in particular, the professor was extremely kind to me and understanding when I was simply too overwhelmed to be of much good.

I lost a friend that I loved. He was 40. I lost a second friend who was only 31. I had the realization that I will probably have many years ahead of me where friends will die before me and then after me.

I found a job that I really like and people I really like to work with.

I’ve struggled to feel loved and to know God’s love for me apart from what I do for him. Like most guys, I struggle with knowing who I am apart from what I do. I don’t have all the answers, but I think I’m on the right track.

Come, Lord Jesus. Visit me this Advent.

Inheritance?

Tags

family, gay gene, research, science, sexuality, temptation

A new study from a researcher at the University of Tennessee suggests that homosexuality may be transmitted genetically, though there is no evidence for a single ‘gay gene:’ Homosexuality May Be Inherited (video and story).

Does this bother anyone?

A Brief Update

Tags

homosexuality, marriage, school

It’s finals time. My goal is to have all of them done by Thursday afternoon so that I can cook and clean for a house guest that will be here for the weekend, so after the end of the semester, I’ll have some new material up on the blog.

Also, I saw this article by Kevin DeYoung and wanted to pass it along.

But, in the meantime…

Yep.

The Life Look

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absolution, Gospel, prayer, repentance

Christ, Sustainer and Redeemer of all that is:

I want no other rock to build upon than I have in You.

Forgive me if I have tried to add anything to the one foundation.

Forgive my hesitancy to carry out the good works You have given me to do.

Give me absolution through Your Word and by Your Spirit: tell me that my sins are so far removed from me that they have no power over me.

Grant that I would serve my friends and neighbors well, even in the midst of hope or despair, to the glory of Your Name.

Amen.

Reigning Sin

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baptism, Gospel, John Chrysostom, John Murray, Paul, prayer, repentance, Romans, temptation

There is a total difference between surviving sin and reigning sin, the regenerate in conflict with sin and the unregenerate complacent with sin. It is one thing for sin to live in us; it is another for us to live in sin.

–John Murray, Redemption Accomplished and Applied (Eerdmans 1955), 145

I am baptized into Christ’s death, John Chrysostom tells me, by virtue of dying as Christ did.