Connecting Columbia Union Seventh-day Adventists

Underscore: How Can We Extend Compassion to the LGBT Community Without Abandoning Conviction?

How can members extend compassion to the LGBT community without abandoning conviction?

Story by Latasha Betts Hewitt

According to recent data, more than 9 million people—roughly the same number of residents in

the state of New Jersey—identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transsexual, referred to as the LGBT community (the Williams Institute, 2011). This increasing number, along with the growing approval rate of same-sex marriage in the United States, which has grown from 35 to 50 percent since 2001 (Pew Research, March 2014), is pushing many denominations to determine a stance on the issue.

Earlier this year, Seventh-day Adventist Church leaders initiated the conversation with a three-day summit in Cape Town, South Africa, titled “In God’s Image: Scripture, Sexuality, Society.” About 40 leaders, including General Conference president Ted Wilson, vice presidents and directors, administrators and academics from Adventist universities, theology experts, legal counsel and doctors, converged “to gain a greater understanding of the issues surrounding alternative sexualities, and to counsel together regarding the challenges the church is facing in this area.”

How does your church meet the needs of the LGBT community? Let us know at facebook.com/columbiaunionvisitor.

One of the conclusions the leaders reached was that “the church affirms its right to describe some behaviors, ways of living and the organizations that promote them as contrary to the Word of God. The church is also responsible, however, to differentiate clearly between its critique of those beliefs and behaviors, and its respect for the persons expressing those beliefs and behaviors.”

In essence, the church confirmed its long-held belief that members should approach all people with redemptive love while remaining obedient to the teachings of the Scriptures. For some, however, the lingering question is, how should members live out that charge? What does it look like?

Although concrete examples have not been given, some church leaders say there are at least four actions and mindsets members can adopt in an effort to show compassion toward LGBT individuals. Click to the next page to see them.

 

July 2014 VisitorRead more from the July 2014 Visitor:

Some church leaders say there are at least four actions and mindsets members can adopt in an effort to show compassion toward LGBT individuals:

1. Continue the Conversation

Paul Graham, pastor of Potomac Conference’s Restoration Praise Center in Lanham, Md., is a proponent of increasing the dialogue with the LGBT community at the local level. “I am not referring to an

AY service either, but during the 11 o’clock service, where individuals can be reminded that God’s grace covers all,” he shares.

Andrews University (Mich.), the church’s flagship school, has already spurred conversations on the topic—twice. A few months ago, they hosted a panel discussion where LGBT students were able to share with more than 600 attendees their experiences and challenges as members of the Adventist Church.

From the moderated discussion, a few themes surfaced: a) LGBT students’ desire to be referred to as individuals instead of part of a demographic, b) their hope for the church to find ways to be an ally by listening, and c) their need for the church to build bridges and change its sometimes hurtful language. At its conclusion, many participants and attendees voiced relief that members were interested in making an effort to break down barriers.1

Pastor Graham suggests that increasing communication with LGBT members also increases awareness and understanding of the LGBT community and dispels the myths that exist. For instance, “all homosexuals do not have AIDS; all homosexuals are not practicing,” he notes.

2. Be an Ally

Acting as an ally to an LGBT individual does not require one to abandon their biblical beliefs, says Pastor Graham. He feels that is where many in the church get confused. He says that when we look at how Christ lived His life, we will see that He was “no respecter of persons.” He accepted all people where they were, loved them equally and then died to make them whole.

When LGBT students at Andrews were asked if they believed that a person could disagree with homosexuality and still be an ally, the response was affirmative. One student described an ally as “someone who is willing to walk with me on this journey.”

Graham also suggests starting support groups where LGBT members can have an outlet, which will keep them engaged in their local churches. Because so many haven’t yet found an accepting congregation, they can only turn to groups like SDA Kinship International, which provides a safe space for LGBT members to “ask questions, discuss research relevant to their situation and live out the convictions they come to.”

3. Roll Out the Welcome Mat

A Pew Research survey of 1,297 LGBT Americans revealed that 29 percent feel unwelcome in a place of worship. Loren Seibold, a district pastor in the Ohio Conference, says he understands why. In one of his former congregations, Seibold recalls a guest speaker who, during his sermon, singled out a perceived lesbian in the congregation, stood directly in front of her and proceeded to educate her on the “depravity of her sin.” The speaker believed he was doing the righteous thing to address the individual and not “her sin.” Nevertheless, she never returned to the church. Seibold notes that, unfortunately, this isn’t an isolated incident.

Pastor Graham, on the other hand, upon learning that a lesbian was visiting his church, made sure to include her in his welcome to all of the day’s visitors. Afterward, she made her way up front to express how much she appreciated the gesture. She subsequently returned for future services.

“If they’re at your church, it’s because they are seeking a relationship with God,” stated one LGBT student during the Andrews discussion.

For congregations that do not have an issue welcoming LGBTs into their church but do not necessarily feel the need to interact with them, Roy Gane, PhD, professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near Eastern Languages at Andrews, believes the life of Jesus refutes this attitude. “Would Jesus ignore or shun people who are the way they are through no fault of their own? Absolutely not!” he says, supporting the arguable point that LGBT individuals are born with that orientation. “He did not even shun people who had caused their own problems by their own poor choices, like the paralytic in Mark 2. …”

Gane feels that we as a church need to give all people the “hope of a new, healthier and happier life, a hope that draws people to Christ, the Source of healing and life.”

4. Remember: We All Fall Short

Pastor Seibold suggests that we stay away from the philosophy “hate the sin, love the sinner.”

When it comes to an LGBT individual, he explains, “First, it is impossible to hate something in someone as intrinsic as sexual orientation and still treat that person as a loved and valued part of the community. Secondly, we need to be willing to apply the same principle to sin of every sort in the congregation—which will assuredly implicate the rest of us.” He then quotes Psalm 130:3 (NIV): “If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand?”

Gane agrees. He argues that putting people in categories can affect our thoughts even when we attempt to be inclusive. “We should not have the attitude that by allowing people to interact with us, as Jesus did, we are doing them a ‘favor’ in a way that will somehow earn us merit before God. We are only doing the least of our duty in passing on the gift of grace that we have received from God,” says Gane.

Pastor Seibold proposes that if we want to make sure we follow in Jesus’ footsteps, then we need to know where He walked and remember how He died. He says, “I cannot forget the words of Scottish clergyman George Macleod of the Iona Community: ‘Jesus was not crucified in a cathedral between two candles, but on a cross between two thieves; on the town garbage heap; at a crossroads so cosmopolitan that they had to write his title in Hebrew and in Latin and in Greek … at the kind of place where cynics talk smut and thieves curse, and soldiers gamble.’ Because that is where He died, and that is what He died about.’”

1 “A Conversation With LGBT Students at Andrews University,” spectrummagazine.org, April 20, 2014

Why I’m no Longer a Lesbian

When the Holy Spirit visited me one Saturday evening in June 2011,I had been living the lesbian lifestyle for eight years and all of my friends were lesbian; the places I went were events with lesbians. I knew He was calling me to a different life, but my response was not an immediate yes. It was weeks of wrestling with the decision before I acted. Read the rest of Leah’s* story here.

 

 

Comments

Thank you for another reminder that we have forgotten our past history. EGW has been set aside; yet she and her husband wrote on these subjects clearly in the 1890's. How to Live, Solemn Appeal, Health Reformer and other materials. I had the privilege of reading some of these materials years ago at the Pacific Press Library. This issue has been with the world from the start of the Bible. We are NOT born with "sin"; just the propensity to do so. Again the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy point out that our whole lifestyle, eating, drinking, looking, thinking, dressing, and much more affect our ability to fall into this problem and also the ability through Christ Our Saviour to overcome. Thank God, for Jesus Christ, Our
Righteousness.

Perhaps some will not recognize that the EGW writings call this "self abuse". To be honest; I have not heard anyone recently use that term. But, is it not true? This is just another abuse of the wonderful body that we were created with. Thank God for the victory In Christ, Our Righteousness as others have shared.

At the tender age of fifty, after a life-long struggle with what is now termed “gender identity disorder”, I decided to change my name and gender presentation and present myself as a woman to the outside world. It was a milestone in a life filled with confusion, uncertainty and a longing for something I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

My groping for answers about the meaning of life, not surprisingly, had a spiritual dimension as well, and as a life-long--if nominal--Christian, I was almost always plagued by a nagging feeling that my faith in and knowledge of God were horribly sub par. But I feel certain that God honored my honest inquiry into these spiritual matters by leading me to lectures and sermons from Seventh-Day Adventists on YouTube. It was not long after I made my gender presentation change that I made this discovery, and after some months of research into the Adventist faith I decided to give a call to one of my local SDA churches. I have to admit after learning about Adventist teachings I was partially believing that they would not want me anywhere near their church, but I was pleased to find that they were very loving and welcoming.

To make a long story short, the Pastor and church members were caring, nurturing and patient. They let me find my way home at my own pace, and after a few years attending I decided I wanted to be baptized and join the Adventist church. Although my Pastor informed me that he would be willing to baptize me as my female self, the Holy Spirit was telling my heart that it was time to put at least this one confusion aside.

I believe firmly that as we near the end of time on this earth, that plain speaking is becoming more necessary. But I also know that I am the kind of person who would have taken a frontal attack on my lifestyle as a personal attack on me and it would have sent me out of the door--perhaps never to return again. Truth cannot be compromised, but presentation and intent cannot be disregarded. If we truly hate the sin but love the sinner, then that love will speak tenderly and with compassion. He spoke in that manner to me through His people, and I will be forever grateful.

I now live as my original male self and am happier every day as I grow in my faith and love for my Savior, Jesus Christ. My life has been a miracle. I pray that I can share that miracle with others.

Thanks for sharing your story! We're glad that you found a nurturing congregation. Isn't that how it should be! :)

John, thanks for sharing your story. I hope and pray that the candid account of your journey will inspire both church families and seekers to put their trust in God for resolution of our spiritual needs. Yes, transformation and healing (of all kinds) is a miracle of a most merciful and loving God. We are privileged to be both a recipient and co-laborer in this process of God's grace.

Thank you for sharing your story john! It's an inspiration for many, in many ways.

I find the current EGW index systems list this as "secret vice". Let us not hide these materials that speak plainly to the issues which have existed since sin came into the world.
These EGW materials emphasize the victory over all sin in Jesus Christ Our Saviour.

After decades of silence, multiple entities are grabbing the microphone as an authority on “homosexuality” and what the church should do.

A word of caution. Seek God’s Word to evaluate whether the opinion being shared is in agreement with His Word.
My name is Wayne Blakely. I was humbled to participate in the World Summit on Homosexuality in Cape Town. In the listing of attendees, “former gays” is an obvious omission. Considering the topic, this omission cannot weather the oversight. In addition, 353 world leaders were present.

A “redemptive” message is vital to EVERY Christian. All the love in the world won’t save us, if we are not presenting the “pure love” of Jesus that changes lives.
Love and acceptance is the loud cry from “authorities” and LGBTs. In this and other articles, there is an emphasis on “sexual orientation.” However Jesus places utmost value on precious lives, not sexuality. He gently and compassionately invites us to seek intimacy with Him. Satan is wrangling our “feelings” through the deception of sexuality and “sexual identity.” How bizarre when you consider God’s plan rather than a worldly plan. The world unfortunately, and many churches are falling into this deception.

While all this clamor is going on as to how Christianity deals with homosexuality, Jesus is being buried under politics and political correctness. No one is asking what Jesus desires. What does God ask of us? What about self-denial out of love and obedience for God?

‘Coming Out’ Ministries includes men and women who lived in the “gay culture” by what came “naturally”. When we encountered Christ, He invited us to follow Him and live according to His will.

“ALL” of us struggle with the fleshly lies of Satan. But like Jesus, we are asked to suffer for Him. When a believer surrenders and abides in Him, tremendous joy and freedom is obtained. Change in sexuality isn’t what is redemptive, even though it may be possible. Living for Jesus and choosing Him is. In listening to the cries for love and acceptance, I believe it is important that we reflect the beautiful, perfect love of Jesus. His love changes lives.

Instead of accommodating the sinner with fleshly desires and “feelings,” let’s share the “pure” love of Jesus. He who died for us while we were still sinners, never covers up sin, but pleads with us to stop resisting Him and live for Him who promises life eternal.

Questions and confusion dominated my youth! In silence, rebellion took over. I wanted to know what to do with my “natural feelings.” I knew they didn’t agree with God. I was hungry for truth and love. Today God reveals light about dealing with “feelings.” The light has always been there. We just refused to talk about it. I have a changed life in Jesus today. One He promises ANYONE who we follow Him.

‘Coming Out’ Ministries shares His immense changing power and love. It’s available to all. We travel the world sharing what IS possible. www.comingoutministries.org

Thank you Visitor for a sensitive article on a sensitive topic. The link to "Leah's story" seems to be broken?

Thank you Meena, We've relinked the article. Just in case, here is that link: http://www.columbiaunionvisitor.com/why-i-am-no-longer-a-lesbian/.

Best!

VMB

Way cool! Some extremely valid points! I appreciate you writing this post and also the rest of the site is also very good.

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