Have You Reached for the Panic Button Yet?

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PKen’s leading you to become a church that welcomes and affirms gay people and all their sinful desires!

PKen’s not leading you to become a church that truly welcomes and affirms gay people and all their human desires!

Shouldn’t we be panicked that we so easily choose not to apply essential Christian truths about Sin, Holiness, the Church, and Loving Your Neighbor to gay believers because we think Jesus sees them as more sinful than us?

Shouldn’t we be panicked that we might be downplaying Christ’s call to holy living to his gay followers because we believe the Church has sinned against gays for so long that it should just welcome and affirm them?

Come to EvergreenLA now!

Why isn’t anyone sounding the alarm that we’re much too comfortable being a bunch of holier-than-thou, legalistic, fear-based Pharisees?

A Grateful and Mutually Submitting Faith Village

All Called to Holy Living

Even Though It’s an Ongoing a Struggle

EPH 53 There should not be even a hint of sexual sin among you. Don’t do anything unclean. And do not always want more and more. Things like that are not what God’s holy people should do.4 There must not be any unclean speech or foolish talk or dirty jokes. All of them are out of place. Instead, you should give thanks.5 Here is what you can be sure of. Those who give themselves over to sexual sins are lost. So are people whose lives are not pure. The same is true of those who always want more and more. People who do those things might as well worship statues of gods. No one who does them will receive a share in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

Nothing Unclean. Period.

Before & AfterEPH58  At one time you were in the dark. But now you are in the light because of what the Lord has done. Live like children of the light. 9 The light produces what is completely good, right and true. 10 Find out what pleases the Lord.11 Have nothing to do with the acts of darkness. They don’t produce anything good. Show what they are really like. 12 It is shameful even to talk about what people who don’t obey do in secret.13 But everything the light shines on can be seen.

1JOHN15God is light. There is no darkness in him at all.6  Suppose we say that we share life with God but still walk in the darkness. Then we are lying. We are not living by the truth. 7  But suppose we walk in the light, just as he is in the light. Then we share life with one another. And the blood of Jesus, his Son, makes us pure from all sin.

The Pursuit of Greater Clarity

EPH514 Light makes everything clear. That is why it is said,“Wake up, sleeper.    Rise from the dead. Then Christ will shine on you.”15 So be very careful how you live. Do not live like people who aren’t wise. Live like people who are wise. 16 Make the most of every opportunity. The days are evil. 17 So don’t be foolish. Instead, understand what the Lord wants.

HEBREWS121 4  P u r s u e p e a c e w i t h everyone, and h o l i n e s s , without which no one wi l l see the Lord.

Gay-centered Identity Christ-centered Identity

Congruence by aligning beliefs/values with behavior/identity

Attributions: attractions arise out of who a person “really is”

AUTHENTICITY

Attributions: attractions reflect the Fall, other experiences

Congruence by aligning behavior/identity with beliefs/values

AUTHENTICITY

D R . M A R K YA R H O U S E , I N S T I T U T E F O R T H E S T U D Y O F S E X U A L I D E N T I T Y

Self-centered Identity Christ-centered Identity

Congruence by aligning beliefs/values with behavior/identity

Attributions: desires arise out of who a person “really is”

AUTHENTICITY

Attributions: desires reflect the Fall, other experiences

Congruence by aligning behavior/identity with beliefs/values

AUTHENTICITY

Don’t we all struggle to live

somewhere in-between these two

identities?

“When an impossible objective is given to people in a large hierarchy and

when it is accompanied by immense pressure to produce, the people in the

organization will also experience growing pressure to engage in unethical behavior. An

invisible form of corruption at the top--the exercise of authority without concern or

demand without support--results in a very visible form of corruption at the bottom.”

Rober t Quinn, Deep Change, Jossey-Bass, 1996 (52)

MATTHEW1324  Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.27 “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’28 “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

MATTHEW1329  “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

Jesus loves every sinner and is the only one holy enough to judge anyone.

He calls us to lead holy lives but has mercifully given each of us room to

figure out what that’s supposed to be.

Jesus extends kingdom-hospitality to every kind of sinner, forming a new

humanity by his loving sacrifice. He has destroyed whatever walls divide us so

we can love one another deeply.

He’s sent us to extend that same unconditional love to people who

least expect us to love them.

“Jesus never said, ‘Love the sinner, but hate her sin.’ In

fact Jesus said, ‘Love the sinner, and hate your own sin.’

‘And after you’ve gotten rid of all the sin in your own life,

then you can begin talking about the sin in your

brother’s or sister’s life.’”

Dr. Tony Campolo