Dear Friends,
I hope you are enjoying your summer. Currently, my family and I are in California packing up Leslie’s folks who have decided to move to Orlando after a lifetime in the city where they live. It is a daunting task to pack up 65-75 years worth of mementos and leave relationships that have been forged over decades. Yet, sometimes it becomes apparent that God wants to change our course and leads us to a new place. As believers we must trust in His character and follow.
There are striking parallels between what my in-laws are going through and the journey that so many of us have experienced when God called us out of homosexuality. Each day there are those who are just beginning that journey to a new life found solely and completely in Christ. There is a grief in leaving a familiar life behind and moving into one that is unfamiliar. However, the thousands of men and women who work within the Exodus movement know the journey well and are well equipped to guide and minister to people along the path. Exodus isn’t the answer; it’s a lighthouse guiding people to a deeper, richer, fuller, mature life in Christ.
As you know, our mission is mobilizing the Body of Christ to minister grace and truth to a world impacted by homosexuality. While there are some churches that are effectively reaching people with God’s grace, while also standing on the foundation of God’s unchangeable truth, there are others doing what they’ve always done – beating people with the truth. And finally there are others, more than you can imagine, abandoning truth and offering a counterfeit to grace that ignores all that Christ died to free us from.
Recently we have seen two very different responses from two very prominent churches in America. I have to say that I have enormous respect for both churches and their pastors. Both have exemplified Christ and impacted millions of people for the Kingdom. The first, Mark Driscoll, Sr. Pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, recently posted on his Facebook page something derogatory about effeminate worship leaders. I’m not sure what his point was but it did seem to show an ungracious part of his heart toward a group of people who don’t fit the stereotypical masculine mold. As you can imagine there has been a backlash against Mark. I don’t wish to enter into that, but several of us at Exodus did share our heart, disappointment and stories with him, along with an offer to help him do better. I hope he will take us up on that.
The second situation was with Willow Creek Community Church, the mega church in the Chicago area led by Bill Hybels. Willow Creek was one of our first Exodus Church Association partners. They have had an incredible outreach for two decades to people dealing with same-sex attractions. In 2009 an inquest of sorts was embarked upon, led by one of their elders to find out what they were offering to people affected by unwanted homosexuality. The inquest culminated in a meeting between members of the Exodus staff, the elder in question and the staff person overseeing their recovery ministries. At that meeting they shockingly declared that they didn’t want to help people overcome because that wasn’t possible. They simply wanted to tell people that abstinence was the only option and then provide them with comfortable place to abstain.
Both of the above responses fail to convey the heart and truth of Christ. Christ doesn’t say come to me and expect nothing. He beckons us and opens our eyes to the more that IS possible through Him. I’m not talking about feelings or attractions. I am talking about freedom over sin (even amidst our temptations), joy incomparable, maturity in Him and so much more. Pastor Mark’s response seemed to shame and wound. Willow Creek says that more is possible, but not for those who are same-sex attracted. Finding a nice comfortable place in the church while being miserable because there is apparently no hope falls far short of the Gospel message.
Can I tell you that God called me to be ALL that He envisioned? He promised and delivered a new life, a new heart, a new desire, a new outlook, a deeper intimacy, a greater joy and so much more than I could have ever dreamed of. He didn’t call me names or point out my failures and He didn’t allow me to wallow in those failures either. He changed my heart and gave me possibilities.
It is high time that the Church understands the heart of their Creator and Savior. He isn’t belittling people into the Kingdom or simply offering a safe haven for the lonely and abused. He is still offering freedom and complete transformation for those who invite Him into their hearts. The Church should understand that best and share it the most.
Pray for us as we seek to do what God has called us to do. Pray for those who need to know the real Christ. Pray for the Church and its leaders. We need a reformation. Lives are at stake.
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