Brenna Kate Simonds | Exodus International

Struggle and What Freedom Means

March 6, 2012 by Brenna Kate Simonds

Our dear friend Brenna Kate recently wrote a post on her blog Living Unveiled that’s very insightful on the issue of same-sex attraction and what freedom is.

“Brenna, do you still struggle with same-sex attraction?”

I get this questions a lot. Via email, in interviews, on ministry phone calls. As I was answering such an email earlier this week, I thought it would be great material for Freedom Friday. You can read more about my struggle with same-sex attraction here.

In March of 2000 when my last girlfriend ended our relationship, I surrendered my sexuality to God and chose to walk in obedience to what I believe the Word says about sexuality (I agree with Exodus International’s position on sexuality).

I also asked God to remove my same-sex attraction from me, and in many ways He did. I did not feel the same draw and pull I had felt toward women for as long as I could remember. I felt as if, in many ways, God had “delivered” me from my same-sex attraction.

And then 2005 happened. I began to experience the feelings of same-sex attraction again.

I didn’t do anything with those feelings. I didn’t act out in any way. I just hid them; I felt as if I couldn’t tell anyone. I didn’t want everyone to think I was a fraud.

I did eventually tell my husband and then one of my accountability partners. But it was way more difficult than it needed to be.

What happened back in 2005 to bring on this struggle again? I believe it was a number of things. [Read more...]

Tagged with Accountability, Faith, Fear, God, Healing, Heart, Jesus, Journey, Life, Men, Ministry, Needs, Questions, Relationship, Sexuality, Sin, Struggle, Temptation, Women

The Reality of Grace

April 1, 2011 by Brenna Kate Simonds

My neat, little Christian world was blown to bits at an Exodus conference in 2004.

Exodus wasn’t new to me. I had met Alan & Leslie Chambers at a campus ministry conference in 2000, early on in my dating relationship with my now husband. I had kept in touch with them over the years of dating, engagement and then marriage. The Chambers also connected me with a local ministry for people struggling with same-sex attraction where I began serving in April of 2003.

But though I was very familiar with Exodus, this was my first Exodus conference. I had trekked all the way to California from Boston in order to attend. The conference had been going well, I was learning a lot, and I was having a good time.

And then Clark Whitten spoke.

Let me back up and share a little history.

I had been a Christian 5 ½ years, and my world wasn’t so neat & tidy as I wanted to believe. I had a long history, even before I was a Christian, of trying to overcome my struggles by using sheer will power. The truth is I did have some success overcoming some of the external ways my issues manifested themselves. I was no longer struggling with an eating disorder, something that had plagued me for 13 years. I wasn’t struggling really at all with same-sex attraction. In my good moments, I felt in many ways that I had arrived.

But if I was actually honest, I still had very dark times. Moments when a small trigger of some sort (a scowling glance or a thoughtless word from a loved one) would send me spiraling into a deep place of despair and self-loathing.

My struggle with my thoughts was so intense that a friend had begun to encourage me to explore grace. She saw how hard I was on myself and how I struggled in my relationship with God. She had been sending me emails about grace, as well as mailing books & teaching tapes (yes, people still listened to tapes occasionally then) all on the topic.

I was slowly beginning to realize that while I believed in my heart that I was saved by grace alone, I was demonstrating a different core belief through my actions: through rules and my own effort, I could overcome all my struggles and wrong thinking.

Now back to the Exodus conference.

Clark Whitten was, and still is, a frequent speaker at Exodus conferences. He seems to almost always talk about one thing: grace. At this conference in 2004, Clark preached a thorough sermon on grace (he followed it up with another teaching on the law which was almost as earth-shattering for me).

Honestly, as I sat there, I didn’t believe what he was saying. I mean, he was quoting the Bible, and using the verses in context. It seemed to line up with what I knew about God and what His Word says about grace. But it was, again, shattering my little Christian box I had been living in.

Grace just sounded too good to be true.

Grace really is too good to be true. Maybe that’s why we try to measure our accomplishments through rules and our own effort. Yet God is very clear in how He expects us to react when we fail: “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16

Through giving us His grace & mercy, God has the help we need.

Clark reminded me that Jesus didn’t just die to modify my behavior. I didn’t like that answer at all because I still had a lot of behavior that I really wanted to be modified! That’s why I had constructed a nice set of rules to encourage my own behavior modification. I also saw a lot of behavior in others that I thought needed to be modified (yes, I was a bit of a Pharisee).

If I had boiled it down, my core belief I was demonstrating would have been “I believe I can change myself by berating myself.” Another core belief was “My faith, and the faith of others, can be measured by the external changes we have made.” Thus, when I made a mistake, my response was often to resort to name-calling and self-degradation.

Trying to be free through rules and human effort injects you into a cycle that makes YOU responsible for your own healing. I’ve found living this way only heaped shame and condemnation on my head.

Galatians 3 says “You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?”

Colossians 2 says it another way: “Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: ‘Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!’? These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.”

The Bible is clear: rules have no power to restrain. Human effort will fail us.

So, if following rules has no power to restrain, then what does?

Clark said, “The greatest constraining power on earth against sin in your life is love.”

We make different choices, in our actions and in our thoughts, because He loves us, because He declared and proclaimed us worth knowing, worth loving and worth creating when He hung from that cross.

Choosing to live in grace became one of the keys in overcoming my struggle with self-image and self-acceptance. I needed to choose to walk in His grace when I failed. I needed to learn to accept God’s love when I made a mistake. I needed to transform my mind, as it says in Romans 12:2, and renew my thoughts to line up with what the Word of God says about me. I needed to choose to believe what He says about me.

Does grace sound too good to be true to you?

The Reality of Grace is the theme of this year’s annual Exodus Freedom conference.

I asked the question last September: have you attended an Exodus conference?

This year’s Exodus Freedom conference is June 8-11 in North Carolina. Have you considered attending?

Do it. Seriously. You can find more stories of lives changed at conferences here.

Tagged with Bible, Change, Conference, Encourage, Exodus Freedom Conference, Exodus International, Faith, Finding Freedom, God, Grace, Healing, Heart, Jesus, Romans, Sin, Struggle, Testimonies, Truth, Worship

New Year’s Resolutions With God’s Contribution

February 14, 2011 by Brenna Kate Simonds

It’s February, a little over a month into 2011. How are your New Year’s resolutions going?

Most people make resolutions to lose weight, quit smoking, cut down on their Starbucks spending…. and none of those are bad things, of course! I know I have been purposeful about eating less sugar & refined foods. I’ve been doing OK in that regard.

So, I’ll ask again: how are your New Year’s resolutions going?

February & March are the days when the gyms start to empty, the Starbucks runs become more frequent, and people just tend to start to fizzle out and lose steam. And as I sit here editing this, I must confess I just went on a Dunkin’ Donuts run after going to a indoor playspace – to get snacks for the kids, of course

Telling Your Story: Sharing Your Struggle With Family at the Holidays

December 16, 2010 by Brenna Kate Simonds

The holidays can be intense time. Food, family, fun – and often friction. It’s also a time when those of us who are struggling to overcome same-sex attraction may choose to “come out” to our families.

I came out to my dad as gay-identified at around 15 or 16, then a post/ex-gay at 25, and then as an Exodus ministry leader probably around 29 or 30. He raised me as a single dad from when I was an early teen, and my mom was in and out of the picture. At one point, a family member out’ed me to my mom, but she & I never talked about it since our relationship has always been rocky.

When I began to do more writing and speaking, I felt it was important to share this area of my life with my mom. So I actually “came out” as the leader of an Exodus ministry to her about 4 years ago. She didn’t seem all that taken aback by it; she had actually just learned about Exodus when she heard Alan Chambers on the radio. It was neat to see how God had been working to pave the way ahead of time for my mom to hear what I had to share.

If you’re considering sharing your story with your family during this holiday season, here are a few things to consider:

1. Prayerfully examine your reasons for wanting to share with your family. Are you close and you simply want to share your life with them? Besides “I’m struggling with unwanted same-sex attraction”, weigh the reasons you are sharing. This will also help you figure out what you want to say.

2. Prayerfully consider the timing and who should be there. Christmas dinner is likely not the best time to share. Pick a low-key time, rely on the Holy Spirit’s prompting, and trust that the Spirit will show you when the time is right.

3. Consider writing out what you want to say ahead of time. Pray that the Holy Spirit would give you the words to say. Share with your family the help you are getting for yourself, whether it be through counseling, or an Exodus group. You may want to share a little about how you came to realize you were struggling, or you may just be led to share a simple paragraph with your family and then ask them if they have any questions for you. If you’ve learned in your recovery process that there were some things your parents could have done differently or ways they may have fallen short as parents (and we all have!), it’s best to save those things for another conversation. Otherwise, what they will likely hear is “I’m gay and you made me this way!” even if that’s not what you are trying to communicate.

4. Tell your family how they can help. Consider bringing them a resource to read such as “God’s Grace & the Homosexual Next Door or “When Homosexuality Hits Home”. They may want to read a resource that is directed toward the struggler, such as “Leaving Homosexuality” or “You Don’t Have To Be Gay”. Be specific with how they could help, such as reading one of the mentioned resources or going to a support group for themselves. That said, leave the ball in their court for when and if they are ready.

5. Be prepared to proactively choose to revisit the topic. Tell them you are happy to answer any questions they may have after the news has set in a bit. That said, your family may have questions later, but not know how to bring it up. This can often feel as if your family is trying to sweep your struggle under the rug, but more likely, this is news to them (though you’ve likely been dealing with it for a long time), and they not only need time for your words to sink in, but often they need you to help direct future conversations. When you do bring it up again, keep it simple: “I’m happy to answer any questions you might have about my struggle with same-sex attraction, now that you’ve had time or the news to set in.” It’s also OK if they don’t have any questions at that time.

6. Surrender your expectations to God. As you envision this time of sharing, you may imagine your dad, who has never told you that he loves you, running over to you and hugging you. Or you may wonder if your parents are going to be angry and ask you to leave. While there can be some wisdom in planning how you might respond to your family’s reactions, it is best to continually surrender your expectations to God. As you pray & prepare, make an active decision to trust that God is faithful, He is good, and He is the same God no matter whether your confession results in reconciliation or rejection.

7. Give your family the same grace you hope to receive, no matter what their response. Grace does not mean be a boundary-less doormat. Rather, it means treating your family how you hoped you would be treated, regardless of the choices they make.

8. Ultimately, your identity lies in Jesus. Your struggle with same-sex attraction may at times feel overwhelming and all consuming, but truly, you are, in your core, a child of the Most High God. If you spend time meditating on the Birth of Christ, His sacrifice to atone for our sins and His resurrection power, the Holy Spirit, living within … regardless of how your family responds to this one issue in your life, you are safe and secure in your Heavenly Father.

If you are thinking about sharing your struggle with your family this holiday season, I am praying for you. Really. Feel free to share in a comment, even with just a first initial or anonymously, and I and others will pray for you.

Tagged with Brenna Kate Simonds, Coming Out, Confession, Family, Gay, God, Grace, Holidays, Holy Spirit, Homosexuality, Hope, Identity, Leaving Homosexuality, Life, Love, Men, Mothers, Parents, Support, Teens, Trust

What’s in a Name? The Story of Brenna Kate Simonds – Part 2

November 12, 2010 by Brenna Kate Simonds

Yesterday, I shared the first half of my story. This is the second half.

I had just become a Christian. In one sense, I felt hope, but at the same time, the labels were still haunting me. Even though at the time I could not voice what was going on, I continued to spiral out of control with my eating and relationships. I was so desperate for love that I entered into a relationship with an 18 year old woman with a drug problem (I was 24 at the time). After 3 months, this woman (having been raised in a Christian home) said to me, “Listen – the Bible says you must either be hot or cold – one or the other, but not both. You can’t be a Christian and be gay.” And with that, she ended our relationship.

I threw up my arms saying, “Fine, God! I don’t want to live like this. Please take this away from me.” In many ways, He did. My attraction to women greatly lessened, but the circumstances of my life that led me in the direction of lesbianism had not changed. I felt unsure, but desperate for God.

I didn’t know that support groups existed when I was struggling. I opened up to my Christian friends about my struggle and asked for accountability. The labels were still haunting me. I found a Christian counselor who helped me to deal with my same-sex attraction, as well as my eating disorder, depression and self-injury. Romans 12:2 (NLT) says, “Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” The labels served as a constant reminder that I truly needed my entire thought life to be transformed. It wasn’t that I had moments of feeling worthless and unlovable; in the core of my being, I was sure it was true. My counselor helped me to recognize these faulty names I had allowed to attach to me and showed me how to make them line up with what God’s Word has to say about me (2 Corinthians 10:5).

My counselor also helped me to see that I had attached all sorts of labels and names to God, most of them not true or accurate: unreachable, unloving, distant, unconcerned with my life and struggles, nit-picky, only interested in my failures, punitive, impatient, and constantly angry.

So I wrestled with God. In all honesty, I suppose, it was more like I wrestled and He waited patiently for me to realize that He is who He says He is and He will do what He has said He will do. In the Gospel of John, chapter 6, Jesus gave the disciples a particularly difficult command. Rather than trusting Jesus, quite a few of the disciples decided to stop following Him. When Jesus asked the Twelve if they would leave too, Peter responded, “Master, to whom would we go? You have the words of real life, eternal life. We’ve already committed ourselves, confident that you are the Holy One of God.” That’s how I felt. In the midst of all the questions and doubts, I already knew that I had tasted and seen that the Lord is indeed good.

A few months after surrendering my sexuality to God, I met a man through the campus ministry we both attended. Roy & I continued to be friends for 5 months, at which time we began dating. It wasn’t always an easy relationship. The grip the names had on me was loosening – but it was very slow and painful.

When we first became friends, I was drawn to his strong faith, his free spirit and love for life. I can see that my lack of physical attraction to men in general was due in part to my fear of men and the lies my mother had instilled in me. As I learned more about Roy, as I grew to trust him, and as I recognized that he wouldn’t hurt me, my natural physical attraction was allowed to surface without fear.

Roy & I have been married for almost 8 years and have two beautiful sons. Marriage is not a cure for homosexuality, or even a guarantee of happiness, but simply another part of God’s healing process in my life. I thank God that I came to a point where in my heart of hearts, I felt I had no choice but to embrace Christ and all that He required of me. But what I got in return for my obedience and hard work is an amazing godly man who loves me, unconditionally, like no woman ever did.

I also have allowed God to give me new names. Rather than feeling unlovable at my core, I know that my Father calls me beloved, cherished, in fact – His favorite. Rather than being ashamed of who I am and who I was, God calls me precious, beautiful, redeemed – He has born my shame. He calls me worth knowing, worth loving and worth creating. I am mighty in Him, delightful, created in my Father’s image and strong when I am weak. And in those moments when I feel abandoned, I remember there is nowhere I can go to flee from God’s presence, and when I feel rejected, I know I will never have to feel the rejection that my Savior felt as He hung from that cross. And my mother was right: I have been rescued from hell – not only eternally, but today, God has given me abundant life and a true freedom I never thought possible.

Isaiah 62 says “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her vindication shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch. Nations will see your vindication, all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow. will be a crown of splendor in the LORD’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God. No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate. But you will be called Hephzibah,your land Beulah; for the LORD will take delight in you, and your land will be married.”

What names have you allowed to speak death to you? Do you feel stuck & helpless today as you try shed false labels? If so, I want to point you toward a few resources. Visit the Exodus website to find out if there is a support group or counselor near you that can help you process these things. Check and see if there is a Living Waters program available in your area. You can contact Focus on the Family, as they have counselors on staff and are able to make counseling referrals for you.

If you are feeling hopeless, I just want to again point you to Romans 8:24 and this time, include verse 25:

Hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

Today, I choose to embrace my new names, letting go of the labels I wore for so many years. They no longer fit, as God is making me a new creation. I choose to trust God in the process; He has yet to let me down.

Tagged with Abuse, Addiction, Bible, Biblical Sexuality, Brenna Kate Simonds, Change, Christians, Church, Ex-gay, Family, Fear, Friends, Friendship, God, Gospel, Grace, Homosexuality, Hope, Identity, Jesus, Lies, Pain, Relationship, Scriptures, Sexual Abuse, Sexuality, The Gospel, Therapy, Transparency, Trust

What’s in a Name? The Story of Brenna Kate Simonds – Part 1

November 11, 2010 by Brenna Kate Simonds

Baby Brenna with the sides of her head shaved

A Christian speaker recently reminded me that words are a container for power. The book of Proverbs says “reckless words pierce like a sword”, “the words of the wicked lie in wait for blood”, and “when words are many, sin is not absent”. In the Bible, words & names are very important. Throughout my life, I allowed people and circumstances to label me, name me, and define who I am.

I was born prematurely in May of 1975. I was given a 50% chance of survival and rode in an ambulance to a hospital 50 miles away since the hospital where I was born did not have premie facilities. I was born without a name. My parents didn’t know if I would be male or female, and certainly weren’t expecting my arrival almost 2 months early. I spent the next two months, isolated in an incubator. During those years, premature babies were not touched or held. I was so sick that they ran out of places to stick needles, and had to have my head shaved for more needle ports. The names I picked up were: abandoned, rejected, unloved, shameful, worthy of pain – as good as dead.

My mother is an alcoholic and when she drank, she would recount those days, saying‚ “You were bought from hell.” What she was trying to express to me was the trauma of my birth and the extreme circumstances I was rescued out of. What I heard, from my already broken filter, was: inconvenient, bothersome, a burden.

As a child, I even remember being hyper-focused on the lyrics to the songs my parents listened to. I’d zero in on themes of abandonment, and I carried those feelings of fear and shame into adulthood. I heard: be on your guard, you will be rejected and alone.

During my youth, my family attended liberal churches, serving on various committees and singing in choirs. I always believed in God, but it had little effect on my daily life. My mother continued to drink, ranting at me about the evils of men, what a bad child I was, and continually favoring my sister. What I heard: I was not worth protecting, the castaway, again a burden.

I began experimenting sexually with girls at a young age. This continued until, as a high school freshman, I found myself in a physical relationship with my best friend. I also developed an eating disorder and a struggle with self-injury. About a week into my high school relationship, I secretly looked up “homosexuality” in a health book. The book said that if you had attractions for someone of the same gender, then you were gay. I remember thinking, “There it is, in black and white. I am a homosexual.” I already felt: unlovable, out of control, too much and now a dyke.

The summer after my high school graduation, I was asked if I was interested in going to church with someone I met in a coffee shop. The church was quick to tell me that homosexuality was a sin that would condemn me to hell. Every night I would cry myself to sleep, praying, “God, change me! Why did you make me gay if that means I have to go to hell? Is it true that You want me to be forever separated from You?” The church I was attending did not share the hope for change that the gospel offers to those struggling with same-sex attraction. Their stance was change first: then God will accept you. In my mind, I had asked God to change me, and He hadn’t. And so I embraced my lesbian identity, all the while the labels were being reinforced: rejected, abandoned, unheard, miniscule, unlovable – even by God.

After three and a half years together, my first girlfriend and I broke up. I then met an older married woman, dropped out of college and moved across the country to live with her and her husband. She and I had a mock wedding ceremony and from then on, she introduced me as her “wife.” I lived with this couple for close to two and a half years. During this time, I was repeatedly taken advantage of by a man in my life. The names kept coming: worthless, voiceless, ashamed, only good for one thing – sex.

My “wife” and I eventually decided it would best for me to continue my schooling, so I moved to Boston to attend a prestigious music school, the same school from which my “wife” had graduated. Though I was in an environment where my sexuality was affirmed, I was far from happy. My relationship with my “wife” continued to crumble until it ended 10 months after I moved. My eating disorder spiraled out of control. I was afraid & alone.

Christians seemed to pop into my life to share with and pray for me. They never took it upon themselves to point out my sinfulness or say that I should not be a lesbian. They just pointed me to Jesus. Like everyone else, I was a sinner in need of Jesus in my life. My sexual choices were only one of many indications of this need.

Things continued to worsen. I knew that I needed help with my eating disorder, or I was going to die, but I felt I had tried everything and nothing worked. A friend in recovery suggested I try to pray. I thought, “That’s the one thing I haven’t tried!”―so I started praying.

Around this time, a friend gave me a music CD by a passionate Christian artist. One night while listening, the words of a song gripped my heart. I felt all alone, and my heart was so hard. The voice sang of a friend who was always there, with every tear cried, a friend who would give everything for him. That friend was Jesus – the son of God, who died on the cross to take away my sin, my pain, the false labels and to declare my worth. In the midst of that song, I cried out to God saying, “I want what he has!” God, in His great mercy, met me on that day in January of 1999. I felt: hopeful.

But the names did not disappear. I felt doomed to carry the labels forever. I knew logically that Jesus called me by name for a reason: freedom. At that time, I chose to hold on to hope that He had more for me.

I know many will likely connect deeply with my testimony. Likely as you read this post, your own names & labels have been flashing through your mind. I hope you return tomorrow to read the second part of my testimony and experience, as I did, the truth of Romans 8:24 says, “Hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what He already has?” In the meantime, feel free to check out the Exodus website for resources in your area.

Memories of Bullying

October 13, 2010 by Brenna Kate Simonds

The recent suicides that are related to bullying have brought back some not-so-pleasant memories for me. I’m sure I’m not alone. Coming out of the closet (or rather, being pushed out kicking and screaming) as a high school student in 1990-ish in small-town New Hampshire was not fun. I always joke that Ellen didn’t come out for another 7 years I was made fun of, harassed, threatened, and insulted. I remember sitting in class and having a peer tell me that all gay people should be put on an island and blown up, as my teacher sat there and said nothing. I spent many classes just putting my head down on my desk and crying. I remember once being harassed so severely that I got up and walked out of the class because the anxiety of sitting there, in that class, overwhelmed me. I went to the principal’s office, as I couldn’t think of anywhere else to go. He didn’t ask me if I needed anything, didn’t ask me why I left my class, didn’t send me to the guidance counselor even though I was visibly upset; he just told me I could sit in the waiting area until my next class.

The harassment wasn’t limited to school hours. I would walk down the street and people would threaten me from their cars, yelling insults and screaming “Dyke”. I also wasn’t just bullied because I was same-sex attracted; I was bullied because I was smart, because I dressed differently, because I was a “band fag” – the list went on and on.

I’m sad to say that the people who witnessed these events, including the teachers, principals, students and bystanders, all did nothing. No one stood up for me. I spent much of that time suicidal and depressed.

I never told my parents, specifically my dad, my custodial parent at the time. It wasn’t that I had a bad relationship with him. The threats started before I was out to him, but even after he knew about my sexuality and fully loved and accepted me, I still didn’t tell him. Honestly, I didn’t even think to bring it up.

I didn’t come to know Jesus for another 6 years after high school. Coming to know Him meant slowly learning (still) that I am fully loved, fully accepted, worth creating, worth loving and worth knowing.

What should our response be to all of this? How can we empower our kids (and ourselves, for that matter) to know how to respond to bullying, whether toward them or another person?

We can start by teaching kids to stick up for themselves. I’ve read in several places recently that we should not overvalue compliance or a blind respect for authority. We can teach them to take risks and be problem solvers, to express their emotions, especially ones that are perceived as “negative” ones.

We also need our kids to know that we are here for them and if they are being bullied, we are a safe place to go. Kids need to know we believe in them, and that they (and everyone else) have inherent value that is not based on anything they do or are. They have worth because Jesus’ death on the cross declared that all people have worth. Romans 5:6-8 drives this point home:

When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

Just as important, though, is to stand up for those being bullied. I read several studies that showed up to 70% of bullying ends when someone steps in & stands up for the target of the bullying. So if you see someone being bullied, say something. Research tends to indicate that bullies are more likely to listen to a peer than an adult. That said, adults: teachers, principals, parents – say something. 1 Thessalonians 5:14 says to encourage those who are timid, take tender care of those who are weak, and be patient with everyone.

There are a ton of scriptures in the Bible where Jesus stuck up for an underdog. An obvious example is the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10, but there is also the woman at the well (John 4), the woman caught in adultery (John 8), the women who anointed Jesus (Luke 7, Mark 14 & Matthew 27), Zacchaeus (Luke 19), and the list goes on.

If we are to love God with everything and to love our neighbor as ourselves, then we need to love as Jesus loved and act as Jesus acted.

Tagged with Abuse, Brenna Kate Simonds, Change, Church, Coming Out, Community, Compassion, Family, Finding Freedom, Friends, Gay, Homosexuality, Jesus, Love, News, Research, Respect, School, Sexual Orientation, Sexuality, Sin, Stigmatization, Teens, TN, Tragedy, Truth

Struggle and What Freedom Means

The Reality of Grace

New Year’s Resolutions With God’s Contribution

Telling Your Story: Sharing Your Struggle With Family at the Holidays

What’s in a Name? The Story of Brenna Kate Simonds – Part 2

What’s in a Name? The Story of Brenna Kate Simonds – Part 1

Memories of Bullying

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Struggle and What Freedom Means

The Reality of Grace

New Year’s Resolutions With God’s Contribution

Telling Your Story: Sharing Your Struggle With Family at the Holidays

What’s in a Name? The Story of Brenna Kate Simonds – Part 2

What’s in a Name? The Story of Brenna Kate Simonds – Part 1

Memories of Bullying

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