Engaging with gay Christians
Sir, Further to the various letters following my letter, I am grateful to the editor of giving me the opportunity to respond. In my original letter I did not endorse Steve Chalke’s position. I merely stated that his new stance issues a challenge for all of us to think creatively, intelligently and compassionately on this most difficult of issues over which many of us have theological and pastoral contortions.
Firstly, Mr Ronayne, you may be right from a strictly biblical point of view to link homosexuals with thieves but you obviously are not aware that the pastoral context in which the church is operating has changed entirely.
The predominant view in society is that homosexual practise is not sinful, and gay and lesbian people themselves believe what they are doing is entirely natural. I don’t see this shift in our society when it comes to burglary.
Now, I am not altering my conviction that celibacy is the God ordained path for practising gay Christians, but we do need to understand the cultural context in which we are operating as a church and I fear that your approach would be more likely to distance many within a parish from the gospel of grace than bringing people to Christ.
St Paul was well aware of the need to adapt mission to culture, so my point is not an attempt to cosy up to the prevailing culture for the sake of a comfortable life.
Secondly, I am sorr y Mr Bartley but if we move to a situation where we are expelling practising gay and lesbian couples from our fellowships then we are propagating a ghetto church mentality that separates us from our surrounding culture with very high walls.
Thirdly, Mr Barnes refers to my “anguish”. Believe me, I am much happier than I have been now that I am trying to find a way to make gay and lesbian people feel welcome, whilst still upholding my belief that celibacy is the ultimate goal. Before that, I had been for some of the time exhibiting the same approach as Mr Ronayne and Mr Bartley in my ministry, and at others was falling into the dangerous pit of liberalism. Yes, this middle line is hard, but I would prefer the anguish it causes than the easy comfort of fundamentalist evangelical or liberal approaches.
To conclude I am looking for a way that does not compromise my views on sexual abstinence and yet shows love for such couples. Is there such a way?
Well, from a purely logical point of view maybe not, but then consider the pathway of many people as they journey deeper into a closer relationship with Jesus. All of us have on this journey managed to throw off attitudes and imperfections through the work of the Holy Spirit moulding us into the likeness of Christ. This process came from living within the protection of the church fellowship, not outside it. This process comes from believing and experiencing a God of love, not a God of wrath. This process came through the miraculous grace of Christ working inside us, not through censorious admonition and condemnation.
We are called to be Jesus to everyone, gay or straight, and to be Jesus requires sacrifice, commitment, love and determination, whilst not abandoning our biblical principles. The sacrifices and degree of holiness involved in the true Christian walk have to be carefully and clearly expressed, I agree, but we need to make it clear that the journey only happens when we work in tandem with the Holy Spirit, within a loving and supportive church fellowship.
Why is getting this right so important? Because many have moved from an evangelical, renewed, theology to a liberal, relativist theology precisely because they felt the church lacked compassion and empathy in this issue.
Many have ceased to see Jesus in evangelicals, and so have tried searching for him in the all-embracing language of liberalism. However, by doing so, they have succumbed to a different gospel - one where inner change and transformation in the power of the spirit has been swept aside by a diluted form of Christianity, which though appealing in its language and presentation, lacks any real power to change any of us in any deep way. The Rev Simon Tillotson, Whitstable