Scripture, Ethics, and the Possibility of Same-Sex Relationships
Questions about same-sex relationships are among the most pressing ethical issues facing the church today. While there has been much written on the topic, Karen Keen’s recent book Scripture, Ethics, and the Possibility of Same-Sex Relationships is a provocative contribution to the discussion.[i] I want to engage various arguments Karen lays out in her book […]
Your Arguments about Sexual Ethics Matter Less than You Think
The following blog is written by Greg Coles. Greg is part of The Center’s collaborative team and is the author of the book Single, Gay, Christian. When I teach writing to first-year college students, one of my favorite assignments asks students to write about a time their opinion changed. What, I ask, inspired the […]
What Does God Think About Gay People?
The following blog is written by Greg Coles. Greg is part of The Center’s collaborative team and is the author of the book Single, Gay, Christian. “Is God anti-gay?” Many people expect the answer to this question to be a simple binary, either yes or no. If you’re a conservative (in the totalizing […]
Sex, Purity, and Shame in American Evangelicalism
The following post was written by Dr. Branson Parler, a member of our Collaborative Team, and Professor of Theological Studies at Kuyper College in Grand Rapids. Read more of his work at bransonparler.com. What does it mean for Christians to be “pure” in their sex lives? In particular, how does this message of purity get […]
If I Hadn’t Been Shown Grace, I’d Be a Trans Woman Right Now
By Alan Lamb (name changed to protect privacy) If I never learned about pure, undistilled grace, I would have transitioned to a female and left the church. My journey toward accepting grace began when I graduated high school and stood on the cusp of transitioning. For years I had the desire to dress, act, […]
What the Church Gets Wrong About Singleness and Marriage
By Preston Sprinkle. This article was originally posted at Relevant. Church can be a tough place for single people. Most Christians don’t realize it, unless they’re single, but if you step back and look at our Christian culture, you’ll see that we elevate marriage. In some cases, we idolize it. We see a beautiful girl […]
Clothed with Suffering
The following post was written by Laurie Krieg, a member of our Collaborative Team, and Founder and Executive Director of Hole in My Heart Ministries. Sometimes, when I am meeting with people, I hit what I call a “suffering sentence.” A suffering sentence is a brick wall of unavoidable pain I do not […]
Reflections from a Closeted Gay Pastor
I’m a closeted gay man. When I first typed that sentence, it felt good. The more I looked at it on my screen, the less good it felt. I want the courage to delete the word “closeted” and to not confine my declaration to written words that will never be attributed to me by […]
Announcing A Pastor’s Resource!
Hey friends! One of the most frequent questions we receive from pastor’s is: How do we actually do this? That is, how do we move from ideas to implementation? That question drove us back to the drawing board to create A Pastor’s Resource. This multi-media resource helps equip pastors and leaders to create a culture of […]
Announcing Grace / Truth 2.0!
Hey friends! I can’t tell you how excited I am to announce that Grace/Truth 2.0 is now available! After many months of writing, editing, rethinking, rewriting, consulting, and more writing, editing, tweaking, etc. the second half of the Grace/Truth learning experience is now available for purchase. Grace/Truth 2.0 is not an updated version of 1.0, but an additional 5 […]