Last week the United Methodist Church (UMC) caved to the LGBTQ agenda.
For several years the UMC has pushed back against progressive efforts to embrace same-sex marriage, the ordination of LBGTQ pastors, and the full inclusion of those who identify as LGBTQ into all church ministries and activities. That all ended last Tuesday by an overwhelming vote of 667-54 by the general conference delegates.
The UMC joins other major denominations—The Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, the Presbyterian Church, the Episcopal Church, and the United Church of Christ—in the sell-out to our sexualized culture.
It is surprising that it took so long for the UMC to take this position since they pioneered outreach to the homosexual community, which I wrote about a few weeks ago. These denominations represent approximately 12 million baptized Christians in the US; the UMC is the largest of these, with over 5 million.
The pressure on all churches in the US is not to welcome attendance of LGBTQ individuals at church services. Most churches welcome all seekers. The real pressure is to affirm those who identify as LGBTQ as a special group whose unique needs must be accommodated and celebrated, namely that their sexual identity is normal.
The “normality” view of LGBTQ identities has grown dramatically in just the last few years largely because of our inaction as Christians and, frankly, as citizens. Our failure to effectively advocate for the truth about God’s design has led to a growing number of children being groomed and recruited into LGBTQ lifestyles, many through school-backed gay-straight alliances.
Between 26% and 30% of children currently in school identify as LGBTQ. This is up from 20.8% for Gen Z, which is up from 10.5% for Millennials.
The dramatic increase in children identifying as part of the alphabet sub-culture over such a short period of time points toward an artificial cause. This is not a spontaneous reordering of the sexuality of our younger generations. This is the result of propaganda and active recruitment to a cause.
The dramatic increase means there are intentionally increasing the number of Christian parents who are torn between a child they love who identifies as LGBTQ and their church, a church that is theologically opposed to affirming those who claim such identities. Yet parents and their church leaders alike fear pushing their LGBTQ-identifying children away from the church.
We all are sinners. LGBTQ sexual activities are just as bad as other sexual sins of adultery, polyamory, heterosexual fornication, incest and rape? All sin is evil in the sight of our Holy God.
The pressure on all churches to reevaluate their stance on sexuality is very high when you have 30% of the youth identifying as other than heterosexual. Many of these are children of church members and church staff.
The five mainstream churches listed above have already made the wrong decision and are lost. However, all remaining denominations and non-denominational churches are struggling with the issue. On the one hand, church leaders want to remain faithful to biblical instruction, and on the other, they do not want to alienate the youth, who have been propagandized into being more accepting of alternate lifestyles.
At least in our post-truth environment, emotionally charged issues like these tend to be resolved by what people want rather than by what is right and what is true. What they want is to “feel” better, to be free of fear and anxiety about their children, to be seen as loving, accepting, and caring, and to be in alignment with the Bible.
The only way to accommodate all these wants is to redefine the language and change the plain meaning of biblical passages. Which is exactly what many churches have done or are in the process of doing.
Virtually all churches recognize that we are all sinners. This, in and of itself, does not disqualify us from church attendance or membership. In other words, there is no hierarchy of “worthiness.”. So, how can we deny attendance at church based on the type of sins committed?
We can’t.
There is, however, a difference with those who identify as LGBTQ. The way “LGBTQness” is often presented is as a cohesive group. Supposedly, each member of the group has no control over their sexual identity. Their identity, the group asserts, was thrust on them, and there is nothing they can do to change it. Some of these people believe they were “born this way,” and some believe that their sexuality is naturally fluid.
Because of this, it is argued that the condition of being LGBTQ cannot be considered sinful, that the identity a member of the group embraces exists on a normal continuum of human sexuality.
Does it?
The Bible makes it clear that LGBTQ behavior is sinful. However, there seems to be no reference in the Bible to any of the alphabet identities or even to the overall term homosexual. The fact is the term “homosexual” is a modern innovation and was not used until the 19th century when it was first coined by Hungarian journalist and human rights activist Károly Mária Kertbeny (born Karl Maria Benkert).
Until the 19th century, it was the conduct of those we now identify as LGBTQ that was used to describe them. “Homosexual” is the most common term that has been used since then. Before that, other terms, like sodomite, Uranian, Sapphic, and invert, might have been applied to the conduct. As far as I know, in the past, the terms were never intended to set these practitioners apart as some kind of separate tribe or subculture.
Today, though, those who identify as LGBTQ generally see themselves as belonging to a distinct group. LGBTQIAP2S+, and so on, is the comprehensive group, with each letter representing a subgroup within the larger body. So, the belief, in general, by members of the LGBTQ “tribe” is that they were created as a member of the group and that their specific sexual preferences exist on a normal continuum of human sexual expression.
That’s not the way Jesus relates to us. He does not develop a relationship with a group and then with us as a member of that group.
Jesus encounters each of us as an individual. John 3:17 tells us that “God did not send His Son into the world to codemn the world, but that the world throught [Jesus] might be saved.” He calls on us to repent.
People who identify as LGBTQ, whether they are an L a G a B or whatever, most often expect the rest of us to accept they were created as whatever letter they are and that they are normal just that way. Even if they are willing to refrain from engaging in biblically prohibited behavior, they most often still see their identity as LGBTQ.
Do you know what these letters mean? L=Lesbian, G=Gay, B=Bisexual, T=Transgender, Q=Queer, I=Intersex, A=Asexual or Androgynous, P=Polyamorous or Pansexual, 2S=Two Spirit, Ecosexual, Sado-Masochist, Minor Attracted Person (i.e. Pedophile), and it goes on and on. These are all made-up sexualities. They are what is known as paraphilias. They are aberrant sexual desires. Some believe their sexuality is fluid. They can be gay this morning and straight this afternoon.
The reality is that there are no such identities. We are either a human male or a human female. There is no other identity. We are not defined by our desires and our desires do not determine who we are. The church, to remain in alignment with biblical teaching, cannot accept the idea that any of these desires represent an identity.
Our identity is in Christ alone. (2 Corrinthians 5:17)
Charles W. Socarides, a psychiatrist and a pioneer in the treatment of those with same sex attraction, wrote more than 50 years ago:
“Some say gays were born that way. Some say homosexuality is a choice. Few mention a third possibility—that homosexuality is unconsciously determined in a child’s early years, and that we have a practical science that can grapple with those unconscious beginnings. It is called psychoanalysis, and it is a science that can bring freedom to the lives of many who are stuck in a place they would not otherwise choose.”
Today, several states have prohibited the kind of therapy offered by Dr. Socarides. Moreover, the ethical standards for many in the helping professions often prohibit therapists from doing anything other than affirming the sexual attractions of those who come to them for help, even if they want to change.
It’s not just psychoanalysts who offer hope for healing. The church itself is a place of healing. Not only can Christ empower us to resist temptation to succumb to our prohibited lustful desires, but He can heal us of the desires themselves, regardless of what they may be.
The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans:
“…reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.” (Romans 6:11-12)
“Be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12:2).
Some derisively mock efforts of the church to heal the same-sex attracted by claiming the church pointlessly tries to “pray the gay away.” Their implication is that it does not work because their LGBTQ identity is unchangeable.
They are wrong.
There are countless instances of healing that incorporate a combination of repentance and transformation of the mind. I don’t know of any instant healings, but I know of many cases where the same-sex attracted have been relieved of their aberrant desires over time. And there are thousands of fully documented cases of healing in the literature.
Healing does not happen overnight. It usually occurs in a supportive community and through much prayer. Yet it always requires a sincere desire to repent and a commitment to change.
One problem for those who identify as LGBTQ coming into the church is too often, they might come not as individuals seeking to learn and explore a relationship with Christ but as ambassadors of whatever LGBTQ group with which they identify. Instead of seeking personal relationships with Christ, their goal is the affirmation of their alphabet identity. They see themselves as a hyphenated Christian.
Hyphenated Christianity is a compromise that does not work. The fallout of that kind of compromise led to five major denominations eventually embracing heresy.
More churches will follow. Is yours next?
