It is one of the great realities that when we reach troubling areas in our cultural engagement that God raises up Men and Women who speak into the vacuum of engaging in a hostile world. They provide a voice where we have difficulty articulating the radical reality of how Christian will always be different from culture. They encourage us to stand when caving seems simpler, to speak up when silence is easier and to unflinchingly tell the beauty of the Gospel story. This message is not a lesser life for certain individuals but is always abundant (John 10:10). Ed Shaw believes that the questions around sexuality are actually a wakeup call to the Church that will help us to become both more resilient and at the same time gracious.
The following are an eclectic mix of authors/articles/links that have been useful as I have researched. It is an imperfect list but is a starting point of what to look at. You will see there is a wealth of material beginning to develop and this will grow. I would encourage as you read any of this material is that these are meant to open us out into a wider understanding of what God calls us to in our Christian walk. The current cultural pushback is sexuality but this is only one of innumerable challenges to the beauty of the Gospel story. So enjoy reading but don’t get hung up on the issue itself, try and understand the underlying cultural trends occurring.
Video:
This is a talk I did in 2015 at a Bible school. Gives a longer explanation of Romans 1 and some of the cultural trends occurring. The video is in two parts. https://vimeo.com/234075380/44c31ea881 https://vimeo.com/234075740/7d120581b9
Matt Chandler. Matt has spoken on a few occasions now on this topic and he is a good sound Bible teacher with a heart for people.
The Gospel Coalition (TGC). I recommend this website in general but it has a number of articles on sexuality. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/tag/sexuality
Living Out. This is a website put together by 3 British men who all have SSA. Two have chosen celibacy and the third now has a wife and children. Good articles on all sorts of topics and plenty of testimonies. http://www.livingout.org/
Web-sites:
Authors who have chosen to live single, celibate lives with same-sex attraction. These are important people to read because they are speaking about the beauty they have found in a celibate life dedicated to the development of their most important relationship – Jesus Christ. These men are teaching us as the Church a depth of understanding of the love of Christ, the call to discipleship and the meaning of community that is critical for us all to hear. Some of their discussion is around whether same-sex attraction (SSA) is actually morally neutral and is not in itself to be redeemed but just not acted on. I am still wrestling with this element of the discussion but please do not let that affect the admiration for these authors and the lessons they are teaching us.
Gregory Coles Author of Single, Gay, Christian https://www.ivpress.com/single-gay-christian
Sam Allberry (Living Out): Here is a short clip that is worth watching from a submission he gave to the General Synod https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCLms7J84JY. Sam is a prolific writer/speaker and you will find articles/messages on a number of sites.
Ed Shaw (Living Out): Author of The Plausibility Problem: The Church and Same-Sex Attraction. This is an important book because it looks at 9 missteps the Church has taken that lead to a celibate calling not being plausible. Has applications well beyond SSA for Church community/practice.
Ron Citlau: Author of Hope for the Same-Sex Attracted and COMPASSION WITHOUT COMPROMISE
Sean Doherty (Living Out): Here is Seans testimony which is both powerful and illuminating. https://www.degruyter.com/downloadpdf/j/anv.2014.30.issue-1/anv-2013-0011/anv-2013-0011.pdf
Rosaria Butterfield: Very articulate and winsome author and speaker. Powerful testimony and good cultural critique as she comes out of a liberal academic background. She writes on a number of sites including TGC but you could start with her at http://rosariabutterfield.com/ where she has her testimony and answers to a number of questions. Here are her two books:
The Secret Thoughts of An Unlikely Convert (Testimony)
Openness Unhindered: a discipleship-oriented book for any Christian, but especially for those struggling with sexual sin.
Jackie Hill-Perry. This exceptionally talented lady is an author, speaker and spoken-word performer. Powerful testimony. http://www.desiringgod.org/aut...
Richard Hays The Moral Vision of the New Testament. Very good short summary of the Biblical text and story for homosexuality. The whole book is worth reading but the following link is his chapter on homosexuality. Great for understanding the Biblical text on homosexuality but also for providing a framework on how to go about making moral decisions. http://heartlandchurch.org/d/The_Moral_Vision_of_the_New_Testament_excerpt.pdf
Glynn Harrison A Better Story:Re-imagining the Biblical Vision for Sex and Marriage. These are notes from a lecture he gave where he encourages us not to debate against the current culture rather to speak a better story- a really important approach. He has subsequently written a book which I imagine will be very good but I haven’t read. http://www.eggscofe.org.uk/upl...
Tim and Kathy Keller: Authors of ‘The Meaning of Marriage’ The is the best book I have read to understand the place of marriage in the overall plan of God for the world. Tim Keller is Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in downtown Manhattan. His congregation are predominantly single (80% at one point) so this book is written both for those in marriage and singles. While it does not address homosexuality directly, it provides a lovely narrative of God’s overarching story and the role we
Short clip of Andrew Wilson debating Rob Bell. Quite revealing about how someone (Rob Bell) appeals to populist arguments rather than the Bible or Gospel story. Andrew Wilson shows a great understanding and a gracious but sincere method of debating. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF9uo_P0nNI
Cautious about putting this in as I don’t want to mock people but does show well the difficulties of holding a modern view of gender identity.
https://www.google.co.nz/url?s...
Interesting article by a secular feminist responding to Bruce Jenners transition and why that makes things complicated around defining gender. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/07/opinion/sunday/what-makes-a-woman.html
Tim Kellers rebuttal of the arguments put forward by the revisionists concerning the Biblical view on Homosexuality. https://www.redeemer.com/redee...
Authors who have come out of homosexual relationships and so speak from
Other bits and pieces
