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Letter from Brazil – Alan Chambers Ministers and Experiences God’s Amazing Grace

August 26, 2010 By Randy Thomas View Comments
Alan Chambers

This letter from Alan Chambers appears in both our offline and online newsletters.  To receive this letter along with the full newsletter online via email or offline through the postal service please sign up here. (emphasis Alan's.) --- Dear Friends, I am writing to you from Mage', Brazil - a very poor city about 40 miles from Rio de Janeiro. I was invited to be the keynote speaker at an annual institute held at Central Baptist Church. The pastor's wife originally learned about Exodus and me when she saw a pastor on television promoting God's Grace and the Homosexual Next Door, the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Around the World, Brazil, Canada, Church, Culture, Equip, Gay, God, Jesus Christ, Lesbian, Post-gay Tagged With: Alan Chambers, Around the World, Canada, Church, Culture, Devotion, ECA, Encourage, Exodus, Exodus International, Faith, Family, Freedom, Friends, Gay, Giving, God, Good News, Gospel, Grace, Homosexuality, Hope, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Love, Melissa Fryrear, Ministry, Needs, Online, Randy Thomas, Sexuality, Sin, Television, The Good News, The Gospel, Trust, United States, Writing

Unconditional Surrender by Gwen Gibson – Real Stories for August 2010

August 26, 2010 By Randy Thomas View Comments
young woman -1

This testimony appears in both our offline and online newsletters.  To receive testimonies like this along with the full newsletter online via email or offline through the postal service please sign up here. --- Unconditional Surrender by Gwen Gibson I struggled with same-sex attraction for nearly twenty years. In college I hung around lesbians and developed lesbian friendships. Finally one asked me, “If you aren’t homosexual, why do you hang out with lesbians?” It was like she held a mirror up to my face and said, “Who are you, and why are you here?” In my twenties, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Church, Culture, Encourage, Identity, Lesbian, Post-gay, Sexuality, Testimonies, Youth & Young Adults Tagged With: Change, Church, Counsel, Counseling, ECA, Emotional, Exodus, Freedom, Friends, Friendship, Giving, God, Grace, Healing, Heart, Homosexuality, Identity, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Journey, Lesbian, Life, Love, Men, Online, Relationship, Sexual Identity, Sexuality, Sin, Soul, Testimony

ELCA Split Births New NALC Denomination

August 26, 2010 By Randy Thomas View Comments
Click to Visit Lutheran Core/NALC

The fallout from the denominational split over homosexuality continues.  From New Lutheran Group Likely to Rise from Gay Discord (emphasis mine): ... As of early August, 199 congregations had cleared the hurdles to leave the ELCA for good, while another 136 awaited the second vote needed to make it official. In all there are 10,239 ELCA churches with about 4.5 million members, making it still by far the largest Lutheran denomination in the U.S. And the breakaway members gathering in Ohio will face their own challenges if they vote to start another denomination at a time when attendance at … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Church, Educate, Gay, Lutherans, Post-gay Tagged With: Church, Clergy, ECA, ELCA, Exodus, Exodus Church Association, Faith, Gay, God, Homosexuality, Hope, Identity, Lutheran, Lutherans, Marriage, news, Pastors, Prayer, Scripture, Sexuality

Living Water, The Well – Kristin Tremba’s Video Testimony

August 24, 2010 By Randy Thomas View Comments

Living Water: Labels from The Well on Vimeo. From The Well's vimeo page containing this video: Kristin Tremba struggled with gender identity and same sex attraction throughout the early years of her life. She experienced emotional intimacy with a good friend during college and through those feelings she concluded that she was gay. However, she didn’t want to take on that gay identity and kept her struggles silent. In her late 20’s, she began to fear that she would never marry a man and have a family. She lacked the trust that God would provide for her future and fell into an emotionally … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Church, Encourage, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Lesbian, Marriage, Media Mentions, Post-gay, Presbyterian, Testimonies, Video, Websites Tagged With: Church, Culture, Emotional, Exodus, Family, Fear, Gay, God, Identity, Intimacy, Kristin Tremba, Life, One By One, Prayer, Presbyterian, Relationship, Testimony, Trust, Truth, Video

Joe Carter on “Gay Gene Eugenics”

August 19, 2010 By Randy Thomas View Comments
molecularmodel

Just when you thought the issue of homosexuality couldn't get any more complicated, Joe Carter writes a Column for On The Square (First Things) title Gay Gene Eugenics. Here are some excerpts (emphasis mine): When it comes to homosexuality, those who support gay rights don't often find themselves agreeing with conservative Christians. Advances in biomedical technology, however, should push the two groups to agree that the biological basis for the homosexual orientation is irrelevant. Although their motivations may differ, each side has reasons for promoting the idea that sexual activity is freely … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Culture, Educate, Gay, God, Lesbian, Parents, Post-gay, Youth & Young Adults Tagged With: Change, Christians, ECA, Gay, Gay Rights, God, Guide, Heterosexual, Homosexuality, Hope, Los Angeles Times, Love, news, Normal, Parent, Print, Sexual Orientation, Sexuality, Sin, Support, Truth

Facebook Flashbacks and Friendship

August 18, 2010 By Randy Thomas View Comments
Friends

Facebook is crazy.  And  little bit scary. Almost every significant (still living) relationship I have ever had is represented in my friends list.  It's been an astounding adventure to reconnect with people from almost every stage of life from my past to present. It all started in August of 2008. Two years ago I was on sabbatical and had a thought, "Hmmm... I wonder if my high school friends have found facebook yet?"  Two hours later I had found 15 of them and was quietly tripping out on how much life had changed for some and was completely the same for others.  This has led to a roller … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Encourage, Friendship, Gay, God, Holy Spirit, Identity, Jesus Christ, Post-gay Tagged With: Abuse, Anger, Change, Christians, Facebook, Family, Fear, Friends, Friendship, Gay, God, Heart, Holy Spirit, Homosexuality, Jesus, Kid, Life, Love, Men, Relationship, School, Sexuality, Sin, Teen, Testimony, Video

False Prophet Fred Phelps and The First Amendment

August 17, 2010 By Randy Thomas View Comments
Funeral Protests

It's just amazing that the ACLU joined forces with the Phelps gang on this one: Judge: Mo. funeral protest ban unconstitutional By CHRIS BLANK - Associated Press Writer JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A federal judge Monday ruled that Missouri laws restricting protests near funerals are unconstitutional. Missouri legislators passed two laws in 2006 in response to protests at servicemembers' funerals by members of Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan. The church contends the deaths are God's punishment for the U.S. tolerating homosexuality. U.S. District Judge Fernando Gaitan ruled the laws … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Culture, Educate, Gay, Identity, Religious Liberty, Sexuality Tagged With: ACLU, Church, Family, Fred Phelps, Freedom, Gay, Homosexuality, Protest, Sexuality, United States

CNN Belief Blog Interviews Alan Chambers About Prop 8 and Gay Rights

August 10, 2010 By Randy Thomas View Comments
Photo Credit CNN

From ‘Ex-gay’ ministry on gay marriage's chances after Prop 8 ruling ... “It’s disappointing that a judge would rule against the will of the people,” says Chambers, author of Leaving Homosexuality. “That’s the greatest tragedy.” For 34 years, Exodus has told gay and lesbians that they can be “delivered” from homosexuality through faith in Christ, professional counseling and support groups. But how will groups like Exodus fare if fewer Americans believe that homosexuality is a sin, and if gay marriage becomes an option? Chambers acknowledged that “our culture is changing” … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blogs, Church, Culture, Equip, Gay, Identity, Lesbian, Marriage, Media Mentions, Post-gay, Religious Liberty, Sexuality Tagged With: Alan Chambers, Christianity, Christianity Today, CNN, Compassion, Culture, Ex-gay, Exodus, Gay Rights, Gospel, Homosexuality, Leaving Homosexuality, Lesbian, Life, Love, Marriage, Men, Ministry, Popular Culture, Professional Counseling, Public Policy, Sexuality, Support, Support Group, The Gospel

What Is The Gospel Response to Prop. 8? – Christianity Today Quotes Alan Chambers

August 10, 2010 By Randy Thomas View Comments
prop-8

From What Is The Gospel Response to Prop. 8? : Alan Chambers, president of Exodus International: I believe that God is calling his church to a place far above the arguments surrounding what is sin and what isn't. We cannot avoid the glaring scriptural truth that there is, and will always be, a right way and a wrong way concerning just about everything we can imagine. And, yet, I believe that our attitudes towards people (internal and external) are just as important as our positions on the issues at hand. So, when I first saw the news that Prop. 8 had been overturned, my very first thought was, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blogs, Church, Culture, Encourage, God, Identity, Marriage, Print, Religious Liberty, Sexuality, Websites Tagged With: Alan Chambers, Christianity, Christianity Today, Christians, Exodus, Exodus International, Gay, Gay Rights, Gospel, Grace, Heart, Judgment, Life, Marriage, Relationship, The Gospel, Truth

Suicide Rates Among Gay Community Increase

August 9, 2010 By Randy Thomas View Comments
despair

From Deseret News: SALT LAKE CITY — As the number of suicides among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender populations continues to increase across the nation, concern among the Utah LGBT community has begun to push the issue into the spotlight. In July, Utah's LGBT community lost at least three members to suicide, including a 28-year-old man whose death was mourned by more than 300 people during a candlelight vigil on the steps of the state Capitol. Two other suicides of well-known members of the LGBT community, also gay men, have occurred in the past month. Though the problem is well … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Church, Culture, Educate, God, Identity, Jesus Christ, Sexuality Tagged With: Abuse, Christians, Church, Community, Counsel, Criticism, Emotional, Faith, Gay, Gay Community, Giving, God, Gospel, Grace, Heart, Homosexuality, Hope, Jesus, Lesbian, Life, Love, Men, Ministry, Parent, Respect, Sin, Support, Support Group, The Gospel, Transgender, Unconditional Love
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