Do you love New York?

As you've no doubt heard, New York recently became the 6th state to legalize gay marriage (get that story here). Whatever you believe about this debate it has been an emotional battle for sure. It has been framed as an issue of rights but it really isn't (no one had the right to marry the same sex and everyone in our country has the right to marry the opposite sex - we all have equal rights). It is rather a debate about restructuring and tinkering with the foundation of our society in a way that will have many potential consequences (get some unbelievable stats from peer reviewed journals here). That being said, we, the "church" bear a tremendous amount of responsibility for the reality that our country has devalued marriage to the place we're at today. Christians have led the divorce revolution, showing through our lives and marriages that marriage and the family aren't worth respect or protection. We've also made this political issue more important than showing love to the gay and lesbian community that need to see God's love in a real way! I think the main thing for us to remember in all of this is that the gay and lesbian community are no different from any other demographic - they need Jesus! In stead of getting drawn too deep in this firefight I hope you'd take the time to love your spouse (and begin living a good example of marriage), pray and share your faith with any gay or lesbian friends you have. Here are a few great ideas for sharing your faith with gay and lesbian friends. Also, you won't want to miss the great video by Mike Haley below. So, to answer the question I began with, yes, I still love New York and hope you do too and I really hope we'll reach New York and the gay and lesbian community around the world for Jesus! Finally, this, like all news stories, provides a great opportunity to share the gospel. Get ideas on how to turn a conversation about this topic, or any topic, back to the gospel here.

How to share the gospel with gay & lesbian friends

With everything that has been happening this past week I wanted to post a few notes on how to share the Good News with gay and lesbian friends and family. I am by no means an expert on this subject but working in college ministry we find there are students struggling with homosexuality and same-sex attraction in our ministry pretty much every year. They often come to us asking for answers. It is important to remember that sin is sin and we should NEVER look down on them thinking their sin is worse than other peoples' sin. We should love them with open arms the same way Christ has loved us.

Here are their main points for sharing your faith with gay and lesbian friends you know: 1) See a person not a homosexual, 2) be willing to listen, 3) point your friend to Jesus not heterosexuality (1st things 1st), 4) don't expect to know all the answers and 5) give them hope for something better. Get those points in full detail by clicking here and please check out the Exodus resources page here.

I would also encourage you to listen to Mike Haley's testimony and share it with them (this is one of the best testimonies you will ever hear, Mike turned to Christ from the gay lifestyle and now has a wife and kids and has an incredible ministry to that community in our country - here's part 1 of his testimony and here's part 2). If you like Mike's testimony check out his book, "101 Frequently Asked Questions about homosexuality" here. If you have time you should also check out "Ministering to the Gay and Lesbian Community." Also, for very revealing stats and peer reviewed resources that support Biblical truth about this issue check out these notes (but on that note, be sensitive about how and who you share those resources with).

More important than anything though is to genuinely love them. They need to know you accept and love them as a person. In that context of authentic Agape love you can share the hope we have in Jesus with them. I'm sure I'll write more on this later but I know it's on a lot of your minds right now so I wanted to share a few resources with you. Finally, check out the short version of Mike's testimony here (but also, please, check out his full testimony linked above). I hope you have a great day and please share the Good News with your gay and lesbian friends.