exodus youth

From ChristianPost.com:

In the aftermath of the passage of California’s Proposition 8, Newsweek and Hollywood are the latest players to launch their attacks on traditional marriage supporters and the biblical case against homosexuality.

And Christians are taking issue with the misconceptions, factual errors and holes in the arguments being presented in popular public spheres.

Read this article >>

You can also check out Exodus VP Randy Thomas’s thoughts on his blog.

A common roadblock in the pursuit of purity is the accountability relationship that starts off with good intentions but quickly fizzles out. Ever get depressed and discouraged by simply hashing over the same habitual sins over and over–even in the company of supportive Brothers or Sisters in Christ?

What if accountability was meant to be more than that? Check out this great article over at the Boundless webzine:

A large church in Michigan was the target of a Sunday-morning demonstration by gay activists which quickly got out of control:

The disruption came from a group that calls itself Bash Back, and involved demonstrations outside the church and inside the sanctuary while services were under way, said Mt. Hope Church communications director David Williams.

Members of the group inside the church shouted pro-gay slogans, threw leaflets, unfurled a banner and pulled a fire alarm, then hastily departed, Williams said. There were no injuries, he said.

(more…)

On Sunday, November 9th, about 100 protesters showed up outside the First Baptist Church of Dallas to demonstrate against the weekly sermon entitled, “Why Gay is Not O.K.”

Carrying signs bearing the words “I’m Gay and It’s OK” and “Christ Taught Love Not Hate,” the protesters lined both sides of San Jacinto Street in front of the downtown church.

They sang “Jesus Loves Me” and cheered when passing motorists honked their horns and waved in support.

(more…)

Does the Bible really say that homosexuality is a sin? Or does it, as some people say, actually condone and celebrate homosexual relationships? As Christians, we need to know what the Bible tells us about sexuality and gender. Here’s a quick overview of what Scripture really says, as well as responses to some of the most common challenges made to our understanding of the Bible. (more…)

I know what an important question this is to you; it’s a question I’ve asked many times. In the middle of an internal conflict between powerful desires for the same sex and the deep conviction that what the Bible says is true, something’s got to give. What will it be?

For those who are just starting to look at a journey out of homosexuality, we are often thinking in terms of attraction when we ask about change. Will we always feel our same-sex attractions (SSA) so strongly? Will we ever have opposite-sex attractions (OSA) to a satisfying degree?

(more…)

Many Christians are intimidated by the issue of homosexuality because it seems so hard to understand. Some decide they can’t minister to a person struggling with it because they just don’t know enough. After all, how can you minister relationally to someone going through something that feels totally alien to you?

The answer is, you can probably relate to those who struggle with SSA a lot more than you think!

If you look at homosexuality on a surface level–simply as sexual and/or romantic desires for the same sex–it’s probably not something you can relate to at all. It’s important to realize, though, that the attractions are not what this struggle is all about. In truth, the underlying issues that someone with SSA needs to deal with are a lot more universal than even they realize. (more…)

Everybody’s story is a little bit different. Maybe you’re struggling with same-sex attraction or you know somebody who is. The good news: you’re not alone! Or maybe you heard about Exodus somewhere and just couldn’t believe something like this really existed. In any case, we’re glad you’re here to find answers for yourself. Let’s talk about it:

• What are you guys all about?
• Is God mad at me?
• What does “freedom from homosexuality” really mean?
• So what now?

(more…)

The answer that immediately comes to mind is, “Well, yeah!” We know God loves everybody, but then we’re confused when we see Bible verses that say homosexuality is a sin. What does that mean for gays?

Let’s ask ourselves: does God think the way we do? Not quite (Isaiah 55:9). So I wonder if God would even think of people as “gay” or “straight” in the first place? (more…)

Mike Ensley was featured in the webzine :

Touch the Sexual Sinner
by Mike Ensley

Nobody needs to be told about the startling statistics regarding youth and sexuality. A rant about how the media and entertainment industry push the envelope would just be stating the obvious to anyone with ears to listen.

What gets me ranting is the Church’s response; all too often living in the definition of insanity in regards to responding to the crisis of our culture. Despite its monumental failure to accomplish anything in the way of personal transformation, too many Christians – worse, those in ministry – seem bent on responding with our most ineffective asset: religion.

Lynn Vincent of WORLD Magazine writes about Exodus:

A couple of days ago, Tony Woodlief’s WoW post, “Anti-homosexual Christianity,” stirred quite a conversation. Tony looked at a piece of the book UnChristian, whose authors observe of the church that “outsiders say our hostility toward gays – not just opposition to homosexual politics and behaviors but disdain for gay individuals – has become virtually synonymous with the Christian faith.”

The post interested me greatly because I spent quite a bit of time this week talking with former homosexuals, and with Catholic, Jewish, evangelical, and secular counselors and psychologists who help people walk away from unwanted same-sex attraction. Two trends emerged:

First, it appears that the cultural liberation of homosexuality is also liberating those seeking to escape it.

Second, the cultural mainstreaming of homosexuality is awakening some churches to more compassionate ways of dealing with homosexuality – without endorsing the behavior.

Read the whole article >>

Homosexuality is one of those issues where I feel like my personal views as an apprentice of Jesus Christ are often misquoted. People like me don’t tend to take out letters in the paper or hold sandwich signs during gay Rights Day. I stand back and watch as the louder voices on each side of the issue get the press coverage. It seems like all that I get is misunderstood, mischaracterized, and maligned. And there is a growing group of people like me. (more…)

A poll of over 2,000 youth at the National LCMS Gathering in Orlando in 2007 gave some insight into youth’s perspectives on today’s issues. Among prioritizing their life concerns–personal faith being at the top–the youth gave their opinions on controversial subjects, including homosexuality and same-sex marriage.

About two-thirds of participants (66%) said that homosexuality is always wrong, down from 70% in 2004. Only about 14% of youth said they would allow same-sex marriage.

“Youth appear to be trending with society and culture in general” on this matter, [said Dr. Terry Dittmer, director of LCMS Youth Ministry].

For more statistics on other subjects, read the whole article >>

When you think of the issues that are most urgent or dangerous in the world today, homosexuality probably isn’t at the very top. War, poverty, disease, sexual slavery; these are certainly more pressing and require a lot of attention.

But the existence of more important or urgent issues doesn’t make homosexuality a non-issue. The way we live out our gender and conduct ourselves sexually matters a whole lot to God. In the Bible, you’ll find strongly-worded writings not only about the negative consequences of deviating from God’s plan for sexuality, but more importantly, you’ll discover the beautiful creation He had in mind when He made man and woman for each other.
The fact that God made us male and female is a big deal. In fact, it’s the second thing the Bible says about humanity, right after the fact that we’re made in God’s image (Genesis 1:27). (more…)

People only change when they decide to for themselves; you cannot force anyone to make a change they don’t want to. Still, you can definitely be a support to Christians seeking a way out of homosexuality or lesbianism.

First, you can pray for an unsaved homosexual person and share the gospel with them. If you are relating with a Christian struggling with this issue, you can pray for them, too. Pray God will give them the courage and perseverance to achieve sexual abstinence. Sexual activity usually covers deep wounds. Once activity stops, the “pain-killer” of sex wears off and underlying emotional pain can surface. Be there to listen and support them in this process. (more…)

Jesus modeled for us the balance of showing both truth and grace as we relate to others. Jesus confronted a lot of people in sinful lifestyles, but always treated them with love.

God hates all sin equally, and perhaps, with regard to loving the homosexual, the first step is simply to acknowledge that homosexual behavior is a sin like any other – including heterosexual sin, lust, envy, covetousness, gossip, etc. People living a homosexual lifestyle are sinners like the rest of us and, like the rest of us, they are people created by God and loved by God. As such, we are called to love in whatever sinful state we happen to find them. (more…)

Human sexuality is a wonderful work of art designed by God. It has emotional, spiritual and physical aspects that all work together in a beautiful and mysterious way. Unfortunately, in a fallen world this delicate design is often misunderstood by us and sometimes abused by others.

Everyone’s body is sexual. Once puberty hits, there are parts of the human body designed to react to stimulation by experiencing pleasure. These body parts–called “erogenous zones”–don’t have a mind of their own. They don’t know who or what is touching them, whether it’s a male or female, or if the situation is right or wrong; they just respond to physical touch the way they are designed to, regardless of circumstance. (more…)

When people use the term “gay agenda,” it can bring many different things to mind. While it’s important to reach out to and love those people in your world who call themselves gay or lesbian, or who are struggling, you also need to be aware that there is a movement to reshape our culture–and it pays no small attention to the hearts and minds of young people.

Not every gay-identified person participates in these often militant efforts, but the efforts are very real and they have specific goals when it comes to youth. Those goals include:

• Promoting homosexual, bisexual and transgender lifestyles as healthy, positive and normal.
• Disintegrating all meaning of gender.
• Silencing and vilifying any different point of view.
• Undermining parental authority to indoctrinate kids.
• Rewriting Christian principles.
• Polarizing students, so that anyone who is not “gay-affirming” is labeled a bigot.

These may seem like pretty extreme statements, but there are several organizations and tens of millions of dollars a year dedicated to these goals. (more…)

There are many things that can make parents wonder if their child is confused about their sexual identity. It’s true that this struggle is not one teens are eager to share with a parent, or anyone for that matter. In the often fuzzy arena of understanding your teenager, here’s how to recognize the serious warning signs.

Help Them Open Up

The best way to make it more likely your child might share a sexual struggle with you is to respond with an attitude of compassion and understanding whenever these types of issues come up. Your reaction to the subject of homosexuality when it comes up in conversation, on TV or through other relationships sends your children a message about whether you are a safe person to confide in. (more…)

It’s not. God is love, and He created us to love Him and each other. You have a very real need to love and be loved by someone–by several someone’s–of the same gender. That’s a need that God cares about, and nobody is saying you should ever ignore it.

But God does have a lot to say about how love is expressed in different kinds of relationships. He created sex to be sacred and special, protected and pure. God didn’t give us a bunch of rules to follow because sex is bad or because He doesn’t want us to have fun. He doesn’t want you or me to lose out on the holy mystery He created it for.

Parents love their children, brothers and sisters love each other, and people also love their pets. One married couple can become very close to another married couple within a community. All of these are wonderful, love-filled relationships. I think we can also agree, though, that bringing sex into the expression of any of these loves would not be good. And these are all relationships that the Bible plainly tells us sexuality is not meant for. (more…)