Front cover image for Costly obedience : what we can learn from the celibate gay christian community

Costly obedience : what we can learn from the celibate gay christian community

Though we often hear about the "gay problem" today, there is an even deeper problem in the church today--one that we often overlook. The call to follow Christ is a call to costly obedience for all, not just for gay Christians. Far too often, the church has elevated homosexuality above other sins and required a costly obedience from gays that it is unwilling to demand of others. And yet, the answer is not to weaken the demands of obedience. Instead, gay Christians who make the difficult choice to align their lives with the biblical view of sexuality are a gift to the church, reminding all of us that spiritual growth and maturity is costly. There is a price to pay in following Christ and devoting our lives to the call of the gospel, and it is one that we all must pay--gay and straight Christians alike. Through the stories and struggles of gay Christians who are reorienting their lives around the costly obedience required to follow Christ, Mark Yarhouse and Olya Zaporozhets call the church to reorient as well, leaving behind the casual morality that is widespread today to pursue the path of radical discipleship. Unlike any other book on homosexuality and the church, this is a call to examine your life and consider what God is asking you to lay down to take up your cross and follow him
eBook, English, 2019
Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Mich., 2019
1 online resource
9780310521426, 0310521424
1107759359
Introduction: The Gay "Problem"When conservative Christians talk about homosexuality and people they know who are gay, they believe that the way to move forward is to have gay people become straight. They immediately think of "reorienting" gay people. But there is another reorientation that has to take place as well, one in which today's church is reawakened to the call of costly obedience, one that is lived out by all followers of Christ. This means the church will also have to change, reorienting toward a different vision of community and discipleship. Gay Christians are being used by God today to reorient the church to this call. Part I: Reawakening the Church to Radical DiscipleshipChapter 1: American Dream ChristianityThe church has adopted an "American Dream" Christianity, one that largely believes the answer to the "gay problem" is either transformation or celibacy
as if either of these options are easy! The casual attitude toward these difficult choices has alienated gay Christians and caused them to feel that the church is demanding of them things that are not required of other followers of Christ. We need to grasp that the call of discipleship is costly, and it is costly for all believes. Obedience to Christ places serious demands on the lives of every Christian, gay and straight alike. The crisis in the church today is not just homosexuality, it is recapturing a more biblical understanding of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.Chapter 2: The Shame Script
Change and Get Married! Most Christians wear their faith like an accessory as men and women seek personal fulfillment through falling in love, advancing in their careers, pursuing utmost pleasure, and investing in the relationships they find most gratifying. Self-centeredness permeates the western church, and it is largely ignored, even met with approval at times. The church's solution to the gay problem is to promote marriage. Gays in the church feel that they are not full members until they have proven they have been healed by getting married. At the same time, the church condemns the gay person only to smile upon the straight person whose sexual sins are more socially acceptable. This hypocrisy alienates gay people and leads them to despair. Chapter 3: The Inclusive Script
Accept Who You Are Progressive churches subscribe to the gay script. This script says that a gay orientation necessitates having an active gay relationship based on a hermeneutic of love. These churches emphasize Christ's condemnation of Pharisaical moral standards, those that affirm self-centered religiosity while marginalizing sexual minorities. Their acceptance of gay relationships is a reasonable extension of American Dream Christianity: if straight people can have their faith and pursue pleasure too, then gay people should as well. Progressive churches rightly realize Christ would condemn the hypocrisy rampant in most churches. But rather than calling all Christians up into sacrificial obedience, however, they appeal to inclusivity and invite gays to enjoy the fruit of American Dream Christianity. This is a compelling script for gay people because it meets legitimate needs for identity and community, and it will continue to be the most compelling script if the church does not change. Chapter 4: The Third WayGay Christians feel forced to choose between two scripts imposed upon them: the gay affirming script and the local church's shame script. When gay people feel unwelcomed because of attractions they did not choose and an orientation they are unlikely to change, they feel they have no choice but to depart from their convictions altogether, which is ultimately a departure from orthodoxy. As the culture war rises and both communities launch truth grenades from one side to the other, the casualties are the sexual minorities caught in the crossfire. To affirm casual Christianity for straight people and deny it to gay people is
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