tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9632072.post369320218800021966..comments2023-09-25T09:37:40.536-07:00Comments on kairos : kisses: Further Thoughts On Sexuality And ChurchAndrew Dowsetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05417088521258450446noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9632072.post-13200465226024807522007-02-13T15:09:00.000-08:002007-02-13T15:09:00.000-08:00"I believe that God longs to bind up the broken-he..."I believe that God longs to bind up the broken-hearted: which I understand to mean, God can hold our broken nature together so closely, so intimately, that we are able to live as though we were whole."<BR/><BR/>I like this idea. We are broken apart by sin, yet God holds us together in His power and ability. Through this we are able to live, serve, rejoice, and breathe like our sickness was well.notmyownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01306901107263325897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9632072.post-89735150557650624242007-02-09T03:33:00.000-08:002007-02-09T03:33:00.000-08:00Okay, I'll try to explain.As a tactic of satan, te...Okay, I'll try to explain.<BR/><BR/>As a tactic of satan, temptation most often seeks to exploit the particular biases of our brokenness, because it is more likely to succeed that way. Take the temptation to over-eat, to the point of health problems. Personally, I'm more likely to give in to the temptation to eat sweet things than savoury things; to have a fat- and sugar-rich dessert, and go back for a second helping. I'm not 100% that way inclined, but, I'm more likely to overeat sweet foods.<BR/><BR/>For some people - in the population as a whole; in the church as a whole; and among church leaders - the nature of their sexual brokenness is such that they face the temptation to commit heterosexual adultery. For others the temptation is to a homosexual sexual relationship. But a person is not necessarily 100% "straight" or 100% "gay" - brokenness is more complex than that! So, people face a complex manner of temptation. That's why I use the phrase "results in or includes a bias towards".<BR/><BR/>I believe that church leaders have a pastoral responsibility to those struggling with their sexual brokenness. We need to make it clear that no inherent brokenness excludes people from God's grace - or from being a leader in the church, for that matter - and that God can empower us to withstand any temptation (as Jesus teaches us to ask), and forgive and restore us when we give in to any temptation. It is hard enough to admit to our brokenness, let alone to those times when we give in to it: if we believe that our church leaders have no idea what it is like to face the temptations we face, it becomes even harder.<BR/><BR/>By the grace of God, I have never been sexually unfaithful to my wife. But I have been tempted to adultery with other women, at least at the level of fantasy. That means that I can identify with the temptation as others face it (and they can identify with me), and extend the gospel of hope that in Jesus such temptation can be overcome. <BR/><BR/>Where the church presents the message that in order to be a leader you need to be heterosexual and beyond sexual temptation (or at least able to pretend that this is the case), that is bad news for leaders and bad news for those they lead.<BR/><BR/>It is bad news for leaders because it sets them up for a fall. And it is bad news for everyone else because it excludes many potentially very good leaders; and because it denies the reality of what they face, and therefore the possibility of being transformed into Christ's likeness.Andrew Dowsetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05417088521258450446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9632072.post-52797936696057926952007-02-09T01:42:00.000-08:002007-02-09T01:42:00.000-08:00finally got round to reading the rest of the post....finally got round to reading the rest of the post. what do you mean by "the Church needs leaders whose sexual brokenness results in or includes a bias towards same-sex relationships...&...leaders whose sexual brokenness results in or includes a bias towards heterosexual promiscuity"?danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09630796975686090532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9632072.post-20118693857046953482007-02-05T09:57:00.000-08:002007-02-05T09:57:00.000-08:00i've only read points a) to f) and am now having a...i've only read points a) to f) and am now having a break. but thus far i concur.danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09630796975686090532noreply@blogger.com