The time is ripe to highlight problems too many church leaders do not recognize. And since I do not want to go over ground commonly covered by many others, this book covers new ground by emphasizing these pressing matters. To do this clearly, I decided not to pursue one of the legacy Christian publishers and take a more challenging road to get this work into print.
The following is from the Introduction of ‘Is The Church Pro-Gay?’ by Shawn Mathis.
This book is a work of care and concern for Christian families and churches. I write with a pastor’s heart and real-world experience. I have witnessed up close the misery of the homosexual lifestyle even as those lost in its lies paint a smile on their faces.
To get some matters out of the way from distracting readers, I want to explain a few things.
I have passed over the revisionist history and exegesis of liberals and progressives because other sources refute them.[i] Today’s emerging threat is not as much from them but from those who correctly affirm the Bible’s ban on homosexual acts. We now face a second controversy: whether the church should encourage LGBT identity in areas other than sexual acts.
The time is ripe to highlight problems too many church leaders do not recognize. And since I do not want to go over ground commonly covered by many others, this book covers new ground by emphasizing these pressing matters. To do this clearly, I decided not to pursue one of the legacy Christian publishers and take a more challenging road to get this work into print.
In addition, to avoid the monotony of using too-similar words, I include different terms to describe same-sex sexual attraction (SSA) and related acts and thoughts. Similarly, I use certain words in a less-than-technical sense to describe non-straight people, including the word queer—which some may find offensive (that word is used positively in secular and religious domains.)
My hope is for this book to be a launching pad for further discussion and research. As such, it does not cover everything wrong or everything necessary to proceed on the right track. It is a clarion call that I hope will be heeded.
Finally, I want to thank those who gave me suggestions about this project, especially my ever-helpful editor. My church, Providence OPC in Denver, has been consistently supportive. I especially thank my family, which has been patient and eager for this project to come to fruition.
You can read Chapter 1 here.
Shawn Mathis is a Minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and is Pastor of Providence OPC in Denver, CO.
[i] For example, Robert A. J. Gagnon, The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics (2001).