What Should We Do About LGBTQ?

The church has a bad reputation about how LGBTQ people are treated. This must change. We make this change through a mind shift and adopting the standard of grace and truth embodied by Jesus.

I saw a church sign the other day that said: Transgender people welcome here. This sign was on a conservative, holiness church. But the message was loud and clear.

How welcoming are our churches to people who are different than we are? My experience says that we struggle to welcome any strangers into our church, much less those who are obviously different. One reason we have trouble with it is because we struggle to co-exist with people who have lifestyles that are different than ours. That takes us back to the LGBTQ issue.

A More Serious Sin?

Too often we are guilty of categorizing sin. The result of this practice tends to be a strong negative current directed at the LGBTQ community. If we believe that these lifestyles are sinful, that’s fine. However, should they be stigmatized so severely that they reject the message of salvation and hope in Jesus?

I know people in the LGBTQ community. They are family and friends. They are coworkers and neighbors. They have walked through the door at churches I have pastored.  And they have never harmed the church by their lifestyle as much as “Christians” who gossip and harbor bitterness and an unforgiving spirit.

If we were to categorize sin by the damage done to the church, homosexuality would be far down the list. Gossiping, pride, anger, slander and adultery have caused far greater damage than homosexuality. Far more people have left the church and abandoned the faith because of these sins. I have witnessed this and been heartbroken that people who are seeking truth are turned away because of a judgmental spirit and harsh words.

It’s time to wake up church!

The world is dying around us. It’s time to wrap a towel around our waist and begin to wash feet. It’s time to begin to serve each other and extend that service, mercy and grace to the world around us. Our culture does not need another voice to point out sin, it needs a louder voice to point to a loving Savior.

The evidence is clear. People are dying from hopelessness, pride and bitterness. We must be heralds of love, grace and truth, of hope and a future. There is abundant life in Jesus. It is full and free. Open wide your hearts to those who are different, those who are struggling, those who espouse an alternative lifestyle. Allow the Holy Spirit to convict and empower change. That’s not our job.

Get Serious

Today, reach out to someone to offer hope and encouragement. And when someone crosses your path that offends you with their lifestyle, pray for them instead of condemning them. Love them instead of avoiding them. That will change the world far more effectively than your protests.