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Conversations: Pastor Mark Responds

As homosexuality becomes more widely accepted in American society, people of all sexual orientations are left wondering...

As homosexuality becomes more widely accepted in American society, people of all sexual orientations are left wondering how they should respond to homosexual tendencies within themselves or someone else, how churches should respond to this type of sexual expression, and ultimately, how God does respond to these questions.  Recently, a person from our local community has wondered how members at Fellowship Baptist Church view gay people.  Below is a response from Senior Pastor Mark Willey. 

I guess I would try to answer that question through my own life experience.  When I was in college, I was a resident assistant on our floor.  One of the guys on the floor confided in me that he was gay.  He was afraid to tell his roommate, or anyone else on our floor.  Knowing his roommate, I agreed with his assessment that he would not be comfortable with the situation if he knew, so I offered to have Dale become my roommate.  Dale and I often discussed his sexuality.  After college, Dale and I kept in contact together.  He visited my home and spent time with my family.  But, he died about 8 years later in San Francisco with AIDS.

The way I viewed Dale was as a friend, but as someone who was choosing a lifestyle that was not within the parameters of God’s plan for sexual expression.  We many times talked openly and forthrightly together.

Your question is “How does this church view gay people?”  I guess we view them like we view everyone else.  People are people.  People are lonely, people have needs, people need relationships, people need a community, most of all, people need God.  I think that is how God viewed Dale.  I think it is how I viewed Dale.  But, I did not view Dale’s behavior as right, according to the Bible.  To me, “right” is what God says is according to His plan and purpose for our lives.  Ultimately, I believe all of God’s plans and purposes for human beings are what are most fulfilling and beneficial for them.  Some would argue that if someone has a genetic predisposition toward some type of behavior, or a socially conditioned predisposition toward behavior, they have permission to fulfill that.  I disagree.  Why would we argue that predisposition toward something guarantees license?  All of us have a predisposition to protect ourselves from harmful or embarrassing situations by lying.  But, that does not give us the permission to do so.

I am sure we will say more about this as we get to a later “Conversation” about the “moral straight jacket” of Christianity.

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