Last week I read about a young girl, just 16 years of age, in Kentucky who was attacked by two men shouting anti-gay slurs. Her jaw was broken, she lost several teeth and one of the younger boys with her suffered a concussion trying to protect his friend. Then today I read about a woman…
I heard from a Christian who described a pretty common experience. The Christian has a loved one who is gay and the relationship has deteriorated to the point that the gay person, as the Christian perceives it, is angry and demanding that if the Christian wants to have a relationship with them, they’ll need to…
I haven’t written much about HIV/AIDS on this blog for a few reasons. First, I don’t feel like I have the knowledge to write helpful posts on the topic. Second, while this is an important topic, it hasn’t been a particular focus at New Direction. And third, I do not want to perpetuate the stereotype…
Generous spaciousness is a posture that is needed more than ever. In a world of instant communication where people can react and respond within seconds, perhaps without taking time for reflection or prayer and with the convenient protection of anonymity, harsh polemic is more often the norm than is generosity. It is easy to be…
There has been a lot of buzz of late about changes in the focus of Exodus International under Alan Chambers’ leadership. As many of our readers will know, New Direction used to be a member ministry of Exodus. In fact, I served as the Regional Rep for Canada for about three years. In that time,…
I’ve just spent some time reading through a number of different blogs and, as I often do, find myself ruminating on the mission,vision and context in which New Direction seeks to serve. On one end, Alan Chambers gives an interview for the Atlantic in which he shares his vision for a discipleship-focused ministry for same-sex…
In a blog post entitled, “The Church and Homosexuality: Ten Commitments”, Kevin DeYoung offers advice to Christians about speaking on the topic. As he considers different audiences, he recommends: -> If we are speaking to cultural elites who despise us and our beliefs, we want to be bold and courageous. -> If we are speaking…
As those who read this blog will know, I’m not a “jump on the latest news” kind of writer. I prefer to ponder, percolate and pray before sharing my reflections. This particular post has been in the hopper for a while – before North Carolina’s vote on Amendment 1, before Obama’s comments about gay marriage,…
Idolatry isn’t a topic I write on every day. And some of our regular readers might be holding their breath a bit to see what I might say. The context for this particular post is multi-faceted. It begins with an article I read, bolstered by a pivotal memory in my own journey, and then supported…
This topic seems to have enough complexity to be a source of some consternation from multiple viewpoints within the larger conversation about faith and sexuality. Indeed, each individual situation is so unique that it is difficult to make generalizations without it feeling like a disconnect for at least some who live in this reality. The…