Evening Prayers 7/7/09

Lord,

I come to you asking for a new level of discipline. Brenda has been after me nearly as long as we've known each other to cut back the fast food and eat healthier, and she has gone the extra mile to plan out menus and do some extensive shopping to fit meals into my narrow, picky taste. Help me find the discipline to stick with it and not cheat when I'm away from home, drinking less soda and more water and orange juice, eating more fruit and less snacks.

I also thank you and praise you for leading me to a spouse who loves me so much, who worries about my health and wants me to be the best I can be as we work together to execute your plan for our lives.

Thank you for caring about the details in our lives. Thank you that there is nothing too big or too small for you to be concerned about and that we can bring to you.

Amen

Encouraging Words-"You are NOT an abomination!"

Brenda offers clarification of the Leviticus 20 scripture in her latest podcast.

Encouraging Music 7/7/09-"Your Love is Extravagant"

"Confirmed-God Is Slightly Gay"

In this SFGate column, Mark Morford writes about the extensive evidence of homosexuality in the animal kingdom and what it tells us about how God views same-sex relationships. Here's an excerpt:

Here's the shocking new truism: In the wilds of nature, to not have some level of homosexual/bisexual behavior in a given species is turning out to be the exception, not the rule. Would you like to read that statement again? Aloud? Through a megaphone? To the Mormon and Catholic churches? And the rest of them, as well? Repeatedly?

Would you like to inform them that such behavior is definitely not, as so many hard-line Christian literalists want to believe, some sort of poison that snuck into God's perfect cake mix, nor is it all due to some sort of toxic chemical that leeched into the animal's water supply, suddenly causing all creatures to occasionally feel the urge wear glitter and listen to techno and work on their abs?

And so we extend the idea just a little bit. Because if homosexual/bisexual behavior is universal and by design, if gender mutability is actually deeply woven into the very fabric of nature itself, and if you understand that nature is merely another word for God, well, you can only surmise that God is, to put it mildly, much more than just a little bit gay. I mean, obviously.

But let's be fair. That's not exactly true. God is not really gay, per se. God is more... pansexual. Omnisexual. Gender neutral. Gender indeterminate. It would appear that God, this all-knowing and all-creating and all-seeing divine energy that infuses and empowers all things at all times everywhere, does not give a flying leather whip about gender.

That's a pretty interesting job of connecting the dots, of stepping back and looking at the big picture God has created instead of focusing on a few verses often taken out of context from the Bible. That's okay, because God created us with a brain to figure things out--we should try that more often.

You can click here to read the rest of the article. Thanks to my friend Doug Sewell, the pastor of All Saints Community Church in Cortland, Ohio for the link.

Evening Prayers 7/6/09

Lord,

This was one of those days when I just felt overwhelmed. I love my job, but today I felt that I just had to pour it out with very little time to catch my breath, and then had another rough commute home because of the continued issues with the DC subway system.

In your word, you told us we could do everything through him who gives us strength (Phillipians 4:13), and I claim that tonight as I recover from the day. I claim that for tomorrow, heading into the city again and facing another challenging schedule. Lord, there are no challenges put before us that you can't get us through. I know sometimes you allow things to happen in our lives that wear us down, that force us to draw on your strength because ours alone is not enough.

Lord, I thank you for the times that humble me, and I was humbled a couple of times today. I thank you for the things that keep my ego in check, that remind me I am enjoying the success I currently have in my life not because of my greatness but thanks to your blessings.

I thank you that I can look forward to tomorrow with anticipation, not trepidation. I thank you for filling me with hope and not fear.

Amen

Encouraging Words 7/6/09-"Interview-For the Bible Tells Me So"

The website "NathanOUTLoud" has a podcast interview with Daniel Karslake, the director/writer/producer of the wonderful documentary "For the Bible Tells Me So."

You can listen to it here.

Encouraging Music 7/6/09-"The Voice of Hope"

Stonewell Still Making a Difference Across the Pond

Plenty has been written about the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, commemorated last weeek, but I thought this article from the BBC was particularly interesting, reminding us that the impact of that event was felt far beyond American borders. Here's an excerpt:

It seems a world away from modern-day Westminster, where openly gay MPs and peers sit around the cabinet and shadow cabinet tables while politicians on all sides of the House profess their tolerance.

On 28 June 1969, following a campaign of police harassment, patrons of Greenwich Village's Stonewall Inn - mostly gay men, lesbians and transvestites - fought back following a raid.

The event prompted the first gay pride marches, inspired a new wave of the equality movement and eventually gave its name to the campaign group Stonewall.

The impact of this movement can be witnessed during the past dozen years when the age of consent was equalised, civil partnerships were permitted and the ban on gays in the military was overturned.

And another legacy has been to allow gay and lesbian politicians into the mainstream - not just demanding equal rights, but as representatives of the wider community.

Click here to read the rest of the BBC article.

Site Updates

If you've been following this blog regularly, first off, I hope you have been blessed in some way because that's our intent. We're not doing this to build ourselves up, we're doing it to build others up and encourage them by pointing them toward the Lord.

We also hope you've noticed the changes we've made over the last few weeks as we move toward a committed ministry effort with a sprinkling of GLBT issues instead of the other way around, which is how we started back in June 2005. In the last few weeks we've added:

o Encouraging music at 12:00 PM(Eastern time) every weekday (a video with the words to the song).
o Encouraging words, either a podcast or sermon, at 6:00 PM every weekday.
o A mini-concert of a popular Chrsitian artist every Saturday morning at 6:00 made up of five videos, usually recorded live.
o A new search function so you can look for any specific topic within over 1,400 posts we've made on this blog.
o In addition to news feeds from popular GLBT focused blogs, we've added a Google news feed picking up stories with GLBT, LGBT, gay, lesbian, and transgender key words.
o A listing of GLBT affirming books available for purchase through Amazon.com (we get a small referral fee if you click through from this site).

As we continue these features along with a daily news/ministry story every weekday morning at 6:00 and our Sunday Worship feature on Sunday mornings at 6:00, we have a couple more things to roll out.

o Starting tomorrow night, I'll be posting "Evening Prayers" at 10:00 PM. I'll be sharing a portion of my prayer life with you, hoping you'll add your prayer support and also that you'll join in by adding your prayer requests so Brenda and I can prayer over the needs and desires of you and those you know and love. Tonight I will just ask you to pray for our ministry as we continue to seek and find opportunities to spread our message of healing, encouragement, affirmation, and love into the GLBT community. I was on a GLBT-focused radio program in Dallas today for nearly an hour talking about Straight, Not Narrow and what we are trying to do--what a wonderful opportunity the Lord presented!
o Within a couple of weeks, I'll be joining Brenda in recording podcasts, something I'm very much looking forward to.
o We have set up a Cause on Facebook, not to raise money but just another way to gather people who are supportive of our mission and establish some form of community. If you are on Facebook, please check it out and consider signing up--let yourself be counted as a supporter of equality for all in God's kingdom.
o Within a couple of weeks, we'll be starting a live chat on Tuesday evenings.

Also, if you have a church or other group that you think would be interested in hearing our message, please let us know. We are open to road trips, possibly including some help with travel expenses depending on how far away you are from the Washington, DC area.

We are very excited about the direction our ministry is heading. We thank you for your support and will continue to build this site into a useful resource that can bless people.

Sunday Worship 7/5/09

If you don't have a welcoming church near you, or you just can't make yourself step into one, we're bringing worship to you. Here are links to some worship music and services from open and affirming ministries (all times eastern). I hope you are blessed and take time out of your busy schedule to enter into the Lord's day.

Don't forget to click on the tab on the upper right of this blog and leave your prayer requests in the comment section so we can petition the Lord for your needs.

If you know of a service we should add to our list, please send an e-mail and share it with us.





Worship Music--sing along and make a joyful noise unto the Lord!




Live Sunday Services (all times Eastern)
VIDEO
MI-Renaissance Unity Church, Warren, 10:00 AM
FL-Potters House International Fellowship, Tampa, 11:00 AM
VA-Believers Covenant Fellowship, Vienna, 11:00 AM
AL-Covenant Community Church, Birmingham, 11:45 AM
NC-Church of the Holy Spirit Fellowship, Winston-Salem, 12:00 PM
OK-Diversity Christian Fellowship International, Tulsa, 1:00 PM
CA-Glory Tabernacle Christian Center, Long Beach, 1:00 PM
WA-Living Water Fellowship, Kenmore, 1:30 PM

AUDIO
Canada, Vancouver-Christ Alive Community Church, 10:15 PM
FL-Beacon of Hope Ministries, Dunedin (Living the Good Life radio program) 4:30 PM

Video Archive
AL-Covenant Community Church, Birmingham
CA-Glory Tabernacle Christian Center, Long Beach
FL-Church of the Holy SpiritSong, Ft. Lauderdale
FL-Potters House International Fellowship, Tampa
GA-Gentle Spirit Christian Church, Atlanta
MI-Christ Community Church, Spring Lake
MI-Renaissance Unity Church, Warren
NC-Church of the Holy Spirit Fellowship, Winston-Salem
OK-Expressions Community Fellowship, Oklahoma City
OK-Diversity Christian Fellowship International, Tulsa
TX-The One Church, Garland
WA-Living Water Fellowship, Kenmore

Audio Archive
AZ-Community Church of Hope, Phoenix
AK-Open Door Community Church, Sherwood
CA-Christ Chapel of Long Beach
CA-Christ Chapel of the Valley, North Hollywood
FL-Beacon of Hope Ministries, Dunedin (Living the Good Life radio program)
FL-New Hope Christian Center, Pensecola
GA-New Covenant Church of Atlanta
MD-Kittamaqundi Community, Columbia
NC-Revolution Charlotte
OH-Emmanuel Fellowship Church, Akron
OH-All Saints Community Church, Cortland
TN-Covenant of the Cross-Madison
TX-New Hope Fellowship Church-Dallas
TX-White Rock Community Church-Dallas
TX-Community Gospel Church-Houston
TX-Through Him Fellowship-Houston
South Africa-Deo Gloria Family Church

Radio Appearance Tomorrow

I'll be making my first appearance on a GLBT-oriented radio program Sunday at 1PM Eastern time when I will be guesting on the program Lambda Weekly on 89.3 KNON-FM in Dallas, TX. We'll be discussing the raid of a gay bar in the Ft. Worth, TX area and hopefully a little about what we're doing with the Straight, Not Narrow ministry.

You can listen to the program through the station's live Internet feed here.

You can read about the program on their website here.

Saturday Mini-Concert 7/4/09--God Bless America!

Encouraging Words 7/3/09-"Control Issues"

Pastor Jerrell Walls of Christ Chapel of the Valley in North Hollywood, CA preaches from Romans 8:1, 8-17 on the topic of "Control Issues"

http://web.mac.com/kevrev/Sermons/Library/Entries/2009/6/7_Control_Issues.html

Encouraging Music 7/3/09-"The Freedom We Know"

Local News Coverage of an Affirming Church in GA

Pastors Colley Williams and Danny Davenport of New Life in Messiah Fellowship in Columbus, GA sent word out that their church was featured in a news story on local television a couple of weeks ago. Thanks to Apostle Dale Jarrett from Believers Covenant Fellowship for forwarding the link. We've linked to their church on our list of Independent Affirming Churches and are happy to share the video with you. We hope that God will use this exposure to lead people in that area that need what their ministry is offering to visit them for worship.

Click here for the video from WTVM television.

Encouraging Words-" Praying Without Ceasing"

Brenda talks about what it means to pray without ceasing from I Thessalonians 5:17.

Encouraging Music 7/2/09-"He Is Exalted"

Did The Peanuts Comic Strip Have a Lesbian Couple?

An article on AfterEllen.com offers support for answering YES to that question. I always wondered about Pepperfmint Patty, but I hadn't viewed her and Marcie as a couple before. Now, well, I wonder.....

Here's evidence from the movie "Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown," a story about the Peanuts gang away as summer camp:

1) As soon as the Peanuts gang arrives at camp, they're ushered into a big tent and forced to fill out questionnaires. What follows is this conversation between Peppermint Patty and Marcie:

Peppermint Patty: I'm going to put down a lot about baseball; they'll probably make me captain of the team.

Marcie: How come they don't have trips where you just stay home?

Peppermint Patty: If you want a better way of life, Marcie, you always have to cross an ocean, or a desert, or a mountain. Sometimes, however, your whole life can be changed by crossing a crowded room.

Marcie: That's a romantic thought, sir.

Talk about your number one lesbian couple argument! One person wants to go out for an adventure — or, you know, drinks — while the other person just wants to cuddle on the couch. The adventurer feels pinned down, and starts off on a tirade about pirates, which eventually just turns into a lengthy circumlocution on love.

There's more evidence in the article. Click here to read it and have some fun thinking about Peppermint Patty and Marci snuggled up together talking about motorcycles and their next home improvement project.

Encouraging Words 7/1/09-"Finding God Right Here"

Rev. Patrick Stout from Community Church of Hope in Phoenix, AZ preaches on "Finding God Right Here"

http://www.communitychurchofhope.com/Sermons/5_3_9_Finding_God_Right_Here.mp3

Encouraging Music 7/1/09-"Everlasting God"

A Spiritual Profile of Homosexual Adults

If you want analysis of spiritual trends in the United States, it's hard to find a better source than the Barna Group led by pollster and author George Barna, an evangelical Christian himself. Barna recently published a report profiling trends among spiritual gays. Here's an excerpt (thanks to Ex-Gay Watch for the link):

George Barna, whose company conducted the research, pointed out that some popular stereotypes about the spiritual life of gays and lesbians are simply wrong.

“People who portray gay adults as godless, hedonistic, Christian bashers are not working with the facts,” declared the best-selling author of numerous books about faith and culture. “A substantial majority of gays cite their faith as a central facet of their life, consider themselves to be Christian, and claim to have some type of meaningful personal commitment to Jesus Christ active in their life today.

“The data indicate that millions of gay people are interested in faith but not in the local church and do not appear to be focused on the traditional tools and traditions that represent the comfort zone of most churched Christians. Gay adults clearly have a different way of interpreting the Bible on a number of central theological matters, such as perspectives about God. Homosexuals appreciate their faith but they do not prioritize it, and they tend to consider faith to be individual and private rather than communal.

“It is interesting to see that most homosexuals, who have some history within the Christian Church, have rejected orthodox biblical teachings and principles – but, in many cases, to nearly the same degree that the heterosexual Christian population has rejected those same teachings and principles. Although there are clearly some substantial differences in the religious beliefs and practices of the straight and gay populations, there may be less of a spiritual gap between straights and gays than many Americans would assume.”

Not hard to figure out why so many GLBT folks have rejected orthodox biblical teachings--those teachings have usually rejected them.

Click here to review the statisitcal analysis of Barna's report.