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There are few areas of contemporary life that require as much wisdom and compassion as that of human sexuality.
Many of us in ministry have encountered someone’s trembling confessions of same-sex attraction, the confused tears of a parent whose child is considering embracing a transgender identity, or the broken aftermath of sexual addiction.
If we are to avoid being a people of trite answers, dismissive attitudes or unhelpful platitudes, we must engage the Scriptures, the Spirit and one another to find our way forward.
Jon Cobler, lead pastor of The Church of Living Water (Olympia Foursquare Church) in Olympia, Wash., led a Training Session on the subject at Foursquare Connection 2016 in Honolulu. He exhorted the assembled leaders and ministers: “The church needs to rise up and speak prophetically, but not from the distant shores of the inside of the castle. The church must speak prophetically from within the culture.”
Why? Because when we talk about sexual orientation and gender identity, we are not talking about abstract ideas. We are addressing the hearts and minds of people we know and love, even ourselves.
This Training Session provides practical insight and a paradigm for processing conversations and relationships with people who are asking questions about human sexuality. The teaching and Q+A session that follows will help equip you and your church to be the prophetic voice we have the opportunity to be.
To see more form Connection 2016, click here.
