It seems there are no shortages of compromise and crisis brewing in the American Church. Books sounding the alarm such as “Letter to The American Church” by Eric Metaxas, “Shepherds for Sale” by Megan Basham, and “Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age” by Rosaria Butterfield call for major course correction before our ship is torn apart on the rocks and reefs beneath, due to faulty navigation and misaligned trajectory. These authors and communicators are functioning as modern-day prophets calling the American Church back to Jesus’ mandate to be salt and light in the world (Matthew 5:13-16). While of course, every church should be aware of and sensitive to seekers, we should never compromise Jesus’ message to do so. Making genuine disciples by compassionately sharing truth (even challenging and painful truth) is our mandated mission.
Churches in a compromised condition (of which there are many) usually don’t even realize they’re on the slippery slope of serious error in the first place. In fact, their intentions are often well-meaning, making the deception even more attractive. Compromise in churches can take many forms, but perhaps the worst is found in the most fundamental of Christian doctrines—the integrity of the gospel message itself.
We see a clear trend in how most compromised churches slip into ever greater error—it usually starts on the basis of compassion, by trying to make the message more palatable through adoption of gentler, more “nuanced” language. They trade a simple, straight-forward gospel message for another kind of “gospel”, one that doesn’t call anyone to “deny themselves and take up their cross and follow [Jesus]” (Matthew 16:24). This other gospel doesn’t include surrender and repentance, but rather calls people to merely acknowledge that Jesus made a way to get to heaven one day. In this “gospel” there is no exchanged life, only a loose acceptance—a social gospel. However, the true gospel is entirely offensive to our fleshly, self-oriented, and rebellious hearts. And it is only by repentance of sin and turning towards Jesus’ way of life that sinners find redemption and new life through his finished work on the cross.
These powerful and opposing views of the gospel are what I had to contend with growing up in a Christian home while also experiencing same-sex attraction as a young boy and teenager. I was thoroughly confused about how to deal with it all! Feelings of unwanted attraction festered, solidified, and intensified due to several key reasons—not the least of which was early sexualization through pornography exposure and older neighborhood boys’ sexual experimentation. I did hear the true gospel message (but lacking in compassion and love). However, I wanted another way—something less painful, something more inclusive of my same-sex attraction. I wanted a gentler gospel.
If I were growing up today, I could easily see myself swallowed up by the confusion and idolatry of the broader culture. Or, even worse—I could have easily fallen prey to the deception and lies of imposters who reject the clear teachings of Scripture while presenting themselves as Christian leaders and pastors. After all, I was longing for teaching that would affirm same-sex relationships and God’s blessing.
By his mercy, God drew me out of those broken relational and sexual practices, as well as my bent on reconciling same-sex desires to a genuine walk with God. He had plans for me that I was totally blind to as a young man who was practicing a form of Christianity, but without an actual relationship with Jesus. For me (and countless others), it was many years of wandering without answers and without hope in a wasteland of silence, shame, and powerlessness within the Church. When it came to areas of sexual sin—especially homosexuality—no one wanted to deal with those issues. There was no message of hope or change taught or preached. Aside from a well-meaning pastor who told me I needed to read my Bible, memorize Scripture, and pray more (which I had already been doing), there was no counsel or support at all. None.
After coming to genuine faith at 23 years old, I did ultimately find deep healing and lasting freedom through years of love and ministry in a sold-out-for-Jesus church community, a solid place of discipleship. I not only heard the real gospel of hope in exchanging all my sinful rags for his lavish sacrifice but I also experienced it through the shameless love of genuine disciples of Christ. I eventually joined the pastoral staff of this church and worked there for 12 years. This ongoing healing and Kingdom service ultimately led to marriage with my wife (Melissa) in 2007, fathering two awesome boys, and eventually now leading a national ministry that equips the Church on how to effectively minister in all matters of restoring relational/sexual wholeness, as well as biblical identity. What my soul longed for and needed was the real gospel—repentance that invites the Holy Spirit to fill us with the only power that can save—as well as the authentic love of fellow disciples who helped me learn obedience to Jesus, no matter how immature or messy I was, especially in the beginning years.
Melissa and I founded our ministry, Love & Truth Network (LTN), in 2013. It is aptly named after what saved our lives from the clutches of Satan—the love and truth of Jesus. LTN serves pastors, leaders, and local churches across the United States, and beyond. To launch the ministry, I stepped out of my 12-year pastoral role, compelled by an earnest sense of calling to equip the Church on topics that are seldom discussed and often left to various worldly institutions to define for kids, as well as adults (no wonder there’s so much confusion on these issues). It’s the Church that has been entrusted with the words of life on all matters of relationship, sexuality, and identity—all of which God created and entrusts to his followers to teach and disciple.
From our vantage point, whether matters of broader heterosexuality or LGBTQ+, we see the American Church largely categorized into one of three primary perspectives:
- Legalism/Hypocrisy (speak truth, often live the opposite in private, and have little-to-no compassion for struggling people)
- Progressivism (teach that sinful desires and patterns of living are actually God-given identity, and disregard God’s standards of holiness)
- Biblically Orthodox (embody both love and truth in all matters, leading to greater and greater Christ-likeness)
