The gift of my sexuality

As we work through the choices and processes I have outlined, this will involve seeking to deal with the issues that surface and may hinder the process. Inevitably, many of these issues will have been involved in the development of our sexuality. This may mean it changes, but it may not. We will know we are of value and loved by God and others. We will know we have a ministry, because of our unique life experience and all that involves. Our sense of identity should therefore be secure and not simply in our sexuality. In fact no two people have exactly the same sexuality and therefore labels only serve a very limited purpose. I am a 'Martinsexual' and you are a 'exual'. My life story and experiences, 'written' by God who is sovereign, include my sexuality and is a gift to the Church. It always has been, not just since the ministry of T f T started. I am very grateful that I see this experienced nearly every day of my life. I am able to see my struggles and failures, as well as my victories, being of value to others. I am able to see this is just as true for the people who contact me for help and support. As I hear their own experience, it (in the sense of knowledge) adds to mine and therefore my ministry to others. This must be true for everyone, whatever our sexuality may be. It can be a gift to others. It may be in terms of promoting more understanding. It may be in the sense of encouraging someone else. It may be simply in terms of loving and trusting another person with a sexual confession. The list is endless and different for each person and each situation. I am not implying we should all share our sexual feelings and struggles with everyone. It may not be appropriate or wise, especially not in the form of a 'sound bite' which can easily be misunderstood. But the way these struggles can speak to us about ourselves can also help others, explicitly or indirectly.

Perhaps a more positive Christian attitude to sexuality, which honours God's Word, would encourage those leaders in the church with homosexual feelings but who believe homosexual sex is wrong, to be more open. As I say, yet again, in the church debates their voice is usually unheard. Liberals speak on behalf of homosexuals and lesbians in the church but never admit that many of us do not agree with a liberal viewpoint. People like Erik, the Lutheran pastor from Sweden, are not a tiny minority in terms of all homosexuals in the church. There may be nearly as many who disagree with the liberals as those who agree. I wish their voice could be heard "We believe our homosexuality is a part of our value and giftedness to the Church, but homosexual sex is a sin." What a difference this would make to the life, witness and future of the Body of Christ.