Well I guess the relevant question to ask ourselves is What would Jesus do if he was gay?

What you have said so far is what Jesus did in his time on earth, he never shouted from the rooftops who he was, he told a select few because the Jewish world was just not ready(sounds ,like the church re: us), he walked others through to a revelation of himself and people got to know him as a person mostly first, word of mouth spread about and many were offended but because the balance was set he had many for him as well because of the good works (miracles in his case) he had performed plus they saw goodness in him, its just that at crunch time, no-one stood by to “save” him from the cross but it was his end purpose anyhow.

Jesus knew where to do what and when but mostly walked people through truths and regarding leadership 😯 thats another story LOL but he did challenge them with truth before calling them lovely white washed graves with dead stinky mens bones inside 😆

I finally met with my pastor today to discuss my involvement in the church in light of being out and in a committed gay relationship. The meeting followed a couple of weeks of intense spiritual preparation with a wide circle of friends providing prayer support. The meeting progressed extremely well and the Spirit was present, with my pastor pausing at one period as the Spirit touched his heart and caused him to share how the Lord attunes him to feeling the pain and anguish of others.

The outcome of the meeting was all I prayed for, and more. My pastor, and note this an AoG church, has said he used to think homosexuality is a sin but he feels he needs to listen more to God about whether that would be the case in my committed relationship. He agreed to borrow and read a book which advances the liberal gay-friendly interpretation of the “clobber” passages. He says he doesn’t have all the answers and God continues to shape his views and correct his errors. He said he wanted me to know he felt very comfortable with me and welcomed me into the church, and we spent a lot of time discussing some ministry ideas we have in common (noting I have skills and qualifications which he has been needing to complete some projects and God has clearly brought us together).

My pastor has promised that he will not preach against homosexuality and says he wants the church to be affirming so that GLBT folk will attend church and seek Christ, and it is up to God to place in their hearts what relationships are pleasing to Him. He stressed that the broader church inevitably sees a great deal of sexual sin in a heterosexual context, and if my sex is adultery in God’s eyes, it is no worse than heterosexual adultery. He says sexual sin is all the same – there is no grading of it. He believes that the concept of marriage has evolved over time, and it is not for him to say God does not intend to see it further broadened.

My pastor said that despite not personally being opposed to me being in a leadership position, he doubts he could put me in one given the organisational settings of the demonination. However he did confirm that leadership was narrowly defined – and he confirmed the broad range of things he would love me to help with and urged me to throw myself into the church and work with him to do great things in this city.

I am praising God for leading me to this church and answering my prayers by moving in the heart of this wonderful pastor. It is a fantastic opportunity to see a GLBT affirming pentecostal church birthed in Cairns, and I know the Spirit is using me to achieve this.

that is awesome

wow pentetropics! i’ve come in a little late on this thread but i’m excited for you and for the future.