-PDF Download- Single Gay Christian A Personal Journey Of Faith And Sexual Identity EBOOK

Single, Gay, Christian

Author: Gregory Coles

Publisher: InterVarsity Press

Published: 2017-08-22

Total Pages: 132

ISBN-13: 0830890939

Foreword INDIES Award Finalist IVP Readers' Choice Award In an age where neither society nor the church knows what to do with gay Christians, Greg Coles tells his own story. Let's make a deal, you and me. Let's make promises to each other. I promise to tell you my story. The whole story. I'll tell you about a boy in love with Jesus who, at the fateful onset of puberty, realized his sexual attractions were persistently and exclusively for other guys. I'll tell you how I lay on my bed in the middle of the night and whispered to myself the words I've whispered a thousand times since: "I'm gay." I'll show you the world through my eyes. I'll tell you what it's like to belong nowhere. To know that much of my Christian family will forever consider me unnatural, dangerous, because of something that feels as involuntary as my eye color. And to know that much of the LGBTQ community that shares my experience as a sexual minority will disagree with the way I've chosen to interpret the call of Jesus, believing I've bought into a tragic, archaic ritual of self-hatred. But I promise my story won't all be sadness and loneliness and struggle. I'll tell you good things too, hopeful things, funny things, like the time I accidentally came out to my best friend during his bachelor party. I'll tell you what it felt like the first time someone looked me in the eyes and said, "You are not a mistake." I'll tell you that joy and sorrow are not opposites, that my life has never been more beautiful than when it was most brokenhearted. If you'll listen, I promise I'll tell you everything, and you can decide for yourself what you want to believe about me.

Single, Gay, Christian

Author: Gregory Coles

Publisher: IVP Books

Published: 2017-08-21

Total Pages: 144

ISBN-13: 9780830845125

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In an age where neither society nor the church knows what to do with gay Christians, Greg Coles tells his own story. Let's make a deal, you and me. Let's make promises to each other. I promise to tell you my story. The whole story. I'll tell you about a boy in love with Jesus who, at the fateful onset of puberty, realized his sexual attractions were persistently and exclusively for other guys. I'll tell you how I lay on my bed in the middle of the night and whispered to myself the words I've whispered a thousand times since: "I'm gay." I'll show you the world through my eyes. I'll tell you what it s like to belong nowhere. To know that much of my Christian family will forever consider me unnatural, dangerous, because of something that feels as involuntary as my eye color. And to know that much of the LGBTQ community that shares my experience as a sexual minority will disagree with the way I've chosen to interpret the call of Jesus, believing I've bought into a tragic, archaic ritual of self-hatred. But I promise my story won't all be sadness and loneliness and struggle. I'll tell you good things too, hopeful things, funny things, like the time I accidentally came out to my best friend during his bachelor party. I'll tell you what it felt like the first time someone looked me in the eyes and said, "You are not a mistake." I'll tell you that joy and sorrow are not opposites, that my life has never been more beautiful than when it was most broken hearted. If you'll listen, I promise I'll tell you everything, and you can decide for yourself what you want to believe about me.

No Longer Strangers

Author: Gregory Coles

Publisher: InterVarsity Press

Published: 2021-02-23

Total Pages: 218

ISBN-13: 083084791X

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ECPA Top Shelf Book Cover Award Belonging has never come easy to me. Growing up, there was my mutated national identity to deal with—my not-quite-American, not-quite-Indonesian soul, restless in both countries. Later, when I came out as a celibate gay Christian, I found I didn't fit into the church as easily as I used to. I've often wondered what it means to belong to others even when I can't manage to blend in with them. The way Jesus tells it, if we give up on belonging in order to follow him, we'll find ourselves belonging anyway. We might not belong the way other people do, with normal homes and normal families and normal ways of fitting in. But we'll belong in a way that's a hundred times better. We'll be fully in place because we know we are out of place. We'll belong like aliens. Maybe you're caught in the same tension as me, wanting to fit somewhere even as you're permanently out of place. Maybe you feel like an alien. If so, let's be aliens together.

Washed and Waiting

Author: Wesley Hill

Publisher: ReadHowYouWant.com

Published: 2010-11-29

Total Pages: 206

ISBN-13: 1458723941

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Yet many who sit next to us in the pew at church fit that description, says author Wesley Hill. As a celibate gay Christian, Hill gives us a glimpse of what it looks like to wrestle firsthand with God's ''No'' to same-sex relationships. What does it mean for gay Christians to live faithful to God while struggling with the challenge of their homosexuality? What is God's will for believers who experience same-sex desires? Those who choose celibacy are often left to deal with loneliness and the hunger for relationships. How can gay Christians experience God's favor and blessing in the midst of a struggle that for many brings a crippling sense of shame and guilt? Weaving together reflections from his own life and the lives of other Christians, such as Henri Nouwen and Gerard Manley Hopkins, Hill offers a fresh perspective on these questions. He advocates neither unqualified ''healing'' for those who struggle, nor their accommodation to temptation, but rather faithfulness in the midst of brokenness. ''I hope this book may encourage other homosexual Christians to take the risky step of opening up their lives to others in the body of Christ,'' Hill writes. ''In so doing, they may find, as I have, by grace, that being known is spiritually healthier than remaining behind closed doors, that the light is better than the darkness.

God and the Gay Christian

Author: Matthew Vines

Publisher: Convergent

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 226

ISBN-13: 1601425163

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Reinterpretations of key Bible texts related to sexual orientation, written by a Harvard student, present an accessible case for a modern Christian conservative acceptance of sexual diversity.

Born Again This Way

Author: Rachel Gilson

Publisher:

Published: 2020-03

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 9781784983901

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Addresses some of the questions raised by Christians with same-sex attraction. As a Christian who experiences same-sex attraction, is it possible to live a life that's both faithful and fulfiling? Rachel Gilson wants to show you that it is and that it's not just a case of limping to the finish line, it's possible to run the race with joy. In this powerful and personal book, she describes her own unexpected journey of coming out and coming to faith... and what came next. As she does so, she addresses many of the questions that Christians living with same-sex attraction are wrestling with: Am I consigned to a life of loneliness? How do I navigate my friendships? Will my desires ever change? Is there some greater purpose to all this? What comes next, and next, and next? Drawing on insights from the Bible and the experiences of others, Born Again This Way provides assurance and encouragement for Christians with same-sex attraction, and paints a compelling picture of discipleship for every believer. Whatever your sexuality, this book is an inspiring testimony of how a life submitted to Jesus will be fulfilling and fruitful, but not always in the ways we might expect.

Washed and Waiting

Author: Wesley Hill

Publisher: Zondervan

Published: 2016-09-13

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 0310534208

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Wesley Hill's personal experiences and biblical reflections offer insight into how a nonpracticing gay Christian can "prove, live out, and celebrate" the grace of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. For many who are on this path, it's a lonely one. The reality of loneliness and isolation of the celibate homosexual Christian is something that Hill lives and takes seriously in his pursuit of the gospel-centered life. To those on a similar journey, it's often a life of uncertainties and questions. In Washed and Waiting, Hill explores the three main struggles that have been part of his daily effort to live faithfully: What exactly does the gospel demand of gay and lesbian Christians, and how can it enable them to fulfill its commands? How do Christians who experience homoerotic desires live with the loneliness such desires entail? Is there any relief for it? What comfort does the gospel offer? Can those of us who struggle with homosexuality please God and truly experience his pleasure in the midst of sexual brokenness? Interspersed throughout these main sections are character sketches and stories of people who have experienced this journey's trials and triumphs. Hill offers wise counsel that is biblically faithful, theologically serious, and oriented to the life and practice of the church. As a celibate gay Christian, he gives us a glimpse of what it looks like to wrestle firsthand with God's "No" to same-sex sexual intimacy and contemplate serious and difficult questions.

From Queer To Christ

Author: George Carneal

Publisher: George Carneal

Published: 2016-08-28

Total Pages: 145

ISBN-13: 0692768394

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George Carneal, author of "From Queer to Christ," grew up in the '70s, raised by a Southern Baptist minister in the ultra-conservative Bible Belt. For years he struggled with his Christian faith and a same-sex attraction. George shares his painful journey through a queer culture fantasyland filled with drag queens, drugs, and dangerous situations, a secular world at odds with homosexuality, in addition to a religious world that is hostile to homosexuals before discovering healing, joy, and peace in Christ. Perhaps sharing his journey through the eyes, and mind, of a confused child dealing with a same-sex attraction will give some insight into the pain and difficulty of navigating these two worlds. George would eventually spend 25 years immersed in the homosexual lifestyle (mostly in the Los Angeles club scene) and shares the pitfalls of that life. His story is not about glamorizing a life he once lived. This is merely his journey and what he learned along the way. Deliverance from that bondage is possible. There is hope in Christ! George is a frequent speaker at churches and conferences, has appeared on numerous television and radio broadcasts, as well as contributing quotes to online articles for LifeSite News, Christian Life Magazine, Tennessee Conservative News, and The Christian Post. For more information, please visit: http://www.georgecarneal.com

Homosexuality and the Christian

Author: Mark A. PsyD Yarhouse

Publisher: Bethany House

Published: 2010-09-01

Total Pages: 239

ISBN-13: 1441213716

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Mark Yarhouse gives honest and accurate answers to parents and pastors who have questions about homosexuality. Throughout the book, the author uses a new framework for understanding the issue, carefully separating the concept of "same sex attraction" from a "gay identity." In a clear and compassionate style, he explains the research regarding what causes same-sex attraction and whether or not it can be overcome. He also discusses what Christians can do when someone they know opens up to them about their homosexual attractions.

Does Jesus Really Love Me?

Author: Jeff Chu

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2014-04-15

Total Pages: 299

ISBN-13: 0062359304

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“Fascinating, thoughtful, and important. [Jeff Chu] captures the fractures and conflict at a moment when the issue of what to do with L.G.B.T. people is tearing Christian denominations apart. Does Jesus Really Love Me? deserves to be widely read.” —Dan Savage, New York Times Book Review In this timely work—part memoir, part investigative analysis—a prize-winning writer explores the explosive and confusing intersection of faith, politics, and sexuality in Christian America. When Jeff Chu came out to his parents as a gay man, his devout Christian mother cried. And cried. Every time she looked at him. For months. As a journalist and a believer, Chu knew that he had to get to the heart of a question that had been haunting him for years: Does Jesus really love me? The quest to find an answer propels Chu on a remarkable cross-country journey to discover the God “forbidden to him” because of his sexuality. Surveying the breadth of the political and theological spectrum, from the most conservative viewpoints to the most liberal, he tries to distill what the diverse followers of Christ believe about homosexuality and to understand how these people who purportedly follow the same God and the same Scriptures have come to hold such a wide range of opinions. Why does Pastor A believe that God hates me, especially because of my gayness? Why does Person B believe that God loves me, gayness and all? From Brooklyn to Nashville to California, from Westboro Baptist Church and their god hates fags protest signs to the pioneering Episcopal bishop Mary Glasspool, who proclaims a message of liberation and divine love, Chu captures spiritual snapshots of Christian America at a remarkable moment, when tensions between both sides in the culture wars have rarely been higher. Both funny and heartbreaking, perplexing and wise, Does Jesus Really Love Me? is an intellectual, emotional, and spiritual pilgrimage that reveals a portrait of a faith and a nation at odds.