Summary: <p>What is it like to be involved in a church and to struggle with same sex attraction? What does it mean to live as a Christian, and yet know that you'll never be able to get married and have a family? This week on <em>Bring To Mind</em> Melinda Schmidt talks with college student Kendell Tanner about his struggle of being both Christian and homosexual.</p><div id="showNotes"> <h2>Faith and Homosexuality: No Easy Victory</h2> <p>by Kendell Tanner</p> <p>When I enrolled as a freshman, I would never have admitted I was struggling with homosexuality. I wanted to keep it quiet for fear of freaking out my guy friends. You hear gay jokes around campus, in the dorms and even sometimes in the classroom, and you're afraid if you come out people will look at you differently. I remember being terrified of the thought of coming out as gay in a Christian environment. How would people react? Was I going to be an outcast? Was my faith, respected by my peers, going to be doubted by all I came in contact with? Would it ever be worth it to come out of the closet?</p> <p>When I first came out to my small group, they laid hands on me, prayed for me, thanked me for confessing deep, dark things and said they'd be there to support me as I struggled through it. Sean, Troy, Josh and Matt (otherwise known as Dove Love) heard me and have helped me as I struggle and continue to fight for freedom in Christ. My roommate, Blake, treats me as an image bearer of Christ and not as a broken vase that's his project from God to fix. This was the single greatest act of love from the Church I have ever experienced. These guys actually listened to me as I argued and fought with the biblical text and with God. They were patient and gave me community and a space to struggle and not be judged.</p> <p>Struggling with homosexuality in an overwhelmingly hyper-romantic culture at Moody sometimes makes you feel second-class. Even when you Bible Intro professor speaks of love and marriage, it feels as if love is impossible. Most Moody students today like to say all sins are equal in the eyes of God, that there is no scale, that a little lie would have been enough to require Christ's atonement. We say this in theory, but in practice we know that that little lie won't completely disqualify you for ministry. Struggling with homosexuality while finding a ministry to work with makes finding a needle in the haystack seem enjoyable.</p> <p><span class="pullQuote">Life as a Christian who is gay is difficult. The Bible tells us that to follow Christ, we must surrender all earthly passions. For the homosexual, that means no future of family or the blessing of marriage. It's difficult to think of a life of singleness as an even gift.</span></p> <p>Moody students, we are among you, beside you and rooming with you. Give us grace as we struggle for holiness and sometimes fail. Give us your prayers, not just for today, but throughout your ministry here on earth. We are tempted every day, and for the sake of the Gospel, reject our natural desires. As the world and many members of the church begin to wrongly embrace homosexuality as a positive alternative to true holy biblical relationships, stand with us as we struggle against that mindset. Don't make homosexuality a worse sin than others, but bear our burdens with us as we seek to be holy. Listen to us and be open to allowing the Spirit of God to transform us into the image of christ. As I leave Moody soon, I ask for the saints on this campus to just listen and love, as Christ did.</p> </div>
