Loving Homosexuals as Jesus Would

Chad Thompson

Dr Vernon Grounds, president emeritus of Denver Seminary, once said, ‘It seems to me [that showing love] means some concrete caring. For example, in the parable of the good Samaritan, it would have been nice to stop and pray for that poor victim who had been beaten up by the robbers. But what about administering whatever first aid you could and alleviating his pain and taking him to a place of safety?’ Dr Grounds then suggested the organisation of more police protection for the road, the installation of better lights, and the application of pressure on Jericho’s city hall if something was not done to alleviate the traveller’s suffering.

For Christians to apply Dr Ground’s suggestion requires that we acknowledge the social and personal struggles face by LGBT [lesbian, guy, bisexual and transgendered] people and that we wage a determined efforts to eliminate those struggles, whether or not they decide to change.

As much as the church loves to trumpet the stories of men and women who have come out of homosexuality, many in the church have turned a cold shoulder to the needs of those who have embraced their homosexuality, implicitly sending them the message that they must change their sexual orientation in order to become eligible for our love.

The purpose of this book is not to teach Christians how to convince gay people they should change or how to ‘convert’ homosexuals to Christianity. Only God can do these things. The purpose of this book is to teach Christians how to love homosexuals, which is our calling (John 13:34). To do this, we must enter the homosexual’s world. We must learn to show love in such a way that it can be recognised. In other words, we must ‘become flesh,’ just as Christ did for us. Success in doing so requires a humble spirit, a vibrant prayer life, and a thorough understanding of the issues faced by LGBT people.

This book presents a modern-day application of Paul’s example in becoming ‘all things to all people’ and explains why an effective ministry to LGBT people who are outside the church requires that we abandon our stereotypes of them and commit ourselves to loving them right where they are.

From the Introduction to Loving Homosexuals as Jesus Would– a fresh Christian approach, published by 2004