Dealing with Homosexuality in the Church

Here is a recent interview I did with New Man Magazine.  Click the link for the full interview.

Dealing With Homosexuality in the Church

Last month the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) voted to allow its congregations to hire clergy who currently are involved in homosexual relationships. The news came at the end of a summer that saw other mainline denominations dealing with the same issue. To get some perspective on these developments, we talked with Jeff Buchanan, senior director of church equipping for Exodus International. Exodus is the world’s largest interdenominational Christian organization promoting the message of freedom from homosexuality through the power of Jesus Christ. Buchanan works with pastors and church leaders to teach local churches how to love people who deal with same-sex attraction, while maintaining a biblical worldview in the process.  Click here for entire article.

The Buchanans are Moving

My apologies to everyone who may be hearing this for the first time via blog. It’s is not the preferred or ideal way to communicate news like this but I do want to make sure that people are in the loop, especially those who we have walked with for the past several years.

Angela and I are officially moving to Orlando! After much prayer and counsel, we believe that the Lord is moving us into a new season of our lives. As many of you may know, my church, New Song Christian Fellowship, has graciously released me to work for Exodus International for the past year and a half. I am now at the point in my position that I can no longer continue to effectively serve Exodus long distance. As we began the process of considering this move with the Exodus team, the opportunity arose for Angela to also come on board and serve in the area of communications. As we processed this together and with our team at New Song, it quickly became apparent that the Lord was calling us to Orlando.

We have put our home on the market as of yesterday and we will relocate once the house sells. As this is a significant transition and step of faith for both of us, we covet your prayers. Please pray for the quick sale of our home. We believe that the Lord has a specific buyer and that He wants to reveal Himself through this situation. Also, pray for God’s grace and provision for us in this next season. We truly desire to find the home that He would have for us in this next chapter of our lives.

While we are excited about new beginnings, it is certainly a bittersweet experience. We have lived in Nashville for the past 15 years and we both love our church family very much. I will never be able to adequately express my gratitude to those at New Song who have had such an instrumental part in my spiritual growth. You have made an eternal investment.

We will be keeping everyone in touch with this transition and our work with Exodus International via newsletter as we will be receiving missions support from our church. If you would like to be on our mailing list, please let me know.

Thank you for the place you have had in our lives and we are excited to share this journey with you!

Blessings!

Jeff & Angela Buchanan

Crash-a-Rama Challenge

My friend Randy (co-worker and boss at Exodus International) is going to be attending this event this evening:

If you know Randy, then you know just how entertaining this will be for those able to witness it.  In the spirit of the event, I’m sending Randy on a Crash-a-Rama scavenger hunt.  Randy will need to bring back the following photos from the event.

1. Woman wearing a bandana kerchief-style halter top with a pair of wood-grain Candies. (Extra credit for more than one picture or a picture of a group of women dressed this way.)

2. A middle-age woman wearing a muu-muu and eating pork rinds dipped in Miracle Whip. (Food requirement waived via negotiation)

3. Kissing cousins Renegotiated for a couple just hanging all over each other in that “Billy Bob and Ellen Sue go to the State Fair” kind of way.

4. Five mullets standing in a row in the Corn Dog line.

5. A “post-gay” man eating a corn dog, bear claw, chased with a Bud Light.

6. A picture of Randy having survived this ordeal.

If Randy successfully can bring back all of these pictures, i will give him a $30 gift card to Starbucks.  Let the games begin!

New Book Offers Practical, Authentic Insight on Leaving Homosexuality

Prop 8 Traumatic Stress Disorder

The verdict is in. The California Supreme Court has ruled and the voter’s voice on marriage has been preserved, at least, for the moment. I must confess, though, that while I’m relieved, I’m a bit fatigued. Watching Miss USA contender Carrie Prejean assaulted for stating her views on marriage has been brutal. Hearing actor Sean Penn admonish supporters of the California law, Proposition 8, at this year’s Academy Awards ceremony to “sit and reflect and anticipate their great shame and the shame in their grandchildren’s eyes” was ugly.  Reading about how Proposition 8 opponents were circulating Google maps detailing the locations of Proposition 8 supporters’ homes to harass them was insidious.

I’m sure I’m not alone. Many Christians may be hesitant, if not completely resistant, to engage the culture on issues that contradict their values and beliefs the next time around. But we must ask ourselves – as the church, what should our response be? The answer for me comes in looking back at how the early church responded to similar opposition. They were committed to stand for what they knew to be truth, even if it meant the ultimate sacrifice. Many were sent to their death in the jaws of wild beasts in front of a coliseum of eager spectators. Today rather than facing the lions, the church now faces the merciless jaws of litigation. Instead of an audience of robed spectators, there is now a virtual coliseum of media correspondents, magazines and talk shows ready to voice their particular perspective on the events. The attitude against the church is the same but the venue for persecution has been modernized. As a result many churches have gone underground on this issue of homosexuality and are fearful to engage the topic at any level. Some believe there is too much to risk and besides; gay marriage will eventually be federally legalized so why fight it?

But wait a minute. Who is the real victim in this scenario? Is it really the church?

Click here for entire article in Charisma Magazine

Next Page »