Post by Guadalupe on Oct 3, 2014 9:31:38 GMT -5
The Church and the culture: Who's influencing who?
Charlie Butts (OneNewsNow.com) Monday, September 29, 2014
The latest results from a major survey show American churches more accepting of homosexuals in the congregation, but the leader of an ex-"gay" group believes that shouldn't alter the message of scripture.
According to the 2012 National Congregations Study, nearly half of churches (48%) permit same-gender couples in long-term relationships as members. That's up from 38 percent in the same study conducted in 2006-2007. The more recent study also found a little more than one-fourth of congregations (27%) allowed such couples to hold volunteer leadership positions (up from 19% in the earlier study).
Regina Griggs, who heads up PFOX (Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays), commented Monday on the apparent trend in the church while a guest on AFR Talk's "Sandy Rios in the Morning."
"We should accept all broken people seeking help into the church," she explained. "All people deserve the right to support from their family, their church, and their friends who are seeking positive change. We all support that."
She was then asked whether the preached and taught Word of God should be altered in order to make churches more "homosexual-friendly."
"To say that you can identify – and there's where the difference is: I identify as a homosexual, it's who I am, I was born to be this – is not something we should be supporting," she replied.
"We should let them know God loves them, that we love them – but no, you were not born a homosexual and that is not an acceptable behavior."
Homosexual men and women need to hear the truth about the lifestyle, she added, including the truth of the Bible, from churches that are "reaching out to them with a redemptive message."
The 2012 National Congregations Study, directed by Duke University sociologist Mark Chaves, gathered data from 1,331 congregations. Data from two previous studies (in 1998 and 2006-2007) surveyed a total of 2,740 congregations. Chaves described the trend toward increased "diversity" in churches as "good news."
www.onenewsnow.com/church/2014/09/29/the-church-and-the-culture-whos-influencing-who#.VC6xuCldXs4
Charlie Butts (OneNewsNow.com) Monday, September 29, 2014
The latest results from a major survey show American churches more accepting of homosexuals in the congregation, but the leader of an ex-"gay" group believes that shouldn't alter the message of scripture.
According to the 2012 National Congregations Study, nearly half of churches (48%) permit same-gender couples in long-term relationships as members. That's up from 38 percent in the same study conducted in 2006-2007. The more recent study also found a little more than one-fourth of congregations (27%) allowed such couples to hold volunteer leadership positions (up from 19% in the earlier study).
Regina Griggs, who heads up PFOX (Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays), commented Monday on the apparent trend in the church while a guest on AFR Talk's "Sandy Rios in the Morning."
"We should accept all broken people seeking help into the church," she explained. "All people deserve the right to support from their family, their church, and their friends who are seeking positive change. We all support that."
She was then asked whether the preached and taught Word of God should be altered in order to make churches more "homosexual-friendly."
"To say that you can identify – and there's where the difference is: I identify as a homosexual, it's who I am, I was born to be this – is not something we should be supporting," she replied.
"We should let them know God loves them, that we love them – but no, you were not born a homosexual and that is not an acceptable behavior."
Homosexual men and women need to hear the truth about the lifestyle, she added, including the truth of the Bible, from churches that are "reaching out to them with a redemptive message."
The 2012 National Congregations Study, directed by Duke University sociologist Mark Chaves, gathered data from 1,331 congregations. Data from two previous studies (in 1998 and 2006-2007) surveyed a total of 2,740 congregations. Chaves described the trend toward increased "diversity" in churches as "good news."
www.onenewsnow.com/church/2014/09/29/the-church-and-the-culture-whos-influencing-who#.VC6xuCldXs4