220: Rethinking the Church's Approach to the LGBTQIA+ Community with Jen Crowder

Jen Crowder is a wife, mom of 4, physical therapist, and founder of the ministry She is Emboldened. She has a heart for both the body of Christ and the lost. To that end, she comes on the show today with the desire to encourage and equip believers to truly be the hands and feet of Christ towards the LGBTQIA+ community.

What We Chat about in Today’s Episode:

~What has led to Jen’s passion for today’s topic

~Understanding that our mishandling of how we talk about and interact with the LGBTQUIA+ community is less about that community itself and more about how we tend to approach nonbelievers in general; the difference between how we address a fellow believer in Christ who is participating in that lifestyle and how we should address an unbeliever who is

~The truth that the most effective way to minister to that community is not to shout at them about their sin and that the Lord does not identify them by their sin

~Believing and presenting the fact that God’s design for us is good

~Cultivating in Christians a love for those in the LGBTQIA+ community and love for the lost in general; understanding that we must come from a starting point of loving others and God’s love for them as we present first the gospel and them go from there

~Following the example of the early church in the midst of the sinful Roman Empire

~What it looks like practically to still uphold the historical, biblical sexual ethic while also loving and respecting people in the LGBTQIA+ community

~The problems of pride and a lack of proximity and how both negatively affect the Church’s witness in this area

~Stewarding the good gift of the gospel well

~The importance of relationship when it comes to discipleship

~What Jen learned from a conversation she had with someone in the LGBTQIA+ community

~Resources Jen recommends for further study on this topic

~The importance of getting out of our little Christian bubbles and out into the world, loving others well as the hands and feet of Christ

~Studying and following how Jesus interacted with unbelievers; understanding the reality that if Jesus treated unbelievers the same way as many professing believers do today, that the Pharisees never would have gotten angry with Him in the first place

~The importance of what ambassadors actually do

~And more!

Resources Mentioned

Offer for a free audiobook and 30 day trial membership from Audible: www.audibletrial.com/HomeandHearth

Jen’s ebooks on Biblical sexuality

People to be Loved: Why Homosexuality is not Just an Issue by Preston Sprinkle

Embodied: Transgender Identities, the Church, and What the Bible Has to Say by Preston Sprinkle

Love Thy Body: Answering Hard Questions about Life and Sexuality by Nancy Pearcy

Pastor Jon Tyson’s Why Does God Care About my Sexuality? sermon

Women Who Risk: Secret Agents for Jesus in the Muslim World by Tom and Joann Doyle

INSPIRING QUOTES TO REMEMBER:

“We don’t put Christian ethics on non-Christians and expect people who are not indwelt with the Holy Spirit to live as if they are.”

“The amount of what the Bible would define as sexual sin which was abounding in the Roman Empire during the time of the New Testament was extensive. And yet early Christians were not walking up to the Romans and first saying, ‘Hey, you need to adopt a Christian sexual ethic’. That was not their starting point. We are not to expect non-Christians who are not indwelt with the Holy Spirit to follow a Christian sexual ethic. The gospel must come first before we start focusing on behavior modification.”

“Pride and a lack of proximity lead to our treating LGBTQIA+ issues as somehow being greater sins than a guy living with his girlfriend. If we have not personally experienced struggles with same sex attraction, we will end up lacking compassion for those who do. And if we lack proximity with people in that community, it becomes a lot easier to harshly view and treat them than if you knew them personally.”

“The gospel starts with a loving God who created you on purpose for a purpose. And yes, sin will be addressed when you present the gospel. But that is not where the story of the gospel begins, so neither should we begin with condemnation of someone’s sin. We must begin from a place of a loving God and go from there.”

“We must humbly remember that the only difference between us and nonbelievers is Christ. That’s it. And part of stewarding the good gift of the gospel well is remembering that truth in how we share the gospel with others.”

“We have maybe done a good job of saying the biblical sexual ethic is true, but we have not always done a good job of saying and showing that it is good and good for you.”

“Oftentimes non-Christians think Christianity is attending church, following rules, and being judgmental of anyone who doesn’t agree with you or live like you do. But that is not the gospel.”

“We need to get outside of our little Christian bubbles, get out into the world, and love others well.”

“If Jesus would have only condemned sinners when He spent time with them, the Pharisees never would have gotten upset with Him. The Pharisees did what we often do today and wanted to separate and condemn. But that isn’t what Jesus did. And the lost never would have been attracted to Him as they were if He had. Jesus drew near to people who were far from God.”

WHERE YOU CAN FIND JEN ONLINE:

Website – She is Emboldened

Instagram – @sheisemboldened

YouTube Channel – She is Emboldened

To Leave a Rating and Review on iTunes

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