Grace & Gay Men

Boundless is featuring my article Grace & Gay Men.  This is what Ted Slater wrote in the announcement email.

Before I talk about the articles we published earlier this week, I want to draw your attention to the one we’re publishing tomorrow, “Grace and Gay Men.” It was a difficult article for author Randy Thomas to put to paper. I think, though, that by being so vulnerable about his experience as a gay man, Randy is able to give us more of a heart for those engaging in the gay lifestyle.

Also, my friend Brenna Kate wrote another article for them about cutting.  Both are pretty darn personal.

Welcome Boundless Readers.  Please let me know what you thought of the article.

UPDATE:  The Boundless Line blogged about the article… Denise and the folks leaving comments are very encouraging,  Thanks!

Focus On Exodus

Former Exodus President Featured on Focus on the Family Broadcast
Orlando, FL- Tune in today and tomorrow to hear former Exodus International President Joe Dallas deliver a powerful message on how Christians should respond to the issue of homosexuality and to gay identified men and women.Alan Chambers’ new book God’s Grace & the Homosexual Next Door is a featured resource following this broadcast.

Listen to “How Should We Respond to Homosexuality?”

Order God’s Grace & the Homosexual Next Door

I read somewhere that Wayne Besen?  Or was it Mike Airhart? … they are beginning to act like one and the same destructive person, said that Focus on the Family had taken over Exodus.  Well, I tell ya’, that’s just crazy talk.  From the appearance of today’s www.family.org it would seem the reverse is true.   Joe Dallas is on the show, Alan’s book is the featured product and my interview on transgender issues in public schools is one of the line up of featured articles. (specifically on “Social Issues.”)

And they are featuring Love Won Out as well.

I love that Focus supports the work of Exodus.  Everyone I have met at Focus is a great person, I love that crew.  They are some of the most loving, and fun, people I have ever met.

While Focus doesn’t “own” Exodus, where our interests do line up, we make a great team.  I am glad to help them whenever possible.

Featured on Friday Five Today - Gender Identity

Friday Five: Randy Thomas
by Devon Williams, associate editor’Gender identity is very important to God.’

Parents of children who struggle with gender confusion are being encouraged to raise their kids according to the gender they want to be.

Nationally, organizations are adopting gender-neutral restrooms.

And in California, students now can “choose their own gender” when deciding whether to use the boys’ or girls’ restroom and locker room.

According to the American Psychological Association, “transgender” is a term used to describe people whose self-perception differs from their biological gender. This condition is commonly referred to as gender identity disorder.

Randy Thomas is executive vice president of Exodus International, the largest worldwide Christian outreach to those affected by homosexuality. He spoke with CitizenLink about transgenderism and his own journey out of homosexuality…

Click here to read the entire interview.

Sidetracked by Seduction - Sermon Notes

The Discovery and Development of Your Destiny “When Dreams Turn Into Nightmares” - by Pastor Clark Whitten, Grace Church Orlando

Genesis 39:1-16

1 After Joseph had been taken to Egypt by the Ishmaelites, Potiphar an Egyptian, one of Pharaoh’s officials and the manager of his household, bought him from them.

2-6 As it turned out, God was with Joseph and things went very well with him. He ended up living in the home of his Egyptian master. His master recognized that God was with him, saw that God was working for good in everything he did. He became very fond of Joseph and made him his personal aide. He put him in charge of all his personal affairs, turning everything over to him. From that moment on, God blessed the home of the Egyptian-all because of Joseph. The blessing of God spread over everything he owned, at home and in the fields, and all Potiphar had to concern himself with was eating three meals a day.

6-7 Joseph was a strikingly handsome man. As time went on, his master’s wife became infatuated with Joseph and one day said, “Sleep with me.”

8-9 He wouldn’t do it. He said to his master’s wife, “Look, with me here, my master doesn’t give a second thought to anything that goes on here-he’s put me in charge of everything he owns. He treats me as an equal. The only thing he hasn’t turned over to me is you. You’re his wife, after all! How could I violate his trust and sin against God?”

10 She pestered him day after day after day, but he stood his ground. He refused to go to bed with her.

11-15 On one of these days he came to the house to do his work and none of the household servants happened to be there. She grabbed him by his cloak, saying, “Sleep with me!” He left his coat in her hand and ran out of the house. When she realized that he had left his coat in her hand and run outside, she called to her house servants: “Look-this Hebrew shows up and before you know it he’s trying to seduce us. He tried to make love to me but I yelled as loud as I could. With all my yelling and screaming, he left his coat beside me here and ran outside.”

16-18 She kept his coat right there until his master came home. She told him the same story. She said, “The Hebrew slave, the one you brought to us, came after me and tried to use me for his plaything. When I yelled and screamed, he left his coat with me and ran outside.”

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White House Aide Resigns Over Plagiarism

My thoughts after the jump …

White House Aide Resigns Over Plagiarism
WASHINGTON AP - A White House official who served as President Bush s middleman with conservatives and Christian groups resigned Friday after admitting to plagiarism. Twenty columns he wrote for an Indiana newspaper were determined to have material copied from other sources without attribution.

Timothy Goeglein, who has worked for Bush since 2001, acknowledged that he lifted material from a Dartmouth College publication and presented it as his own work in a column about education for The News- Sentinel in Fort Wayne, Ind. The newspaper took a closer look at his other columns and found many more instances of plagiarism.

The president was disappointed to learn of the matter and he was saddened for Tim and his family, White House press secretary Dana Perino said in a statement.

She said Goeglein had accepted responsibility and has apologized for not upholding the standards expected by the president.

The White House sought deal with the embarrassing situation quickly, the same day the plagiarism was reported by a blogger, Nancy Nall, a former News-Sentinel columnist.

His behavior is not acceptable and we are disappointed in Tim’s actions, said White House spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore. He is offering no excuses and he agrees it was wrong. …

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I wasn’t kidding …

From Travel

… when I said that for some reason God has me sit near the most interesting people when I travel … I meant it. The guy in the photo above gave me permission to take his picture by the way. This was on the flight from LAX to Orlando. He has purposefully shut out sight and sound. He has a blanket and a neck pillow (because you can never have too many pillows.) He also has a set of head phones resting on his stomach so he can have the option of watching the movie or not. Dude packed a picnik basket of fruits and trail mix. He warned me to not turn on the air vent because that is what makes you sick with the recycled air.I didn’t ask him where he thought the fresh air was going to come from for the next five hours.

AND he timed the time it took for the plane to lift off after the engines fired up. For the curious…42 seconds.

There are a few pictures from today’s travels so click on either picture and it will take you to the rest of them.  My favorites are of the fog but, I was mesmerized by the topography all the way from San Jose to LAX.

There’s No Place Like Northern California

From Travel

San Jose is cool but … I won’t get to see it beyond my hotel. The meeting today was in one of the ball rooms and it was terrific. We gave all of the information away and had great conversations with a bunch of pastors. Northern California is truly different than anywhere else in the country.

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Chasing the Sunset - Flying To San Jose

Today I flew from Orlando to San Jose through Atlanta. I parked my car at a place just down the street from OIA. The shuttle picked up another gentlemen after me who had a very nice car.   Not inordinately expensive but still quite nice. I have no idea what kind of car it was but I liked it’s style. As he scooted by on the shuttle I blurted out in my unabashed extrovert way, “groovy car.” He said, “Thanks, it’s the last one ever made, I flew to Minnesota to pick it up.”

I smiled and said, “wow” nodding my head. Something in me just didn’t quite believe the story. Plus my head was hurting and that makes me grumpy.

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Revolution in Iran

Some brave people fought against the “modesty” police and kept them from abducting a young woman for not dressing appropriately. The following video is not great quality but Pajamas Media has a rundown of what you are seeing. The crowd is chanting “We don’t want Islamic Regime!” “We don’t want Dictatorship!” and “Death to the Police!”

It’s difficult to imagine that one of the officers was badly beaten but at the same time, how great is it that this young woman did not just disappear to who knows what kind of treatment?

Lets not forget that among the many atrocities that go unreported about Iran, this regime routinely kills, rapes and tortures people who are or simply alleged as homosexual. Say what you will about Islam as a whole but from what I have seen, this Islamic regime is despicable and evil through and through. I am going to pray that a revolution in Iran gains footing, leadership and find tremendous success.Perhaps their plight and struggle for freedom should remind us to be grateful for what we take for granted here in the West.

Ask Dr. Helen: Is Male Bashing Curable?

Pajamas Media: Ask Dr. Helen: Is Male Bashing Curable?…

To give you an example, I was once at a Ruby Tuesday’s restaurant with my husband and daughter having dinner and listening to our pregnant waitress gush about her baby being due soon. “Do you know if you’re having a girl or boy?” I asked. “Oh, a girl, of course, we don’t need anymore men in the world!” Taken aback, I loudly said across the restaurant, “What do you mean, we don’t need ANY MORE MEN in the world? What an ugly sexist thing to say!” The waitress looked embarrassed and went slinking away, probably to the back where she spit in my food, but I didn’t care. I bet to this day, she will think twice before opening her mouth in such a nasty and utterly selfish way.

Okay, I felt good about that experience, but maybe you would not. Yet, I can’t help but think that aversive conditioning is not a bad way to react to people who think it is their God-given right to male bash. They do it because it is socially acceptable and there are not only no consequences for it, but often both men and women get kudos for “sticking it to the man.”

One thing, Married Man, that you must remember about human nature, (and especially women) is that most people are terrified of confrontation and will do anything to avoid it. They want to be liked or at least feel that they are a person worth liking. Make it unpleasant for them to let out their toxic tirades and they will stop—and it often takes so little effort. Notice that people in public places and the media rarely say anything derogatory about women. Why? It is socially unacceptable and they are afraid to. Make it costly for people to bash men and they will stop. Start with small steps—if all men and the women who gave a damn spoke up or told people to knock it off when the male bashing started, we would hear a lot less of it. …

One time a lady, someone I love, said men should just get out of the way and let the women multi task. She and the other ladies present laughed and I said, “what a terribly sexist thing to say.” Then she said, “Face it Randy, there are just some things men can’t do.” To which I replied, “not only are you sexist, you are beginning to sound like a female chauvinist pig.” The one other guy among these ladies smiled but his eyes looked like a deer caught in the headlights. My friend, she did the nervous laugh thing and said, “Are you serious?” and I said with a smile because I wasn’t angry, “Yes, I am.” Then we all had a discussion of how women can be just as sexist as men and don’t even realize it or even excuse it. We also talked about how sexism blinds us to the beauty of gender complementarity. Yes, the genders are wonderfully different but they are purposefully so. They are different to complement…not be better than or inferior to one another. So, my friend acknowledged her sexist statement and we all had a good five-ten minute discussion.

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