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Pastorally supporting Christians experiencing attraction to the same sex 

To view Sam Allberry's longer form presentation with your ministry team click on this link.

Theology

​Pastoral Guidelines
  • Know the key biblical texts that speak of homosexual sexual activity and develop a robust biblical theology of sex, gender and marriage, based on the wide sweep of biblical teaching and not just ‘proof texts’.

  • Know the arguments around the interpretations about the specific passages that refer to homosexual sexual activity.

  • Differentiate theologically between same-sex orientation/attraction and same-sex sexual activity.

  • How do you think theologically about same-sex ‘orientation’? Are you consistent in the way you consider what is and isn’t sin in this area compared to others?

Further Resources

Maturity

​Pastoral Guidelines
  • Be patient with each person as you listen to their struggles and gently guide towards maturity in Christ.

  • Remember sexual attraction is only one facet of a person’s life. Don’t treat same-sex attracted (SSA) people as ‘single issue Christians’, encourage holistic maturity and sanctification.

  • Each SSA person will approach their struggle differently. We need to help people think through God’s guidance, singleness and marriage, celibacy, loneliness and more.

  • Remind the SSA person that the gospel holds out both the hope of future glory, and the joys of life in Christ now.

  • Many SSA Christians will have previously encountered “affirming theology” and may have found it emotionally engaging. How can you equip yourself well to respond to theologies like this?