Samuel Kader - Openly Gay, Openly Christian: How the Bible Really Is Gay Friendly

Openly Gay, Openly Christian

Copyright 2014 by Rev. Samuel Kader

Published by:

CanyonWalker Press

www.CanyonWalkerPress.com

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission of the author.

Most Scriptures quoted are from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION [NIV]

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.

Other Scriptures used are otherwise noted.

Standard abbreviations used for other versions are as follows:

King James Version, [KJV]

New American Standard Version [NAS]

New King James Version [NKJV]

The Living Bible [TLB]

ISBN: 978-1-61920-020-3

This book is dedicated to the Glory of God and to Jesus Christ His Son. It was the vision God gave for the book that prompted its beginnings. It was the constant encouragement of the Holy Spirit that kept me working at this book when time constraints seemed impossible to make it happen.

I want to give special acknowledgment to my Christian sisters Elaine and Pam who believed in this project when it was only a vision, as well as Faith Fellowship church. I want to thank them for their commitment to the completion of this goal. I want to thank my spouse, who gave me the extra encouragement and love I needed, and my church family, Glory of Christ Community Gospel Church, for providing the love, prayers and support they did during this time.

It is my sincere desire that the truth and content of this book will be of benefit to many people trying to please God, to walk in love, and be Christs disciple. I hope many will discover that homosexuality and holiness have been and still are Biblically compatible states. My hope is also that the truth will set people free; knowing they are free to be who God made them to be: whether gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, heterosexual, or otherwise. I pray readers will soon discover how it is possible to be any orientation within the human species and still be Christian, responsible, and holy all at the same time.

God bless you as we study Gods word together

Rev. Samuel Kader

O VER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS , there has been a great deal of preached and printed rhetoric against the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered community coming from various segments of the Christian Church. In some cases this stems from blatant homophobia and disdain for anyone different than the cultural norms. But, I believe in many cases this stems from a sincere desire to see others get right with God. Yet, by not fully understanding what they are talking about, people are only badgering the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered community (GLBT) with the Bible, the very book that was designed to bring freedom. This stems from an ignorance of what the Bible actually says about homosexuality as well as relying on traditions of Biblical interpretations handed down through the ages. These traditions are often steeped in ignorance of both scientific data as well as ignorance of the new discoveries from the word of God itself.

It is my desire to dispel the myths, bring the truth to light, and open our hearts to the understanding that fosters love. It is not necessary to draw all of the same conclusions that I do or to necessarily agree with me on all points. I am presenting the conclusions I have drawn after three decades of research. Yet it is my desire to see people get revelation from the Word of God for themselves, and my task is to help you along that journey.

I have been a pastor in the gay community since 1980. I have pastored four churches, spoken in countless others, been to a variety of Christian conferences both within and without the identified gay Christian community, and taught, preached, and served on denominational committees in a variety of capacities. I have been on task forces, chaired committees, and in general been very involved in the Christian community. It is my life.

Over the years, I have certainly met thousands of sincere Christians, who also happen to be gay, or another sexual minority. I have seen only the tip of the iceberg. There are millions of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered Christians already serving God and their local congregations in churches, as well as in denominational committees. Many church elders are gay. There are gay pastors, even in organizations that would immediately revoke their credentials if their orientation were to become either public knowledge or even suspected.

The Christian Church is in bondage to a tradition that has no basis in fact. Countless lives are being battered, bruised, and damaged, by maintaining this tradition. In order to continue membership in good standing within innumerable congregations, many gay people try to do everything they can to keep the secret in their hearts quiet and out of public view. They have been to Christian counselors, they have had hands laid on them in prayer, they have fasted, prayed, and begged God to remove the desire in their heart. They have suffered abuse, mistreatment, and when all else failed, they have been ostracized, removed from membership, shunned,and even physically thrown out of church and told to never return. Had there been a way to change their orientation they would have done so. With their prayer to change unanswered, I know personally of gay Christians who have taken their lives because they could no longer bear the pressure to conform.

Chapters of so called self-help groups have sprung up overnight within churches as para-church ministries to help homosexuals get out of the lifestyle. The most they have been able to offer is support for a gay person to remain as celibate as possible and offer forgiveness when they slip. Occasionally a person who can sexually function as a bisexual opts to get heterosexually married, then that cure and deliverance from a homosexual lifestyle is advertised much within the church.

One organization which for decades held the stance that prayer, fasting, and therapy could change sexual orientation has now reversed its position completely.

The leaders of Exodus International are dropping their previously held principle that most peoples homosexual attractions can be converted through prayer, and the president of Exodus disclosed Monday night that he still has same-sex attractions. Alan Chambers has been one of the faces of reparative therapy and has appeared in ads for Exodus International However, as of late, the organization has been distancing itself from saying so-called reparative therapy can work for any person with homosexual attractions. With regards to reparative therapy, so much of that type of technique and therapy is focused on changing attraction or changing temptation when I dont find that there is a biblical reality that says people will necessarily change their temptations or change their struggles, he said.. Chambers contends that saying someone can pray the gay away, is a lazy way of simplifying a persons sexual orientation.

In fact, because they could no longer justify attempts to convert gays into heterosexuals, Exodus International apologized publicly for the harm they had done to gays over the years, and decided it was best to close their doors altogether.

The president of Exodus reported that After 37 years of ministry the Exodus Board of Directors including Exodus President Alan Chambers determined the Lord was leading us to end Exodus season of ministry. On June 19th 2013. Alan Chambers announced the closing of Exodus International, North America.