I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.
Therefore be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves. - Matthew 10:16
The arch of the Gospel is long and it bends, always, toward greater justice and wider circles of inclusivity. We see it in the life and ministry of Jesus and we see it in the witness of the rest of the Christian Scriptures. This is what we know as members of the Welcoming Church Movement.
But the Gospel has always been met with fear and so has this Welcoming Church Movement. Out of fear, there are those who are working against the full humanity and full welcome of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons in Church and society.
Matthew 10:16 calls us to live lives that are as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves. This means being fully aware of the power and activity of the radical right. Below are some resources and links so that you might be wise as you go about your work.
The Institute for Welcoming Resources is committed to love, integrity, wholeness and justice in the lives of all persons. Even as we make this claim, we are aware that there are some organizations who preach the lie that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons are either sinful or sick.
For sound scientific data and information regarding gender identity and sexual orientation, please visit the following sites provided by the American Psychological Association:
We need to be clear - we believe that sexuality and gender identity are GIFTS FROM GOD. The moral and ethical question does not rest on whether one is lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, heterosexual, queer, questioning, and/or intersexed but rather on how one uses the gifts that God has given us.
We, therefore, list the links below to ensure that as we are witnessing to God's welcome and extravagant love, we are aware of what we are up against. Many LGBT persons and their families get caught in the web of lies that these so-called "ministries" perpetrate. We need to know what is happening so we can more effectively witness to God's welcome and love.
An insider account by two ministers on the front lines of mainstream religion's longtime shadow war against the religious right, Steeplejacking reveals how conservative renewal groups, backed by a right-wing organization called the Institute on Religion and Democracy, use social wedge issues like homosexuality to infiltrate mainline churches and stir up dissent among members of the congregation, with the goal of taking over the leadership of the church, and ultimately, the denomination. The book unmasks the covert methods that renewal groups and the IRD use to spread their propaganda, as well as showing how the pastor and other church leaders can act as either provocateurs or protectors in the face of an attack. Churches that have been “steeplejacked” are also examined to illustrate why some are able ot withstand an attack, while others succumb.