Hello, my name is Ewan

[Highlander]

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[drallan]

Hi Ewan!

Welcome to the forum and thanks so much for sharing your story! You are an inspiration!

Wishing you a lovely and awesome week ahead!

Take care,

Allan x

[BruceChris]

Your questions seem awfully formal, in nature. You do not make friends with the homosexual community, you make friends with individuals in that community.

I would recommend that you do NOT "chose to start connecting with homosexuals at the local Gay Nightclub (Out) AND share the love of Jesus", AT THE SAME TIME.

Far too many evangelicals are convinced that there is no such thing as a homosexual, only broken, and sin obsessed heterosexuals, and that these people need to be SAVED, or FIXED. If you give the impression that you are one of those, even by mentioning Jesus, they will avoid you, or worse.



EDIT: I re-read your intro. You seem to be doing something right.

Good Luck, Bruce Chris

[u-dog]

Ewan,

Welcome to the forums. Many Christians believe that evangelism begins and ends with talking. You seem to understand that listening comes first. Continue to listen more than you talk. Seek to understand other peoples experience. Be humble and respectful. In other words, continue as you have begun. You will both make friends and influence people. Its a long path and slow.

U-dog

[antiochian]

Welcome, Ewan, and bright blessings! I agree with the others that your introduction was very moving. The fact that you managed to reach out and connect with Patrick, and to march with a gay man and a lesbian tells me that you already are cultivating authentic friendships.

I agree with the others that you may want to tone down any preaching, and not be too pushy. Be prepared for angry or indifferent responses to your invitations to faith when you do issue them. Gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans people have been hurt, sometimes very deeply, by Christian loved ones, the church and its leaders. Be a light of love and understanding. Be open-minded, and slow to judge. Listen to their stories. Learn from them. Cry with them. Laugh with them. Speak up for them when you see them wronged. They are your brothers and sisters. You want to lead them to Christ, let them see Christ in you.

That's my best answer for you. Thanks for sharing with us.

[tdogg]

Hi Ewan and welcome to the Soulforce forums!

You came to the right place to get to know an excellent group of individuals who are happy to discuss the issues. We all have our stories (coming out and otherwise) and have shared much on the forums already. I think you might be interested in reading through some of the threads to get an idea of our journeys and some of the things we are doing.

I am working with a group that puts on workshops to talk about marriage equality, relationships and civil vs. religious marriage. A lot of that centers around relationships in general, and we use an excellent DVD on that. Plus we discuss some Biblical texts regarding relationships. Some of it is specific to marriage equality but much is in general about relationships and how God feels about them.

I've been to Scotland a couple of times and love the country, though it rains a lot! Very much looking forward to returning with my wife (she's never been). I'm so glad you found us and shared your story. I hope you stick around and share more. I'm interested in hearing what you are doing and how you are doing on your life journey. How does your wife feel about all of this?

Anyways, welcome and thanks for being here!

[Gennee]

Hi Ewan and welcome to the forums. After reading your intro I see that some barriers have been broken already. I am a transgender individual who who has has seen God work in the lives of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people. My desire is to witness to transgender people in word and life. Thank you for sharing your story.

Gennee

[Highlander]

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[Pablo Rafael]

Hi Ewan,

I really appreciated what you had to say in your introductory post. I know about breaking down barriers. God had to break down a lot of barriers in my thinking to get me to the point I am at now, an openly gay Christian man who believes that being gay is God's choice for my life and being Christian is my greatest joy.

So much harm has been done to gay individuals at the hand of the church that it is difficult to bring the message of God's love them. At the same time it is hard to bring the message that God loves all, gay and straight, to the religious community. But only by working to break down those barriers can we show the love of God to all. Jesus spent much of his ministry connecting with those who were scorned and marginalized. He broke down the ultimate barrier, sin, that separates us from the love of God.

God's blessings in your journey, my friend.

Pablo