Orlando Church Pro-LGBT
 

http://www.lc.org/newsroom/details/0...prolgbt-agenda

May 25, 2017


ORLANDO, FL -- Northland Community Church and Pastor Joel Hunter recently hosted a pro-LGBT event, “Elevating the Dialogue on LGBTQ Inclusion and Understanding in the Church,” with the overt message to “affirm” LGBTQ in and around Orlando. The pastor of Joy Metropolitan Church, who is in a same-sex relationship, and the founding pastor of The Impact Church of Orlando joined Hunter to discuss how Christians can work to make Orlando churches supportive of the LGBTQ lifestyle, regardless of their churches’ theological positions on marriage and sexuality. The purpose of the event is to distort the Bible and change theology in order to affirm an LGBTQ lifestyle as normative.

Attendees were asked to fill out a survey regarding their personal sexual lifestyle choices and their views about LGBT inclusion in the church.

The discussions were organized by The Reformation Project (TRP), a so-called “Bible-based, Christian grassroots organization” that works to promote inclusion of LGBT people by reforming church teaching on sexual orientation and gender identity with the goal for a global church that fully affirms LGBT people. TRP’s leader, Matthew Vines, wrote a book called God and the Gay Christian. TRP conducts a leadership program each year where attendees undergo a “three-month period of intensive study about Scripture and LGBT inclusion, community organizing and the intersections between racial justice and LGBT equality.”

“The Reformation Project is designed to change the church to affirm an LGBTQ lifestyle as normative, and it appears Pastor Joel Hunter has fallen into that trap. For him to host that pro-LGBT event is heresy,” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. “While we all are sinners and all are welcome at the foot of the cross, Jesus also told the adulteress to go and sin no more. He did not affirm her in the sin of adultery, nor did he affirm people in their continued sin. He saves us from our sin. The doesn’t mean we do not falter, but we cannot distort His grace as a license to continue to sin,” said Staver.

“Matthew Vines thinks it is okay to keep sinning and convince yourself it's not a big deal. Vines says the Bible only condemns lust, not same-sex committed relationships. He believes Sodom and Gomorrah had nothing to do with homosexuality, and other passages in the New Testament do not mean what they say. In other words, being LGBTQ is okay and the Bible says nothing contrary. Human sexuality is not to be taken lightly or compromised. The message of the Reformation Project and this event are wrong and an affront to Jesus and the Bible. The church needs to live in the resurrection power of Jesus and stop compromising to be just like the sinful culture we are called to redeem,” said Staver.

Re: Orlando Church Pro-LGBT
 

https://www.amazon.com/God-Gay-Chris.../dp/160142518X

The landmark book exploring what the Bible actually says—and doesn’t say—about same-sex relationships.

As a young Christian man, Matthew Vines harbored the same basic hopes of most young people: to some-day share his life with someone, to build a family of his own, to give and receive love. But when he realized he was gay, those hopes were called into question. The Bible, he’d been taught, condemned gay relationships.

Feeling the tension between his understanding of the Bible and the reality of his same-sex orientation, Vines devoted years of intensive research into what the Bible says about homosexuality. With care and precision, Vines asked questions such as:

• Do biblical teachings on the marriage covenant preclude same-sex marriage or not?
• How should we apply the teachings of Jesus to the gay debate?
• Can celibacy be a calling when it is mandated, not chosen?
• What did Paul have in mind when he warned against same-sex relations?

Unique in its affirmation of both an orthodox faith and sexual diversity, God and the Gay Christian has sparked heated debate, sincere soul search..ing, and widespread cultural change on the issue of what it means to be a faithful gay Christian.

Re: Orlando Church Pro-LGBT
 

The very same grace that saves the liar, cheat, fraud, murder, or adulterer... saves the homosexual. It is our need for grace that brings us to Him. If we justify our sin, we're essentially saying that we don't need a Savior.

1 John 1:9-10 King James Version (KJV)
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Frankly, affirming the sin cuts them off from the opportunity to experience the grace of God that saves us all.

Re: Orlando Church Pro-LGBT
 

Romans 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

Re: Orlando Church Pro-LGBT
 

Orlando, is a 2 hour drive from my home

my workplace now has a LGBTQIA Club and if I expressed an opposing viewpoint I could be fired . . .

Re: Orlando Church Pro-LGBT
 

Is that what the company has in print? I don't believe a company can fire someone for their religious beliefs. In fact, I believe that's a federal statute, along with age, sex, nationality, etc.

*Update - Title VII of the Civil Rights Act:

""UNLAWFUL EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES

SEC. 2000e-2. [Section 703]

(a) Employer practices

It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer -

(1) to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; or

(2) to limit, segregate, or classify his employees or applicants for employment in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.""

Re: Orlando Church Pro-LGBT
 

Anti-Harassment - XXXX is committed to maintaining a workplace atmosphere that will attract and retain individuals who contribute to XXXXXX’ success. Consistent with this philosophy, it is XXXX’ policy to provide a professional work environment that is free of conduct that can be considered harassing, coercive or disruptive. Harassment based on race, color, religion (including religious dress and grooming practices), age, actual or perceived physical or mental disability, national origin, ethnicity, ancestry, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy (including due to childbirth, breastfeeding, or any related medical conditions), genetic information, medical condition, marital status, veteran status, military status, citizenship status, or any other legally-protected characteristic, by supervisors, co-workers, managers, contractors or any third party who does business with XXXXX towards any applicants, employees, interns, volunteers, contract workers or anyone working on behalf of XXXXX, will not be tolerated.

Re: Orlando Church Pro-LGBT
 

Harassing and coercive (threats) I can understand, but "disruptive" could have a broad definition.

Re: Orlando Church Pro-LGBT
 

https://media.giphy.com/media/glmRyiSI3v5E4/giphy.gif

Would you mind clarifying the above comment?

Re: Orlando Church Pro-LGBT
 

You cannot affirm sin and then preach the truth that people must be saved from their sins. You do not tell people that some sin is OK, and some is not. Sin will send you to Hell. Christ came to save us from the sins, taking on Himself the penalty for our sins. When we affirm sin, we shame the Cross. This goes for the liar, the adulterer, the homosexual, the thief, or the murderer. Such are false churches who affirm sin.

Re: Orlando Church Pro-LGBT
 

So much for equal rights.

Re: Orlando Church Pro-LGBT
 

I LIVED in Orlando for many, many years and THIS reads like a hit-piece, a character assassination, on this church and on Pastor Hunter.

First and foremost, anyone who knows anything about Orlando knows that "affirming" homosexuality is not a "problem" that Orlando, FL has. Orlando is Florida's San Francisco!

Maybe, just maybe, the "Liberty Counsel" is just trying to make a name for itself with writing an inflammatory article.


How can they prove this assertion?

"The pastor of Joy Metropolitan Church, who is in a same-sex relationship, and the founding pastor of The Impact Church of Orlando joined Hunter to discuss how Christians can work to make Orlando churches supportive of the LGBTQ lifestyle, regardless of their churches’ theological positions on marriage and sexuality."


Basically, just talking about it will lead Northland Church into apostasy.

Re: Orlando Church Pro-LGBT
 

His statement seems sensible to me.

Re: Orlando Church Pro-LGBT
 

I heard just this week about an employee getting fired from her PRIVATE SECTOR job just for expressing anti-homosexual lifestyle views on her own Facebook page.

That is happening and it should not be happening.

Re: Orlando Church Pro-LGBT
 

This is why I don't connect on social media with people from work.

I don't have my employer listed on FB. I also declined to join my work's private FB page, meant for employees to share posts and photos from work and events.

Several years ago I interviewed for a tech support position and during the interview, they gave me a document requesting my social media information, including login permission to view my posts and information. Since employment was contingent on my signing the document, I walked out of the interview. I was pretty disappointed, because the pay was really good, but no way am I going to allow an employer access to my private, personal social networks.

Re: Orlando Church Pro-LGBT
 

One of the affects of corporate personhood.

Corporations do not have a "RIGHT" to any of that.

You know what is just on the horizon? Corporations having the right to deny employment to you based on genetic mutations. If your DNA indicates that you may develop this illness, well, we just won't hire you.

Privacy you to be an American right!

Re: Orlando Church Pro-LGBT
 

nDavid, as much as I would like to agree with you.... we are talking about a fallen world that cares very little for religious belief.

While it might be codified that one cannot discriminate based on religious belief, we have seen in practice where religious belief (protected legally) comes in contact with some other protected class, religious belief loses.

Re: Orlando Church Pro-LGBT
 

True.

Also, in right to work States, employers do not have to disclose why you are being terminated. So they can easily fire you for your religious belief and not have to say that was the reason why.

Re: Orlando Church Pro-LGBT
 

What kind of statement did she make?

Re: Orlando Church Pro-LGBT
 

I thought religious conservatives supported "right to work" legislation. Why support something that is against your best interest?

I'm a union guy. We fight right to work legislation tooth and nail. lol

Re: Orlando Church Pro-LGBT
 

Conservatives do support right to work legislation. It's better than being forced into paying dues to liberal unions. However, should a trend be seen in which employers are found to be firing people over religious beliefs, I believe there will be changes made to right to work laws to make sure employers are not using it to cover their discrimination.

Why would I want to join a union and pay dues to an organization which is completely partisan and gives millions to liberal democrats and socialists?

Re: Orlando Church Pro-LGBT
 

Still waiting for his explanation and clarification.