By Terry Schlossberg, PPL Executive Director
Reprinted from Presbyterians Pro-Life NEWS, Spring 1996

The Presbyterian Outlook recently carried an article in which the co-moderator of PLGC announced their strategy for the upcoming General Assembly: she said they will be "personing" the issue, by which she meant they hope to flood the assembly with personal stories of hurting Presbyterians who feel excluded by our denomination's ordination standards regarding homosexual practice. They hope commissioners' "hearts will be moved" as they hear these testimonies.

Among the most basic teachings of Christian faith are the changeless nature of God, and the desire and ability of God to change us. The goal of the Christian life is to be conformed more and more to Christ.* A sure sign of spiritual rebellion is our resistance to the Holy Spirit's efforts to change us and our desire to see God change instead. We all do it. But no one does it more aggressively and destructively in the church today than the homosexual lobby.

The effort to reverse God's clear intent for our sexuality is not only destroying our life together as a church. It is also destroying the lives of men and women who, instead of being led gently toward repentance and new life, are boldly encouraged by some in the church to claim homosexuality as God's gift to them. Those who desperately want to give up their captivity to homosexual practice are trapped by a "different Gospel," (Gal. 1:6-7, and 5:16-21) which chides them for their failure to accept their homosexual behavior as normal and good. Instead, this "different Gospel" encourages them to secure themselves to and affirm their sinful behavior.

Studies unrelated to the Gospel's transforming power have demonstrated a remarkable success rate for change related to clinical programs for those who want to quit their homosexual practices. Masters and Johnson, the noted sex-research team, found a 71.6 percent success rate after a six-year follow-up. Another study by analyst Gerard Van Den Aardweg found a 65 percent success rate. And there is a growing body of men and women giving testimony to their own changed lives. A number of them are Presbyterians. In February [1995] a year ago, a group of Presbyterians met in a hotel conference room in Louisville and gave birth to OneByOne, a ministry to those who are drawn to homosexuality or other sexual sin. Many of those leading OneByOne give testimony to God's transforming grace in freeing them from the sexual brokenness in their own lives.

We, too, hope that commissioners hearts will be moved by those at the Assembly who will be "personing" the issue. But Presbyterians who are moved to compassion cannot truly help those caught in sexual sin by relinquishing biblical standards of sexuality. Instead they can demonstrate true compassion and faithfully express the love, mercy and grace of God by calling the Presbyterian Church to establish active ministries to those caught in all forms of sexual conflict and sin. It is a prevailing need in our age, and this General Assembly presents us with an opportunity to counter the trends of the culture with the blessings that come from upholding the truth of God and extending the love of God.

At this assembly, commissioners will have a wonderful opportunity to bear witness to the hope of the Gospel, both to the world and to those in the church who engage in homosexual practice. OneByOne is ready to lead the denomination directly into ministries that exhibit the transforming power of the Gospel.

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