I created this short script of an imaginary couple (Andrew and Zac) arriving at an imaginary church (Family Church). I wonder if you thought, “Sadly, this church doesn’t feel particularly imaginary!” Well, I tried not to make it too much of a caricature or too extreme. But I wanted to include a range of uncomfortable experiences...

Citygate Church covered love, sex and relationships in an extensive talk series in Autumn 2019 (7 Sunday mornings, 2 Q&A sessions and an evening seminar led by TFT). In this article we interview Tim, one of the church leaders, on his reflections on this teaching programme...

‘Whatever people choose to do in the privacy of their own bedroom...’ 

I wonder if you’ve heard challenges that begin like that. It’s taken as a given, especially in the political realm, that private actions are just that. They need not impact others in any way. As Christians we can fall into a private/public dichotomy too. Perhaps that’s because it can be uncomfortable to consider...

We are bombarded by stories, songs and visions of what fulfilling relationships look like on TV, film, Spotify, social media and in books. We absorb the story they tell us about our sexuality and how it is to be enjoyed. That story shapes our hearts. “Swipe Up” invites us to hear God’s better story, how He offers a superior satisfaction and has a justifiably prior claim upon us. Jason honestly, humbly and personally tells that story through his own journey so that we, to use Ed Shaw’s words, “gaze upon God’s reality and His better love stories”.

There was a time when I lived a gay lifestyle, but that all changed, very gradually, when it became clear that God wanted me to live differently, as a celibate man. Through His grace, God has sustained me in that commitment. Now, looking back, I can see just how the Lord was working in my life...

What does the welcome look like in your church? Does it consist of a firm handshake and a service sheet, or is it being given a hug by someone in a bright T-shirt? We can often reduce our idea of welcoming to what the “meet and greet” team does at the front door on a Sunday morning. But genuine hospitality, of course, goes way beyond creating a good first impression once a week...

Once you’ve come to terms with your own Same-Sex Attraction (SSA), deciding how to share that with others can be hard, particularly within your church family. Whom do you tell? Which person do you start with? For me, it started with my closest friend, followed by a few others. Then it became clear that I needed to tell my mentor, who was my student pastor...

Ernest Hemingway said, “Man’s destiny in the universe is like a colony of ants on a burning log.” Oh dear! It seems that all 7.7 billion of us on this planet are on a journey to nowhere. It sounds hopeless and really rather depressing, doesn’t it? But God (The most wonderful phrase in the English language!) has said differently in John 3 verse 16 and 17: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through Him might be saved.”

New Monasticism is a diverse movement. It seeks to take the positive aspects of the monastic tradition from the past and apply them to life today. The intention is to become more like Jesus. It involves committing ourselves to living with people for a time that we don’t choose - in essence, trying to make a new family from strangers...