On the back cover of “Leading a Church in a Time of Sexual Questioning”, the claim is that this book offers “…biblical guidance for ministering God’s love in a sexually diverse culture.” The words “God’s love” are circled in red, emphasising that central theme.Compassion drives this book. Miller shows great care and concern, and urges his readers to exhibit those same qualities, for the queer teenagers who are being raised in a Christian home, the gay man who has walked away from his Christian faith and the lesbian couple who have never even been in a church.

I was born in Shrewsbury and raised in the somewhat odd border town of Oswestry, where I think it is fair to say I retain some rather fond memories of my early years. In my primary school years I, of course, had not developed any real identity or serious interests that would define who I was.

True Freedom Trust is a confidential pastoral ministry providing support for Christians who experience same-sex attraction or gender incongruence, and who wish to live under traditional biblical teaching. At our speaking events, we’re frequently asked, ‘should I use a person’s preferred pronouns?’. The question refers to whether it is right to refer to someone by pronouns that do not correspond to their biological sex e.g. calling a biological male she/her or using non-binary pronouns that don’t correspond to either sex such as they/them.

As a 75-year-old, I’ve learnt that it is unwise to make assumptions about how one’s life is going to pan out. Now looking back, I can say that as youthful libido wains, and by the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, one’s same-sex attraction can sublimate into something useful. For me this has been an introduction to the practice of ‘father care’, free of sexual content, but fuelled by spare emotional capital.

Allow me to tell you my story:

God’s Beautiful Story is a suite of free online resources to help evangelical church leaders engage with the Bible and enable their congregations to have good conversations about human sexuality and the implications of changes in understanding or practice in their church grouping.

There is much debate between Christians about whether it’s right for a Christian with same-sex attractions to use a term like “gay”, “lesbian” or “trans”. Some argue that these words have become all-encompassing identity-forming words and so those who are “in Christ” are denying their God-given identity by labelling themselves in this way. Others argue that these terms are more meaningful in our culture than clumsy alternatives like same-sex attracted, and that they can be used in a merely descriptive way that is compatible with holding on to a primary identity received from God.