TFT has done much in its 40 years to decrease stigma in the church, but we would all agree that there is further to go. In this article, Donald shares some positive experiences of being included by the church, to show what can be done when we aspire to inclusion.

In our culture, people still assume everyone wants a husband or wife, or at least a partner. The majority view is that being in relationship is preferable to being single. We often refer to people as happily married. But when did you last hear someone described as happily unmarried?

I’ve always been pretty open about my struggles with sexuality, so I was up front from the start when I arrived at my church 9 years ago. In those days, there were only a few of us and we met in the minister’s house, so it was very easy to get to know people and build positive relationships.

The Apostle Paul had a struggle - his “thorn in the flesh” - that God refused to take away (2 Cor 12:7-9). Although this was hard for Paul at the time, in due course he was able to recognise God’s purposes. Paul’s ongoing weaknesses and struggles made it clearer to others that Christ was working through him.

Is becoming 'straight' a godly goal? For the Christian, exchanging one set of sexual temptations for another set is not really progress towards living a life that gives glory to God. Rather, God calls every Christian to behave within the sexual boundaries set out in the Bible. And God does not promise to take away our struggles.

Jesus came to give us life in all its fullness (John 10:10). So, obeying his will on sex and relationships should not lead to a miserable life. When it comes to our views on sex and celibacy, are we being influenced by God’s Word, or by the prevailing view of our culture?