I was once part of a small group (around ten people at the time) from a large church (several hundred people) in Cambridge that held to the orthodox view on biblical sexuality. We formed this group of various people within the church who experienced same-sex temptations. The leader of the group was Brian, who did not personally struggle with same-sex feelings, but he had a gift for overseeing our gatherings.

"Conversion therapy" is perhaps most often used to describe any kind of attempt or intervention which aims to change a person’s sexual orientation. TFT does not aim to change anyone’s sexual attractions, nor do we practise any form of conversion/reparative therapy. In this article, I offer three principles, drawn from scripture, that inform our stance on this matter.

In November 2013 a report from the House of Bishops Working Group on Human Sexuality was published. The group consisted of three other bishops and others. I realised in the summer of 2013 that I couldn’t sign up to its recommendations, and said I would need to submit a dissenting opinion.

In our culture, if you say something that others perceive to be wrong, you can provoke a verbal lashing or a social media storm, or worse. This article explores why God allows opposition to his people and shows how the Bible presents this as the normal Christian experience.

This article is an edited extract from a much longer conversation about disagreeing well with those holding to a revisionist view of scripture. Stuart Parker was in conversation with Andrew Goddard for the Ascend Higher podcast. Andrew is an Assistant Minister at a church in London and a tutor in Christian Ethics. Over the last three years, he has deeply involved himself in the Church of England’s project “Living in Love and Faith”, which has brought together church leaders from both traditional and revisionist perspectives.

The intention of this article is to help same-sex attracted Christians to get their particular challenge(s) in perspective, and to recognise that many other Christians also carry significant burdens resulting from their faith. Comparing the relative sizes of the crosses we bear with those of other Christians is an unhelpful exercise. If we judge that our particular burden is greater than that of others, it’s likely to fuel self-pity, resentment and pride.