“Hi, I’m Lauren, and this is my partner, Kendra. We heard about your church from a friend who attends here, and she told us your services were open for all to attend.”
In our current cultural climate, it’s easy to envision a Sunday morning conversation starter like that. Knowing how to address situations like these with wisdom and grace will be a key to extending hospitality to those interested in your church. How do we love genuinely (Rom. 12:9) and show true hospitality (Rom. 12:13) as living sacrifices to the Lord (cf. Rom. 12:1-2), all while maintaining clear, biblical convictions on issues related to sexuality and gender?
Surely, these two goals are not mutually exclusive. To that end, here are four pieces of counsel.
1. Clearly State Your Beliefs About God’s Design for Sexuality and Gender.
Loving our neighbors well demands that we clearly state our beliefs and convictions. Most often, this comes in the form of a statement of faith or a doctrinal statement. These statements, rather than being staid and stoic, should be positive, clarifying declarations of what we believe.
The late Howard Hendricks put it well, “We should not be ashamed to discuss what God was not ashamed to create.”
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