# Turning Controversy Into Church Ministry

## Metadata
- Author: [[William P. Campbell]]
- Full Title: Turning Controversy Into Church Ministry
- Category: #books
## Highlights
- Two extreme reactions to same-sex attraction and all types of sexual brokenness tend to dominate the church—complete avoidance or unquestioned acceptance. The resultant divide among denominations, within congregations, and even between family members has been devastating to the life and witness of the Christian church. ([Location 31](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003TFE5Q8&location=31))
- Congregations and entire denominations have done a good job of condemning, affirming, or avoiding homosexuality, but how many have fully embraced both the truth and grace Jesus offered? ([Location 90](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003TFE5Q8&location=90))
- Jesus did not hide the truth; he called the adulteress to repentance. But neither did he insult her, condemn her, or throw her out. His grace embraced her and sent her forth to live a better life. If he had demonstrated grace without truth, he would have let her stagger down the path of personal destruction. If he had spoken truth without grace, he would have clubbed her with the law and sentenced her to stoning by the crowd. ([Location 99](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003TFE5Q8&location=99))
- Grace without truth pampers, confuses, and even deceives. Truth without grace cuts, wounds, and destroys. ([Location 103](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003TFE5Q8&location=103))
- Those who approach thorny matters such as sexual addiction, homosexuality, and adultery with only truth become experts at alienation. Those who bring love into such discussions but avoid the truth are unable to confront patterns of behavior that hurt self and society. ([Location 104](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003TFE5Q8&location=104))
- Ten Ministry Essentials The best way to avoid extremes is to follow Christ’s example. Churches that blend uncompromised grace and truth are positioned for dynamic ministry. Ministry begins when we connect brokenness in our hearts with brokenness in others. Church leadership is about godly role models, not rights. We must embrace the whole of Scripture to keep our lives whole. Our genes bear the shadow of the fallen creation. They do not overshadow righteous living, however, for those who are new creations in Christ. The law leads us to Christ, who enables us to fulfill it. The goal is not to move from homosexuality to heterosexuality but from homosexuality to holiness. Where sin abounds, God’s grace is greater still. With God, nothing is impossible and no one is unreachable. ([Location 175](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003TFE5Q8&location=175))
- The theological flows of the Old Testament, which highlights the law—the truth of God—and the New Testament, which features the grace shown in Jesus Christ, are two parts of one whole. They create an interconnecting pattern throughout the Bible. The Old Testament is about more than the law of God. The Ten Commandments were given through grace, through a God who loved the Israelites as his “treasured possession” among all the peoples, “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:5-6). The tabernacle, accompanied by rules and regulations for worship, was an intricately painted portrait of the grace that invites us, through the sacrifice of Christ, into the very presence of God (Exodus 35-40; Hebrews 10:1-25). ([Location 266](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003TFE5Q8&location=266))
- The New Testament is about more than the grace of God. Jesus, in the New Testament, upheld the standards of God’s law. He said that “not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished” (Matthew 5:18). He who came to save us will return to judge those who refuse to believe. ([Location 272](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003TFE5Q8&location=272))
- Jesus told the church of Laodicea, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:15-16). ([Location 359](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003TFE5Q8&location=359))
- But the question should be asked: Are we more concerned about our own reputations or that of Christ? ([Location 394](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003TFE5Q8&location=394))
- I was used to fearing what people thought, but here my homosexuality was just another item on the list of what Jesus could heal. ([Location 476](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B003TFE5Q8&location=476))