Church Takes Stand for Sexual Morality, Outreach to Homosexuals
by Randall Murphree
April 25, 2006
(AgapePress) - - First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas, is taking a pro-active step to reach the homosexual community with the truth of the gospel. On Saturday, May 6, the church is hosting a one-day conference titled "More Than Words" (MTW). The conference is an event that features Tim Wilkins, founder of Cross Ministry in 1996 and creator of the MTW conference.
Wilkins himself left the homosexual lifestyle more than 20 years ago, so he is able to empathize with those who are trapped in homosexuality and feel there is no hope. Wilkins, his wife and three daughters live in North Carolina where Cross Ministry is based in Wake Forest.
"No one has ever been argued out of homosexuality," said Wilkins. The focus of MTW is on building bridges to the homosexual community, offering hope and help for those who wish to leave the lifestyle. Wilkins said MTW wants to walk (versus talk) people out of homosexuality.
He is a graduate of Southwestern Seminary in Ft Worth, Texas. He has spoken for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (Amsterdam 2000), at Saddleback Church, and at Christian and secular universities across the country. MTW conferences will be at Eagle Rock Church & Lakewood Chapel in Cleveland, Ohio, July 8-9; and at First Assembly of God in Raleigh, North Carolina, August 12. Over the past five years, Wilkins has conducted more than 30 MTW conferences.
"People do not consciously choose to be attracted to the same sex," Wilkins said. "One of life's mysteries is that we don't get to choose what we are tempted by." But Wilkins does make the distinction that acting on those attractions is a conscious choice and is sin, just as adultery is a sin.
Wilkins, whose articles and commentaries have been featured in numerous publications, was the first person ever to make a motion at the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) asking the convention to develop resources for reaching homosexuals with the gospel. Since that motion in 1997, literature has been created to evangelize homosexuals, numerous testimonies have been given at annual conventions, this area of ministry has been spotlighted at the 2003 and 2005 SBC annual meetings, an exhibit specific to reaching homosexuals has been featured at annual SBC conventions, and an SBC Task Force on Ministry to Homosexuals was created.
LifeWay Christian Resources, an arm of the SBC, has created The Way Out, a highly-identifiable name for this area of ministry. Some Southern Baptist seminaries have begun to recognize the need to specifically address this issue in training its students.
"Homosexuality crosses denominational lines and so does Cross Ministry," Wilkins said. "Denominations that invite us include United Methodists, Assemblies of God, Independent Baptists, General Baptists, Lutherans, and Southern Baptists."
Conference topics include: If a Friend Says "I'm gay"; Loving and Reaching the Gay Community; "What's a Parent to Do?"; Untwisting "Gay Theology"; "They didn't teach me this in Seminary!" and The Church: "Walking by Faith, not by Fright."
Don Schmierer, author of An Ounce of Prevention: Preventing the Homosexual Condition in Today's Youth, will also speak at the Dallas event. His book is the first ever dealing specifically with prevention. Schmierer speaks extensively around the world and has been involved in interpersonal ministry for more than 20 years.
Randall Murphree, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is editor of AFA Journal, a monthly publication of the American Family Association. To registration for the Dallas MTW conference, visit FirstDallas.org.
