April 25, 2024
A topic rarely discussed in church youth settings – but is one of the most pressing concerns of today’s evangelical community – was discussed openly at a gathering of Georgia Baptist youth ministers in a recent Spring Forum at the Baptist Missions and Ministry Center.
Nearly 80 youth workers from across the state attended the March 19 session to explore how to deal with same sex attraction (SSA) issues facing young people.
R. Allen Jackson, professor at New Orleans Seminary, led the discussion and fielded questions from attendees. Jackson is professor of youth education and collegiate ministry, director of the Youth Ministry Institute, and faculty advisor for the Providence Learning Center at the seminary.
The event was sponsored by Youth Ministries of the GBC.
Jackson acknowledged that youth ministers are dealing with the topic on two levels – from teens in church who are encountering it among their peers and from those in church who are questioning their own sexual identify, whether it be gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender.
Youth ministers need to develop a biblical response to the issue and build a “Christian script” to address the issue that will not “go away” by ignoring its presence.
“Sexuality is the elephant in the room. America is talking about it, watching it, surfing it, dreaming it – pornography, same sex attraction, polyamorous relationships …
“Teenagers are no exception – but they are exceptional in their hormonal hyperactivity” fuels the issue, Jackson explained.
“Either we will become increasingly isolationists or will acknowledge that there are students in our community, both inside and outside the church, who are struggling with their sexual identity."
The Louisiana resident stated that God’s design “for His grand and glorious gift of sex is this … that sex is a gift to be indulged by one man and one woman within the context of an exclusive, monogamous, covenantal, life-long marriage. That’s it, plain and simple.”
He then acknowledged “as with everything else, we go and mess it up.”
Jackson further stated that when the Bible commands believers to “flee from sexual immorality,” the word that is uses is porneia, which means “to practice prostitution, sexual immorality, or fornication.”
That’s the word that the Apostle Paul frequently used in the New Testament in reference to any kind of sinful and illegitimate sexual activity, he explained.
He then said that today’s elephant in the room, what used to be called deviant sexuality is now normalized with acrostics as LGBTQ, or Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning.
The church needs to address the issue with love and grace and help teens find their footing from a biblical perspective or they will find it from a secular perspective, he maintained.
“Either we will become increasingly isolationists or will acknowledge that there are students in our community, both inside and outside the church, who are struggling with their sexual identity. And we are called to minister to them with the grace of the Gospel.
“The gay community is too willing to provide a ‘script’ for the progression from same sex curiosity … to embracing one’s identity as a homosexual. The church has been slower to formulate a response” but the time has never been more urgent, he added.
