Megachurch Pastor Andy Stanley has announced he will be part of a conference for parents with LGBTQ children. This comes after a swarm of internet posts about a sermon where he talked about the strong faith of gay Christians.
The “Unconditional” conference will be hosted at North Point Church on Sept. 28-29 with multiple different speakers. The event page says, “In a world that makes us choose sides, experience a conference from the quieter middle. Our goal is to provide hope and to help parents demonstrate the unconditional love of Jesus to their LGBTQ+ children.”
Pastor Shane Idleman posted a video to his YouTube page in response to the conference. He talks about four main posts he hopes Stanley will talk about during the event.
Here is what Idleman says:
- Teach the parents to provide clarification to their children. The truth doesn’t change, the truth changes us. Scripture doesn’t change with the culture of the day.
- Communicate your love as a parent. You can tell your child that you know and empathize with their struggle but you can’t agree with the lifestyle, but will always love them through it. If anyone is unsure whether something is right or wrong, unplug from social media. Bury your face in the word of God and seek the truth in Scripture.
- Contend for that child. Idleman hopes the parents will be taught to fast and pray for their children. Fasting is denying the fleshly appetite for the pursuit of God. This is not a work’s based approach. It’s giving up one area of delight for another. When you contend spiritually you don’t give up, no matter how long it has been.
- If you don’t have love and humility you can really hurt your kids. Introduce God’s word and balance the truth in love. Parent’s of LGBTQ kids, be contrite. We were all once sinners in need of a Savior. We have all been broken before the Lord in our sin.
Tune in to the rest of the video to hear Idleman talk more in-depth about balancing truth, grace and love in a biblical manner. {eoa}
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Shelby Bowen is an assistant editor for Charisma Media.
