Todd Wagner on homosexuality and same-sex marriage

One of my favorite preachers is Todd Wagner of Watermark Community Church near Dallas.  We listened to one of his audio sermons (on pornography) here at MHCC a couple of years ago, and I have made a regular habit of feeding on his preaching ever since.

He recently preached a message on homosexuality and same-sex marriage that I find to be compassionate and truthful.  I recommend it highly to you.  Wagner’s 34-minute sermon is followed by a ten-minute testimony by a Watermark member who is in the process of finding freedom from homosexual behavior.

May 8, 2007 · Filed Under Tough Issues

Comments

3 Responses to “Todd Wagner on homosexuality and same-sex marriage”

  1. Sam Clark on May 9th, 2007 12:27 pm

    I’d like to offer a humble disagreement to Todd Wagner’s sermon. I don’t support same-sex marriage but I see the same-sex movement have themselves in a win-win sitiuation. I’d rather maintain the sanctity of my marriage in the eyes of God and lose this battle than to leave this battle with homosexuals feeling the church used a “power-over” Constintinian approach to pass an amendment making their sin unacceptable while we still marry people that have been divorced. Moral law does not change, its changeless and will endure long after the U.S.A. is no longer a governing power (unless history somehow ends up different for the U.S. than it has for any other nation). Christians are a people that have deeper roots than “legal marriage” and we have to look to the very long road and not listen to scare tactics coaxing us to give more power to an already confused religious right. No one in the early church would have dreamed of asking the Romans to pass laws in favor of Christian traditions yet the church grew exponentially. Our very nature must be subversive but not overpowering - like Jesus. If people really want to make a difference then they should begin living with homosexuals and caring for them and maybe, just maybe, they will come to see the Jesus that we give our lives to. We have a gay friend that lived with my family for about 6 mos. (I was raised in a very homophobic family) after she was discharged from a failed suicide attempt. The church I used to go to had ministered to her in a “stop the behavior and stop the sin way” to no avail. She just wants to be loved and when she slipped back into her sin for a short time she was cut off by the few women that were trying to counsel her. I can’t speak for everyone but for her, she didn’t sink back until she was left on her own - to “walk in the strength of the Lord”. She comes from such horrendous abuse I cannot say she’ll ever be “cured” or different than she is but I know this - passing a marriage amendment will not convince the gay agenda to suddenly regard their lifestyles as sinful. It takes loving disciples of Jesus to help them see through different eyes.

    One man’s opinion. I’m just trying to imitate Christ. I may be wrong but there is so much at stake that I couldn’t just quietly go.

  2. Dennis Mullen on May 10th, 2007 9:03 am

    Well said, Sam. I DO part company with Todd Wagner on his call for support for the amendment, or the “call your congressman” campaign that he mentions, and it’s for the reason that even he mentions in his sermon - a law can’t stand up in the face of a large majority of the populace who lives differently. What I like about Wagner is that, with this issue and others, he displays (and his church practices) the STRENGTH of Biblical conviction that we are tempted to dissipate - and he does it with compassion and authenticity about his own sin.

    I’m totally with you on the power over/power under idea. An amendment at this point (which will never happen) will be worse than useless.

    I also think that, as gay marriage gains acceptance, our society loses any basis at all for marriage laws of any kind. If two genders aren’t required, what possible basis is there for two people? (Put the emphasis on either word). That’s another blog post. :)

  3. Sam Clark on May 10th, 2007 10:57 am

    I was so moved by “Donald’s” testimony. I spent some time talking about that with my wife last night. In Christ we are uniquely gifted to love people for their identity in Christ, convincingly enough, with suffering and endurance and humility, that they can lose whatever other identity they have established for themselves, or the world has established for them, in search for whatever truth it is that would cause us to love so differently from the world that we’d be willing to sacrifice all for just one heart.

    I’m going to continue to listen to Wagner. If those people look like Donald then I am all ears. Thanks for the link.

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