i think it sounds like an excuse for him to find a niche and enjoy being the only one of his kind while benefiting financially from it.

sassybritches said:

I don't disagree. In my town the same thing happened at my Mom's church. They became known as the "gay" church. While I agree it is hard to find a church to accept you when you're gay, my Mom quit going. Not because of the gay vibe, but because the pastor confided that their acceptence was based purely on numbers. The church got more money for and from more butts in the seats. They were simply using the gay members to look bigger and not really because they wanted them there.

meow85 said:

The ministry makes absolutely no effort to coerce or browbeat anybody into participating. "If you like your lifestyle, so be it." No one's forcing anybody to live according to the Bible. Throughout the Bible are stories of people choosing fellowship with God or not. Choosing to believe Him or not.

It's no different for those who choose to follow Him now (or not). It's all about choice.

.

ThreadBare said:

When you've been taught to believe that what you are is in and of itself offensive to God, where's the choice? If the option is conform and behave or go to hell, how does choice even factor in? What choice is there but to tow the line and deny a part of yourself for fear of eternal damnation?

You claim the ministry makes no effort to coerce or browbeat people into behaving a certain way, yet it makes regular habit of scaring the living shit out of people with the promise of the worst punishment imaginable if they don't live according to what you claim the Bible says is right. Using threats to get what you want out of people? I'm sorry if you thought otherwise, but that is coercion.