by: Ronald W. Pierce, Karen R. Keen

• Format

  Paperback

  ISBN

  9781540967596

  Dimensions

  6 x 9

  Pub. Date

  Aug 2025

  SRP

  $28.99

  Carton Quantity

  40

  Number of pages

  272

  Buy

About

Has your faith community been torn apart over sexuality and gender? While affirming and traditionalist Christians wage culture wars, many believers have left the church entirely because of disputes over how best to respond to LGBTQ people.

Ronald Pierce and Karen Keen show readers a different way to approach the controversy. In Christlike Acceptance across Deep Difference, they bring together a broad range of contributors--scholarly and pastoral; affirming and traditionalist; evangelical, mainline, and Catholic--who demonstrate a more constructive response to LGBTQ concerns. Despite their differences, the contributors unite in their commitment to biblical authority and Christlike love of neighbor. They invite the church to join them in this new and better way.

This book offers fresh readings of Scripture, models of respectful dialogue, and first-person insights into ministering to LGBTQ people. Perfect for pastors, church leaders, and any Christian worried about polarization, this timely volume shows readers how to forge a future shaped by Christlike acceptance.

Introduction: Healing Our Divisions Ronald W. Pierce and Karen R. Keen
Part 1: Biblical Wisdom beyond the Debate
1. Christlike Acceptance and Queer Christians: Romans 14:1-15:13 Ronald W. Pierce
2. Genesis, Discernment, and God's Will Karen R. Keen
3. From Eunuchs to LGBTQ Christians: Navigating Theodicy, Inclusion, and Holiness David Bennett
4. The Good News of Romans 1 J. R. Daniel Kirk
5. Excluded from God's Kingdom? (1 Cor. 6:9-10): How to Think about the Threat of Divine Judgment Wesley Hill
Part 2: Successfully Navigating Divides
6. Navigating Conflict in Community Tim Otto
7. Speaking Truth in Love: Preparing the Heart to Engage Tim Muehlhoff
8. Grace across the Divide: Tips for Christ-Honoring Dialogue Justin Lee
9. Loving through Difference: Navigating Side A/B Friendship Steven Lympus and Taylor Telford
10. Is There Space at the Table in a Non-Affirming Church? Brad Harper
Part 3: Ministry with LGBTQ People, Families, and Friends
11. A Shared Pilgrimage Eve Tushnet
12. Courage Is Ministry Sally Gary
13. What We Learned from Listening to Sexual and Gender Minorities Mark A. Yarhouse, Stephen P. Stratton, and Janet B. Dean
14. Evangelism and the LGBTQ Community Elizabeth Delgado Black
15. Black LGBTQ Ministry Candace E. Hardnett
16. Cultivating a Shepherd's Heart for the Transgender Community Amie Scott
17. Supporting Parents of LGBTQ Children Staci Frenes
18. Christlike Acceptance in Practice: Moving from Enmity to Integrity Marcus George Halley

Endorsements

"I read Christlike Acceptance across Deep Difference in one sitting, like a ravenous woman in a wilderness. I have held my convictions around gender and sexuality for many years now, but I have struggled with how to engage this topic with those in my context with whom I disagree. I have served in evangelical churches for over twenty years, locally and abroad. I have seen more conflict, church splits, and dissension over debates around sexuality than any other issue. This book offers a solution to these problems and one that is deeply rooted in Christ. Christlike Acceptance across Deep Difference is a must-read for anyone looking to responsibly engage the topic of human sexuality from both a pastoral and a theological perspective. Offering comprehensive guidance, the contributors to this volume provide everything you need from scholarship to practical theology to personal testimonies that inspire and instruct all believers to accept one another as Christ has accepted us. This book will live on my shelf, and I will reach for it often."

Kelly Edmiston, lead pastor, Vineyard Church of Stafford