Christlike Acceptance across Deep Difference: Constructive Conversations on Sexuality and Gender (Guidance for Pastors, Church Leaders, and Communities on LGBTQ Debates)

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 us 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. You'll discover

· fresh readings of Scripture from diverse theological perspectives,
· models for respectful dialogue in church communities,
· first-person insights into ministering to LGBTQ people,
· pastoral guidance for supporting their parents, friends, and family, and
· communication strategies for navigating deep theological differences.

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.

Perfect for pastors, church leaders, and any Christian worried about polarization, this timely volume shows us how to forge a future shaped by Christlike acceptance.

Ronald W. Pierce (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) taught theology at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, for over forty years. He is the author of Partners in Marriage and Ministry and the coeditor of Discovering Biblical Equality.

Karen R. Keen (ThM, Duke Divinity School) is a biblical scholar and spiritual care provider at the Redwood Center for Spiritual Care and Education. Her books include Scripture, Ethics, and the Possibility of Same-Sex Relationships and The Word of a Humble God.