I have taken my show on the road and recently got to visit with the students at Lighthouse Christian Academy. I love and can relate to high schoolers on so many levels but the best part about them is their willingness to just say what they are thinking.
So we talked about sex. A lot.
Not to mention there were a few Chinese students at LCA with whom I got to chat it up. 则么样朋友们?!
Too many of our churchgoing young adults are hearing nothing- nada, zilch CRICKETS- from the church regarding homosexuality. 
Heck. In some churches there is little to no talk about human sexuality in general from the pulpit and they are hungering for it. In the void of Christian instruction on sex they are seeing a whole bunch of ugly from the media that thrills in demonizing those who oppose the progressive sexual ethic, and/or the hard-heartedness of “Christians” when it comes to empathy and support for their same sex attracted friends.
So, because I am service oriented, I felt the need to pound out a Cliff Note version of what we do need to be telling our young people. Not only is it possible, but it is critical that we hold fast to grace AND truth.
In our right hand, we must grasp firmly the teachings of scripture around sex- that is, complete faithfulness within man-woman marriage and complete celibacy outside of it. If we do not embrace that holistic and timeless truth we dishonor our Lord who issued these commands. We need to spell out for our children that these are not punitive or needlessly restrictive requirements. Rather, they are boundaries put into place by a loving Father for our protection and thriving.
AND
In our left hand we must hold tightly to the preciousness of our same-sex attracted brothers and sisters. If we do not embrace them with ALL OUR HEARTS then we will also dishonor our Lord who has gone to great lengths to seek and save them. Now, many of us say that we believe this. But do we have personal, recent examples of how we have gone out of our way to RADICALLY demonstrate God’s heart in this matter? Don’t tell kids that they should love their gay neighbor. They have heard that.
Show them.
Kids do what they see.
So do it.
Now, my young Game Chargers, with these two realities firmly in hand walk, no run, into the world with all your might. Teach by example that there is a third way, the superior way, to navigate this issue in our churches and in our world.
Godspeed
Kids asked sincere questions to deal with real issues. Some of them got misty eyed as painful issues were dealt with with truth and grace in perfect balance. Thank you Katy!
Thank you for having me. Your students are treasures, and you are building a legacy of love for Christ at that school. May God strengthen your ministry, and their hearts and minds.
Yes, yes, YES! Treasures! That’s what they are!
I so agree with this post. Sometimes it feels as if there is only one extreme or the other, the church implying that sex is bad, or pop culture promoting sex 24/7.
Something I’d like to see is sex presented as something good, awesome, fabulous in a spiritual context within marriage. It’s not just about making children, but building intimacy, spirituality, a deeper relationship with Christ. It also apparently reverses aging, ah ha! Anyway it’s a very difficult thing to teach because I don’t think very many of us fully understand it ourselves. Sex outside of marriage makes it so much more difficult to ever achieve these benefits, because it really interferes with the natural design of things.
Oh you said it so well! What if we talked more about that? As Christian parents, teaching our children not just the WHAT but the WHY behind it. The impact and understanding triples when they can answer that question.
Insanity, yes. When we talked about sex, that included married sex. We talked about how within marriage it is a gift to husband, wife, and the products of their union- the children. I may or may not have said that Christians should be having GREAT sex (and lots of it) because God designed sex to be a unifying and strengthening blessing to marriage. Sex is not “god”- on whose alter we should sacrifice every other aspect of our life. Neither is it “gross”- something to speak about in hushed and ashamed tones. It is a “gift” given to us from a loving Father who desires wholeness and health for everyone in the family.