LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2001, Page 432

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432 ADDITIONAL THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS AND REPORTS—OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

A Plan for Ministry
to Homosexuals and Their Families

Prepared by the Task Force
on Ministry to Homosexuals and Their Families
The Lutheran Church—-Missouri Synod

Preface

The topic of homosexuality is a divisive and confusing issue in
our society today.' Many myths and misperceptions abound on all
sides of the issue. Also, as time goes on, it appears that many goals
of the homosexual activist groups (or “gay community”) are being
realized. Laws in our country may be changed, protecting or even
furthering “gay rights.” Where does all of this leave the church?
Increasingly, the church is put on the defensive. Sadly, some
church bodies have chosen to respond to the homosexual move-
ment by ignoring or compromising the clear condemnation of ho-
mosexual behavior that is found in the Word of God. A church that
rejects and ignores the doctrine of Holy Scripture is not able to ex-
tend the Law and Gospel ministry that a homosexual needs.

As with many other moral issues, the church appears to hold a
counter-cultural, archaic and irrelevant position. In light of all of
this, the task and focus of this document must not be lost. It deals
with ministry—ministry to people—people who have been bought
by the precious blood of Christ shed on the cross. How the church
approaches and ministers to such persons in a God-pleasing and
Gospel-based way is of no little significance. Their eternal salva-
tion may be at stake. Hence, this document is offered to pastors and
others who minister to homosexuals.

Part I

Definitions

One of the greatest problems in discussing the issue of homo-
sexuality lies in the vocabulary that is used. The word itself, Ho-
mosexuality, means different things to different people. In society
at large, the word often means the condition of being sexually at-
tracted to a person of one’s own sex, that is, homosexual orienta-
tion. Within the church, however, it is more commonly understood
to refer to the actual engagement in sexual activity with a person of
the same sex, in other words, homosexual behavior. This variance
leads to confusion. Those in the homosexual community hear the
church declaring homosexuality a sin and wonder how the church
can condemn them for something over which they feel they have
no control, namely, the orientation. Those in the church, on the
other hand, are surprised at the vehemence with which society re-
acts when church members believe that al] they are condemning is
an action.

In the interest of clear terminology, this document distinguishes
between homosexual orientation and homosexual behavior? as fol-
lows: When the discussion refers to orientation the terms “homo-
sexual,” “homosexuality,” or “homophile” are used. When behav-
ior—whether it is sexual fantasy or sexual intimacy—is under
discussion, the specific term “homosexual behavior” is used.

Sexuality

Human beings were created male and female. “So God created
man in His own image; in the image of God He created them; male
and female He created them” (Gen. 1:27). The sex of a person is
determined at conception by the X or Y chromosome. It is evident
as the human being develops in the womb. It is declared at birth on
the basis of the sex organs of the infant. Subsequent development
confirms the sex as male or female. In the created order there is no
third sex. But more than that, “it is impossible to come to know the
significance of our humanity without reference to the sexual dif-

2001 Convention Workbook

ferentiation between male and female. To be human simply is to
exist in this male-female duality.”*

Important in this male-female duality is sexual attraction, the
“sex drive.” Both the Biblical teaching and the divergent views on
sexual practices in America are informative for pastoral care. The
awakening of the sex drive at puberty brings promises of great hap-
piness and fulfillment. Sexual attraction is one of the strongest im-
pulses given by God to the individual. In the healthy experience of
sexuality, attraction between a man and a woman moves on to ca-
sual acquaintance, to friendship, to love, to exclusivity in the rela-
tionship, and, finally, to a commitment to lifelong faithfulness. In
marriage, a man and a woman leave their families and become
committed to one another. At this point the God-given and highly
pleasurable gift of sexual communion bonds them in a one-flesh
union and—in most cases—gives them the gift of children. This
sexual intimacy bonds husband and wife in the closest relationship
known outside of their individual faith relationship to Jesus Christ.
In sexual intimacy, they discover a complementarity that makes
them different persons than they were before.

In the development of human sexuality, the phenomenon of ho-
mosexual orientation is an anomaly, a result of the consequences
of the Fall into sin that fundamentally disordered what God had
created as good. Although the homosexual person is anatomically
identified as male, his sexual orientation is to males, not to females.
For the female homosexual. external sexual identification is female,
but her sexual orientation is to females, not to males. This anomaly
is profoundly upsetting to the individual and to those whose lives
he or she touches.

One’s sex is a central component of a human being’s identity.
Homosexual orientation therefore can be a deeply unsettling per-
sonal experience that causes much confusion and anxiety. Despite
energy-consuming efforts a person takes to conceal homosexual
orientation, words, body language, and expressed likes and dislikes
may reveal the person’s homosexuality to others. Often by late
childhood and certainly in adolescence, the homosexual feels that
in some way he or she is different, attracted sexually to his or her
own sex when peers are becoming aware of heterosexual attrac-
tion. The feeling of being “different” in turn, often leads to the feel-
ing of being isolated from or rejected by one’s peers.

In a world fallen into sin, sexual attraction is subject to strong
temptation. Those who live by the pleasure principle (“if it feels
good, do it”) indulge in pleasurable sexual experiences. It is easy
for heterosexuals and homosexuals alike to yield to this temptation
and to seek sensual pleasure by freely engaging in sexual intimacy.
Moreover, many people (homosexual and heterosexual alike) hope
to escape isolation or rejection by seeking bonding in sexual inti-
macy. But “mutual consent alone between partners does not, on the
Christian understanding, make heterosexual intercourse permissible
.... Similarly, mutual consent alone, even when joined with af-
fection, cannot justify a homosexual union.’ An example of the
attempt to escape isolation or rejection is the adolescent who hopes
to hold on to a relationship through consensual homosexual behav-
ior, seeking through the same-sex intimacy to be affirmed in his or
her sex.

Apart from the marital bond between one man and one woman,
using sex for pleasure or to find intimacy (and thus identity) vio-
lates the divine order and places the participants under the wrath
and judgment of God. Homosexual behavior comes under the
strong condemnation of sin against the male-female order of cre-
ation. Homosexual behavior is a false and substitute intimacy
sought at the price of enmity against God and separation from Him.

The Nature and Origin of Homosexuality

What causes homosexuality? Is it an innate condition (nature) or
a learned behavior (nurture)? Is this even an important question?
The following information is intended to provide background in-