Customer Reviews

God's Grace and the Homosexual Next Door: Reaching the Heart of the Gay Men and Women in Your World

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Alan Chambers is the president of Exodus Internatinal, an organization that helps men and women leave the homosexual lifestyle, through a saving faith in Jesus Christ. Once a gay man himself, he is now a Christian, married, with a son and a daughter.
He makes no effort to justify the lifestyle or deny what the Bible says about it. He does, however, explode several popular secular myths about homosexuality. He also points out a shameful situation that exists in our churches. We send missionaries overseas, but fail to address the mission field in our own community. All too often the gay men and women who do attend church feel unwelcome, and too many times they are met with hostility and protestors. This book is geared toward churches that are willing to minister to homosexuals, and is an important resource for anyone interested in taking the gospel to the homosexual community. Alan Chambers will probably take some heat from both sides over this book, because it's about a very controversial subject. I will admit I approached it with some reservations and preconcieved opinions, most of which I learned in church. I'm glad I read it and I strongly recommend it to anyone who is interested in ministry in this sadly neglected field.

Every Christian should buy this book. Alan Chambers and the leadership team at Exodus International have created a resource for the Church that is absolutely astounding and invaluable. The book opens with words of hope, power, and truth from Paul the Apostle:

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11 - ESV)

Over the years, I have known individuals who have struggled with homosexuality in the church and out of the church, some openly and others in private. I have known homosexuals in the workplace who have embraced this lifestyle and have no interest in Jesus Christ. These situations can be difficult at times to communicate the grace and uncompromising truth of Jesus Christ. How I wished I had this resource for those circumstances!

This groundbreaking book articulates better than any other evangelism book in the marketplace what it takes to effectively reach out to this community. Compassion, mercy, and the convicting truth of Christ flow from the pages of this book so that the Christian is forced to re-examine why and how they are evangelizing, how they befriend other sinners, and whether there is hypocrisy and insincerity in their approach. There are stories that will encourage and break your heart as you read about real personal battles over sin and the souls of men and women for the Gospel of Christ.

This resource so clearly addresses the topics of homosexuality, sin, Christ, and the Gospel that frankly, it should be required reading for sharing the Gospel to any sinner struggling with any sin--not just the sin of homosexuality. If you are looking to understand the biblical perspective on this issue, wanting to reach out to this community with Christ, desiring to be the best witness for Christ that is possible, read this book. In closing, this book offers hope to all sinners by reminding us of the power of Christ to deliver us from sin and be restored in fellowship to Him. - John Fallahee, ChristianBookPreviews.com

Fantastic! easy read and well written with plenty to substantiate the writings by the team

To Know that Gods love for the Gay community is right up there helps get rid of those middle classe white church pre concieved ideas about the Gay community!

Where would you find Jesus sitting? you got it right with the sinners ( which included you and me of course!)

Great coffee table book to leave lying around also

In the morass of mud-slinging which comprises the liberal/Leftist treatments of Christians as judgmental neanderthals, comes this book. This is the real deal, folks - which is one reason there are so many drive-by comments damning the book.

When I was growing up, I bought into the "born-gay" argument. Up until about 10 years ago, I would wonder about terms like "homosexual agenda" and same-sex marriage being an attack on children and "normal" marriage. I didn't understand how things which purportedly helped people "be whom and what they are" could be destructive. In the past 10 years, I have come to understand my life experiences and how such things fit together. I hate to think that increased maturity is requisite for such understanding, though it may well be. But rather than the dronish somewhat liberal Californian I grew up as, I am now a staunch conservative slightly right of Mark Levin, and continue to try and reconcile what I once believed with what I have come to know.

This book - which I have actually read and own - was a MAJOR assist in reconciling my past advocacy with my present knowledge that homosexuality is not the path God wants anyone winding up on. Rather than wasting time with books along the lines of "What Paul REALLY meant" and other books which, in reality, leave out much and twist the rest, this book - from people who have walked the walk - has been given us to know better how to live our lives, worship God in accordance with the Bible and history, and treat others well. This book more closely answers, IMO, What Would Jesus Do? in reconciling the sinners and those who judge, while navigating the wiser road of discernment.

Nothing is perfect, and we are not going to solve all the problems of sin, repentance and lack thereof in the pages of one book. But this book offers hope and a better way for all affected by this dilemma - which is all of us, as we live in a culture under attack. It also details a way to cut through the rhetoric, if only to help mature us to better distinguish those on both sides of the divide who are "stuck" or who seek to "orientation-bait".

Buy this book!!

Too often the rhetoric of the far right makes us as Christians unloving and condemning toward a group of people that we don't even know, other than the stereotype of the extreme gay activist. We as Christians wouldn't want to be identified by the extremist, hate-filled people who bomb abortion clinics or who carry signs stating that God hates gays, any more than the average homosexual individual identifies with this extremist portrayal. This book encourages us to set aside our fear and our pre-conceived ideas and get to know our co-workers and neighbors...and to show them the love of Christ, which He gives freely to all of us as sinners.

This book is a definite must read for every Christian! The church is woefully uneducated about the realities of homosexuality and what a person who is gay really is experiencing, thinking, feeling from other Christians, how the healing process can look, etc. This book is an easy read - easy to understand - yet packed full of information! It is filled with straight talk, grace filled, eye opening information, etc. It's honest, and truly life changing. Whether you know someone who is gay right now, or not, over the course of your lifetime - you will encounter and have to determine how to respond to this issue in your life. This book may open your eyes to little things that you don't even realize that you are doing or saying that are making homosexuals want nothing to do with Christians. This book is helpful regardless of whether the person you know that is gay every wants to change or not. It's largely about educating Christians about the reality of this issue, and how the church should be responding, to help us do so in a way that is educated, can be received in love, and allows us to be genuine and full of love with homosexuals, whether they ever want to change or not. I very highly recommend this book. I could write for pages and still not adequately describe it.

What struck me when reading this book was how applicable its concepts are to many areas of life besides homosexuality. The authors adeptly apply the gospel of grace, challenging us that the heart of the matter is not the individual sins we (all) struggle with, but our need of Christ. While it pulls no punches about what the Bible says about homosexuality as sin, the authors stress that the point is not to help someone be "straight," but to be conformed to the image of Christ.

This is a loving, strong, and doctrinally sound book--highly recommended.

this book provides so much information from some great writes who have been in this lifestyle and can offer firsthand how to help those that are trapped to find freedom in Christ. It also challenges those of us that are Christians to not forget how much we need a Savior as well.

Very well written book.

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"God's Grace and the Homosexual Next Door" is a must read for every Christian. Our prejudices are not our only problem when dealing with people who have same-sex attraction; we also do not recognize our own sinfulness. This book debunks our notions that the Christian is a place to get away from the world, but rather it is a place where the world can come and find truth, love, joy, and peace with God. Read it and share it with a friend.

Yes, buy the book, do all you can do to help your children. This was in response to a review on another book, but as a mother of a practicing homosexual son, I would encourage parents, to not give up, to endure. Continue to love and pray for them. Get information (good Biblical info). Be careful who gives you information. Sometimes we would rather believe a lie in order to feel more comfort with our children's situation. This is a spiritual battle.

MY RESPONSE: I notice you used the word 'wickedness' to describe the Biblical principle that you say is 'destructive and harmful'. The Bible says in Isaiah 5:20, Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. In Genesis, it clearly states that the men that committed sodomy were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly. It also says in Leviticus, If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. The Bible also says in (along with may other places such as Rom 1) 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters, nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God?

Again I notice you used another Biblical phrase (wolf in sheep's clothing) to accuse those who stand by the Word of God, calling it 'spiritual and emotional abuse'. Actually in Matthew 7, the referral of wolves in sheep's clothing is about those who teach or prophesy things that are against the truth, against the Word of God.

I would like to say, as a mother of 8, that I have first hand knowledge of the harm homosexuality causes those who practice it. As a person who has seen friend's die because of the pursuit of this lifestyle. My oldest who has chosen to PRACTICE homosexuality, (notice it is about practicing it) that I have seen his life spiral into devastation. He now has HIV. My son, my baby... has been a victim of emotional and spiritual abuse. By the worse kind of perpetrator. The enemy, the devil, the father of lies, who will tell you a lie, who will use the scripture to try to twist the lie into what sounds like truth. As he did from the beginning of time, when he twisted God's word with Eve. If you don't believe the Word of God to be true, you will have to take it up with the Lord. And you will one day, face to face, and you will then see fully and clearly. Hopefully, it won't be too late for you or someone else, or for your daughter, who I am sure you love, as I do my children. A friend will tell you the truth as I believe these books are trying to do. The wounds of a friend are faithful, the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.