Join us in a conversation with pastor, speaker, and author, Stephen Black.
Tuesday, August 22, 2023 at 12 p.m. (ET)
Dial 667-776-9181 (no code needed)
This past Wednesday I received an email challenging some of the positions that I stand on, not just as a candidate but as a Bible-believing Christian. This was a comment made by a poor misguided person who has bought into the lies of the Left:
“LGBGT+ – No-one chooses to be gay/trans. Why would one do that? It has been proven that people are born with different DNA and different genetic make up (sic), so why shouldn’t you be able to change if it makes one comfortable in their skin?”
So, how does a person become “gay” or trans? There are many in the American church who would agree with the statement above. I’ve heard people for years say, “I didn’t choose to be gay/lesbian. It’s how I was born.” We’re now being told that four- and five-year-olds can come to the realization that their bodies don’t match who they are inside.
On the one hand, we are told that we cannot choose our sexual orientation: “I was born this way.” On the other hand: “If I don’t like how I was born, I can change it.” Both statements can’t be true. If I was born gay/lesbian and can’t become heterosexual, how then can I choose to be female if I was born male?
The person who wrote to me mentioned our DNA and our genetic make-up. Apparently, what she doesn’t understand is that neither of these things can be changed. My DNA is set from the moment of conception. My gender is determined by my DNA. No matter what we may do with our physical appearance or what I inject into my body, my DNA will never change.
Those who believe that God created them gay/lesbian have a serious problem. How do you explain that God, who makes no mistakes, would create you as something that He Himself calls an abomination?
I may not be able to explain how it happens with each person, but I believe that something happens to a person at some point in their lives that makes them think that God somehow made a mistake. In many cases, it happens before their earliest memories are formed so that they believe that’s how they were born.
The bottom-line question is, can I change? If I have adopted a homosexual lifestyle, is it possible for me to “become” heterosexual? Is it possible for me to move from unnatural affection to how God intended?
Stephen Black has been the Executive Director of First Stone Ministries since 2000. Stephen has worked in full-time Christian ministry and in leadership with First Stone Ministries since 1993. He was ordained with International Ministerial Fellowship in October of 1994. Stephen is an author of many articles and teaching aids. His new book, Freedom Realized: Finding Freedom from Homosexuality and Living A Life Free from Labels and the companion book/report “The Complete First Stone Ministries Effectiveness Survey Report” was released in 2018.
The ministry Stephen directs is First Stone Ministries, located in Oklahoma City, which receives its name from John 8:7, ”Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.” First Stone Ministries specializes in ministering healing and restoration to those caught in all forms of sexual brokenness, including sexual abuse, pornography addiction, and homosexuality. First Stone was incorporated in 1976. Stephen began his ministry through pastoral discipleship counseling in 1985 and now continues to teach and serve people in one-on-one discipleship sessions, group sessions, and speaking at conferences. He has spoken in interviews numerous times on local and national radio and television programs over the past 35 years. Stephen speaks on issues of sexual and relational brokenness. Stephen served on the Restored Hope Network (RHN) board of directors as one of the original founders for seven years, (2012-2018). The Restored Hope Network was formed in June of 2012 to regroup most of the decades-old biblically orthodox ministries to the sexually broken after the failed leadership and closure of Exodus International. He has also ministered in prisons as a volunteer chaplain and has served on several ministry boards. Stephen also serves on the Board of Parents, Families, and Friends of Gay and ‘Ex-gays’ (PFOX), and currently is serving as one of nine committee members with the Gone Too Far movement. Stephen enjoys testifying, teaching/speaking and writing on God’s amazing grace to save souls and heal the roots of relational and sexual brokenness in God’s sanctifying processes.
Stephen was called by God into ministry through the healing he received himself: (2 Cor. 1:3-4). As a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, he was wounded and confused during his teenage years, drawn into homosexuality; and lived gay-identified for 8 years. Stephen’s 1991 written testimony is online in several locations and a video testimony is online here. Acquainted with the grief of sexual sin and abuse, Stephen’s heart is to make known what he discovered – that Jesus Christ has come to set the captives free, and that the grace of God is transformative, that The Gospel of Jesus Christ changes lives!
Please join us for this stimulating and informative conversation.
