|
Post by Will on Jan 1, 2017 23:29:13 GMT -7
Hi guys, I don't suffer from SSA but here are two amazing and inspirational documentaries that really touched my heart. I do think that SSA is something that is akin to every human being's struggles with sin, hope these are a blessing to someone if they haven't seen them:
www.christiancinema.com/digital/movie/5852
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 6, 2017 14:14:39 GMT -7
To me this looks more like a pro-gay rather than ex-gay documentary. I've never heard of the ex-ex-gay movement before.
|
|
KevinesKay
Administrator
Posts: 1,639
Occupation: Balloon Artist
Interests: weight lifting, singing, playing the guitar
Days of Integrity: 237
|
Post by KevinesKay on Jun 10, 2017 7:38:17 GMT -7
The top documentary has 5 parts to it. And after watching them, I agree with treepainter that this spends a lot of material supporting those that have left the ex-gay movement. The documentary covers the life of Brian and Ana, who met on the forum, www.lifehope.org which is geared for believers wishing to leave their homosexual lifestyle. Brian and Ana get married and start working for New Directions, an ex-gay ministry in Canada. Meanwhile, a couple of their close friends from The Living Hope, give up trying to be ex-gay. They get banned from the site, and and they go a different direction.
|
|
KevinesKay
Administrator
Posts: 1,639
Occupation: Balloon Artist
Interests: weight lifting, singing, playing the guitar
Days of Integrity: 237
|
Post by KevinesKay on Jun 10, 2017 8:30:50 GMT -7
Hi treepainter, nice to hear back from you. I bet it's really frustrating to see so little progress in how the church deals with SSA. It's bad enough that they don't talk about P and MB. And SSA is so common. You are so not alone. I wish we had better strategies in place for dealing with it.
Exodus International is gone. Many churches are giving up calling those dealing with SSA to leave The old ways. The churches that are against SSA have no clue how to handle it. Quite honestly, we've lost a lot of confidence in what we believe. That's assuming we had the confidence to begin with. The ex-gay ministry is getting destroyed.
Treepainter, this is not easy. I may not have SSA, but I know what it is to be sexually broken. My heart goes to those struggling with SSA. That along with SA, PA, MB, and criminal sexual behavior. But trust me on this one. It IS worth it to continue this journey that you're on. If you choose to live a life of sexual stability, that won't be easy, and you'll have to choose it for yourself. BUT IT IS SO WORTH IT!
Speaking of choosing, you'll need to be intrinsically motivated to do this. You can't do it because some preacher says it's bad, or because your family and friends say it's bad, or the world says it's bad. You have to decide for yourself that you want to change and you'll have to find reasons to change that will speak directly to your heart. For myself, not even God's Word was intrinsically motivating enough for me to surrender my addiction to Him.
And ultimately, God calls us to a point of unconditional surrender. That feeling we get when we have sex, or feel love, that has to go. Until we're left with nothing. Crazy faith. Nothing to lose faith. And then, only then, after we've surrendered these sex desires to God, will we see the pain of everyone around us. We will see how important it is to have God's Sacrificial love. We will see the importance of viewing ourselves as the bride of Christ. And we will see how marriage between a man and a woman, as challenging as it may be, is a picture of God.
But you gotta take that plunge of faith into Oblivion. You have to surrender your privilege to feel good, to experience life and pleasure as you know it. So many fail at this endeavor. But it is so worth it! Trust me. It is.
You can't do this alone. You need friends. You have a friend in me. So reach out and experience God's love because you ARE so loved here.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2017 13:30:57 GMT -7
Thanks for all that encouragement!!! It's what it takes to just live another day/week/month. True, we need to be at the end of ourselves, even our expectations. And the way doesn't become clear all at once. It would be interesting to meet in person sometime too.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2017 14:42:15 GMT -7
This is a difficult area because there are so many differing views on same-sex attractions and how to handle it if it is unwanted.
Do you, Treepainter and Kevin, think the above videos hinder more then help?
|
|
|
Post by Will on Jun 11, 2017 11:07:28 GMT -7
Hi guys, Treepainter the top doc is very subtle. I actually think it's a beautiful film in that the film-makers really just tell the story of the people it focuses on very honestly and straighforwardly without apparently judging or taking sides. BUT, God's reality does the commentating for us. Brian and Ana both suffer from SSA but find companionship with one another and marry one another. Two of their friends fall away from that and the ex-gay ministry and go back into the homosexual lifestyle. The film also follows one of those guys, Derek, with his same-sex boyfriend. The film shows all this and poses one unspoken question: - Who of the two couples is happier and has the true peace in Jesus Christ? To me it is subtle but clear - the healing Brian and Ana, not the in-denial homosexual-living couple, in which Derek's boyfriend seems to be uncomfortable and somewhat manipulated. So to begin with, it seems like the song 'Cure For Love' is referring to homosexual love, but by the end it seems to me that it is made clear that the love spoken of in the title that there is no cure for, is the Almighty and everlasting love of God. Hey Treepainter I just listened to the testimony of Dennis Jernigan, it's pretty awesome: www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcbtPEQUUsEwww.youtube.com/watch?v=pPPW2zLcjYA
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 15, 2017 12:07:13 GMT -7
I guess the documentary threw me for a loop because I thought I knew where they were coming from at first but then I was startled when it changed direction. It showed people who were exactly where I'm at and it looked like they had gotten the courage to do what deep down they had always wanted. I went away doubting what I believe for a little while especially because of the comments "now at age twenty-seven I finally had my first kiss and it was awesome; I felt no condemnation", and "my family is very disappointed in my choice, but they don't understand what the truth actually is". It makes it harder for me that one of my very close friends is homosexual and married (to a woman) and he is losing faith in God and Christianity and leaning toward just accepting the gay lifestyle. (although he's fine with my position.) And yes I saw Dennis Jernigan's testimony; it's one of the best testimonies I've ever seen. I love his song called "Daddy's Song". I recommend it to everyone on this site because it's applicable to sexual brokenness in general.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 15, 2017 12:39:03 GMT -7
I guess the documentary threw me for a loop because I thought I knew where they were coming from at first but then I was startled when it changed direction. It showed people who were exactly where I'm at and it looked like they had gotten the courage to do what deep down they had always wanted. I went away doubting what I believe for a little while especially because of the comments "now at age twenty-seven I finally had my first kiss and it was awesome; I felt no condemnation", and "my family is very disappointed in my choice, but they don't understand what the truth actually is". It makes it harder for me that one of my very close friends is homosexual and married (to a woman) and he is losing faith in God and Christianity and leaning toward just accepting the gay lifestyle. (although he's fine with my position.) And yes I saw Dennis Jernigan's testimony; it's one of the best testimonies I've ever seen. I love his song called "Daddy's Song". I recommend it to everyone on this site because it's applicable to sexual brokenness in general. It also had me going "what the hell?" There are different schools of thought out there when it comes to SSA in the Christian community. One being it is a sin no matter what and the other being it is only a sin if you are promiscuous. I agree with the first camp because the other camp can't support their view well with scripture. However I do not judge my gay friends who are Christians and in a committed relationship. They both know my stance on the issue but they also know that I love them. It's up to God to convict them. We all have sin in our lives so I concentrate on my walk with God and let them deal with theirs. I think you need to follow God and not follow your lusts no matter what the lust is. That is our struggle and it's how we learn and grow. I have given into my lusts more times then I can count and had to repent each time. I still regret giving in to them. I am stronger now in that I realize my strength lies in my willingness to turn from sin and run to God.
|
|
|
Post by Will on Jun 16, 2017 19:38:51 GMT -7
Yes I love 'Daddy's Song'! I cried 
|
|
|
Post by Will on Jun 16, 2017 21:36:02 GMT -7
Hey treepainter that sucks about your friend who is leaning that way. Maybe you could point him towards the 'Such Were Some of You' doc? A lot of the testimonies there bear witness to its being caused by difficult relations with their father, and/or abuse, and that what set them free from this and on a path towards the Lord Jesus was coming to an understanding that God LOVES them (that they found hard to understand before often because of having a hard time feeling the love of their earthly father).
Am in no doubt as to the evil of homosexuality, and will pray for your friend and his wife that their marriage survives this. Your friend really does NOT want to go down that road. Homosexuality as a belief system is worse than most people even realise. Did you guys know that Adolf Hitler was gay and the whole Nazi movement was a homosexual (the 'butch' homosexual) movement from the very beginning? Mind-blowing but true. It was started in two turn-of-the-century homosexual and pedophile groups called the 'Community of the Elite' and the 'Wandervoegel', and Hitler (who was a gay prostitute in Vienna before WW1) was recruited first as Ernst Rohm's 'pretty boy' lover after the war. This fuelled a lot (most?) of their anti-semitism because of Jewish and Judeo-Christian Biblical values towards sexuality that condemned their lifestyle and would have nothing to do with it. Sorry for getting off topic!
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 21, 2017 18:58:00 GMT -7
That's intriguing. Thanks, will, for your interest and support in this area of the forum, even though you said you don't struggle with SSA. It means a lot.
|
|
|
Post by Will on Jun 23, 2017 6:09:00 GMT -7
My absolute pleasure, man. I have a heart for people who struggle with homosexuality because my 'sexual brokenness' has a lot of the same causes and I can understand a lot of what would make them turn to that for comfort. I would like to help people with SSA and it would be a blessing from the Lord to do so
|
|
KevinesKay
Administrator
Posts: 1,639
Occupation: Balloon Artist
Interests: weight lifting, singing, playing the guitar
Days of Integrity: 237
|
Post by KevinesKay on Jul 4, 2017 6:26:59 GMT -7
Will, I second you at that. My heart goes out to those struggling with SSA too. So what if that's not where my flesh tends to take me.
The fact is we're sexually broken people. And there are a lot more similarities between all of us than what meets the eye.
|
|