Folks, below is my speech at the recent “God’s Voice” conference in Oklahoma City responding to the “Queering of the Church.” I spoke on homosexual activist tactics and relayed some firsthand stories–such as when lesbian radio talk show host Tammy Bruce (now a Fox News contributor) tried to set me up many years ago by portraying herself as a violence-prone “homophobe.” [Start at the 15:00 mark for when I discuss how even Fox News is strongly pro-LGBTQ biased]. I will break down more of the 47-minute video soon. — Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH; Twitter: @PeterLaBarbera

Christ Helps ‘Homosexuals’ Change: Stephen Black, who once lived as a “gay” man before accepting Christ and leaving the homosexual lifestyle, is among the speakers at the God’s Voice conference Feb. 22-23 in Oklahoma City. Black leads First Stone Ministries, which helps others overcome sexual brokenness. God’s Voice will be responding to “Revoice,” a July conference and movement that seeks to recognize (chaste) homosexuals as a “sexual minority” in the Christian Church. AFTAH president Peter LaBarbera, a speaker at God’s Voice, was disinvited and banned from attending Revoice by its organizer, Nate Collins. Black was also banned by Revoice.

Folks, I am very excited to be a part of the upcoming “God’s Voice” conference, with national Christian talk show host Janet Mefferd, Rev. Tom Littleton, Stephen Black, Robert Oscar Lopez, U.K. Christian advocate Andrea Williams and Rev. Al Baker. God’s Voice is responding to the nascent “Revoice” movement, which promotes the acceptance of a chaste LGBTQ “sexual minority” in the evangelical Church.

I will be speaking on how trendy “LGBTQ-inclusive Christianity”–even if well-intended–merely puts a Christian facade on the revolutionary “gay” idea of an aggrieved homosexual “minority” deserving affirmation in their aberrant self-identity. That notion, first championed in the U.S. by one-time Communist Harry Hay, is built on the idea that there is a separate group of humanity (the “gay” minority) who live by different sexual rules than the rest of us, as opposed to all people living under the same God-given, universal moral code.

We now see clearly the expanding chaos that this subversive “gay” ideology has engendered: if “identity” and “minority” status are derived essentially from one’s subjective feelings, and then awarded full “civil rights” status under the law, how can we as a society say no to new identities and minorities, such as “pansexuals,” “asexuals,” “non-binaries” and “genderqueers”? And mustn’t we affirm “gay” and LGBTQueer youth in their “identities”? If “truth” is subjective and judging is wrong (except judging “bigoted” Christians, of course), then how can we affirm one sexual/gender “minority” and not the other(s)?

Now this chaos threatens the Church itself. I wonder: why is there no discussion of recognizing and affirming other sin-based  “minorities” in the evangelical Church–say, lustful men (which I suspect is a rather common “orientation”)?

Christians are called to deny themselves, and especially their flesh (sins), for Jesus’ sake and to please God. Our identity is in Christ. But the “LGBTQ+ Christian” movement demands that the Church sympathetically recognize their non-biblical “identities,” even though they are rooted in sinful desires and self-deception (Romans 1/Jeremiah 17:9)). Invariably, the next step will be to demand, with ever greater zeal and vociferousness, that all “compassionate” Christians do the same, while shaming those who refuse to indulge homo-trans ideology.

It goes without saying that we should preach the Gospel and reach out with truth in the love of Jesus to all sexual strugglers. But LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) ideology–though seductive in our victim-mongering culture like the Sirens of Greek mythology–is an ungodly, incrementalist agenda that Christians must reject in toto.

Please consider making plans to come to the “God’s Voice” conference in Oklahoma City February 22-23, to gird yourself in biblical truth so that you can better withstand the serious and growing threat of “LGBTQ Christianity.” More coming on this. — Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH; Twitter: @PeterLaBarbera

P.S. Unlike the “LGBTQ Christian” Revoice conference, God’s Voice will not be preemptively banishing potential critics from attending. (I was disinvited by Revoice’s organizer, Nate Collins, after paying and signing up to attend; see AFTAH story HERE.)

God’s Voice Media Release

God’s Voice Conference to Equip Christians to Stand Against ‘LGBTQ+ Christianity’ Inside the Church

Facebook puts Bible-and-homosexuality scholar in “jail” after post critical of conference recognizing homosexuals as “sexual minority”

Robert Gagnon

Folks, my friend Robert Gagnon, the world’s foremost authority on the Bible and homosexuality, last week penned this critique of the Revoice conference going on right now in St. Louis. Revoice aims to recognize and celebrate LGBTQ-identified celibate Christians as a “sexual minority” in the Church. It has been widely challenged by orthodox Christians for undermining Scriptural truth; see this article on Revoice’s speakers.

After publishing his piece on Facebook, Gagnon was was put in “Facebook jail” for 24 hours–the second time this has happened to him in recent weeks. That’s very troubling, as is the fact I and several other Christians were BANNED from attending Revoice after we were “checked out” by organizers.

Gagnon wrote in an email:

“I have been blocked again for 24 hours from Facebook, with a warning that the next time I am blocked it will be for 3 days. They blocked me for a mild post expressing concern about the upcoming Revoice Conference (pasted below). Could the Revoice people have complained about me?…”

We will be following this story very closely, as I share the belief of others that Revoice is the LGBTQ activist camel’s nose under the tent of the evangelical Christian church. — Peter LaBarbera, Americans For Truth; Twitter: @PeterLaBarbera

______________________________

Concerns with the upcoming Revoice Conference and Spiritual Friendship Folk

By Robert A. J. Gagnon

While I am glad for the fact that persons at the upcoming Revoice Conference (July 26-28, St. Louis, in a PCA venue) and those who align with the “Spiritual Friendship” program want to refrain from engaging in same-sex intercourse and thereby uphold this part of the orthodox witness, I have seven consequential concerns about their views.

1. Inadequate engagement with the need for “renewal of the mind” as regards homosexual desires. Is there any asking of: “What is the false narrative that gives these impulses particular strength? Why am I viewing a person of the same sex as a sexual complement or counterpart to my own sex? Why am I aroused by the distinctive sexual features of my own sex, by what I already have? Am I thinking of myself as only half of my own sex? What kind of strategies for renewing my mind can I use to counter this false narrative beyond ‘washed and waiting’?” Instead, the benefits of a generalized “gay” perspective (minus the sex) are celebrated or lifted up. Even if one’s attractions may not change with such an evaluation, they can be disempowered by exposing the lie that lies behind attempts to gratify same-sex desire or (for “transgenders,” so-called) to deny one’s biological sex altogether. There is more to be addressed here than refraining from homosexual sex.

Ex-“gay” leader Stephen Black also booted from Revoice conference that affirms celibate homosexuals as “sexual minority” in the Church

Limiting Dissent? Letter from Revoice founder Nate Collins to AFTAH President Peter LaBarbera. Click to enlarge.

Dear AFTAH Readers,

Over the many years I’ve been booted out of various “gay” activist conferences–though I’ve never sought to disrupt them–but never from a self-styled “Christian” conference. Yet that’s what happened June 17 when I received the following email note (see graphic at right) from Nate Collins, founder of “Revoice,” a new movement that seeks to reconcile the recognition of LGBT “identities” with faithful Christianity:

nate@revoice.us

From: nate@revoice.us [Nate Collins, Revoice]

To: me [Peter LaBarbera]

Date: [June 17, 2018]

Dear Mr. LaBarbera,

Based on publicly available information, we believe that your presence at the inaugural Revoice conference would work against the stated mission and purpose of Revoice. We are refunding your registration fee in full, and would be happy to answer any further questions you might have.

Grace and peace,

Nate Collins, PhD

President and Founder of Revoice

Author of All But Invisible

Revoice defines celibate LGBT-identified Christians as a “sexual minority” (more on that later). Its mission for the debut July 26-28 conference is: “Supporting, encouraging, and empowering gay, lesbian, same-sex-attracted, and other LGBT Christians so they can flourish while observing the historic, Christian doctrine of marriage and sexuality.”

I emailed the following email letter June 18 responding to Collins. At presstime (June 23), I had received no response back, despite Collins’ statement that he would be “happy to answer any further questions you might have.”

From: Americans For Truth [Peter LaBarbera]

To: nate@revoice.us

Date: June 18, 2018

Dear Dr. Collins (is it OK if I call you Nate?),

I am troubled by your decision, although it is not unexpected. Though of course I am on the more “orthodox” (conservative) side of things surrounding this debate, I was deeply interested and intellectually curious about your conference, and was looking forward to attending. I had no plans to disrupt it in any way but wanted to learn more. I think banning a smattering of “dissenting” voices (on the Right) at the outset is a bad idea, hurts your credibility among Christians and the wider public, and encourages the suspicion among critics that yours is an ideological (“pro-gay”), rather than a spiritually faithful, endeavor. So I hope you reconsider, and I would like to keep the lines of communication open. You can call me at [312-324-3787].

For the record, if yours was billed as an explicitly “gay activist” or “gay advocacy” event, I could better understand your expelling conservative critics (it has happened to me at various LGBT events), but that is not how you define Revoice. You say it is a “Christian” enterprise, yet you are keeping Christians who defend age-old biblical teaching against homosexuality out, which seems problematic.

Along those lines, I do have some questions regarding access to Revoice:

1) Will you allow LGBTQ activists to attend Revoice who do NOT share your belief against acting out homosexually (e.g., religious activists with groups like Human Rights Campaign)? Have any registered to attend?

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