The recent ruling of the Supreme Court on the Defense of Marriage Act (full text available here) is only the latest example of how issues of sexuality have become one of the dominant issues facing the North American Church. It is vital, however, that we realize that this is by no stretch of the imagination exclusively a “gay issue.” Rather, important questions extend to the realms of LGBTQ-sexuality and heterosexuality alike. The North American experience is so saturated by the themes of sex and sexuality, that it can be difficult to get the kind of distance necessary to ask even deeper questions about how these themes relate, intrinsically, to Christian life and spirituality. We live in a time and place in which we are so bombarded by sexual images, ideas, and discussions that one could argue that the average North American cultural imagination is invariably a sexual-imagination.

Amid these realities, and inasmuch as the issues and facts of sex and sexuality are not to be shunned, but embraced as good parts of God’s created order, it is all the more important for church leaders to hear from and dialogue with one another with regard to their thinking, experience, and engagement with these issues.

We’d like to put forth the teaching and discussion led by Deb & Alan Hirsch on this topic in the following workshop as a resource for those who might be focused on this issue. But more, we’d like to facilitate a discussion on this topic in the coming week.

• What ideas or resources have been most helpful for you in thinking through the relationship between Christian spirituality and sexuality?
• In what ways has this issue been raised and/or addressed in your church/context?
• If you take the time to listen to the workshop, what stuck out, what questions do you have, where might you want to push back?

Workshop Description:

Evangelicals have been confounded with the relationship of Sexuality and Spirituality. In this workshop we will take a closer look at the connections between the two – and the implications for what it means to follow Jesus in the 21st century.

The audio download of this workshop is available HERE and is available for free all day today, 7/22/13 (discount automatically applied when you add the workshop to your cart).