Charles Nieman doesn't "throw gays out" of his Church

I was watching TBN the other day, which I rarely do. Gary Oliver was hosting and he brought on Charles Nieman. I have always liked Gary Olivers worship and enjoyed his preaching for a series he did a few years back at the School of the Acts in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Charles Nieman has also always been a Pastor who I have gleaned from on the rare occasions I have come across his media materials. He founded a great Church in El Paso Texas. I think Gary Olivers Church is in the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas area.

Pastor Nieman made a comment during the course of the broadcast saying that many people criticize him because he doesn't "throw gays out" of his Church. Gary Oliver got a look on his face like he couldn't believe Charles said that on TV but that he was in agreement. Interesting.

We have been dealing with the issue of folks struggling with homosexuality in our Church and there are many who do. For those of you familiar with the Philippines, you know that this is one of the biggest issues here. Our struggles have ranged from leaders not doing anything to our leaders being condemning.

One of my core beliefs of how to build a Church today is that people need to be able to "belong before they believe." I believe this to the point that I am even an advocate of allowing even pre-believers to serve in a limited capacity in the Church. Of course this has to be done with extreme care.

At the end of the day, or should I say at the beginning of the day, I want sinners including homosexuals to be welcome in our Church. Truly welcome. But more then I want that, I want safety for all of our attendees as well.

I made an announcement at the end of service last Sunday. I declared that everyone, all sinners are welcome in our Church. I explained a big "however" though. If anyone is seducing or encouraging others to engage in sin, that will be considered a hostile move that we will definitely respond to in a clear, quick and decisive manner. In other words, we don't throw gays or sinners out of our Church, but we will certainly remove those who seduce others. We will guard against the wolves in sheep clothing or otherwise. I'm sure that Pastor Nieman would agree that we must protect the flock and I believe that he most certainly does so. And I agree that we don't throw anyone out just because they are personally caught in sin and are not as far along in their journey as the rest of us would like.

That middle road is hard to find and even harder to walk. It is a road that requires incredible diligence in prayer and in watching. But 24/7 watching is what is required of shepherds. I believe as much or more now than ever before.

Lord, give us the grace to understand how to welcome the world into the Church, giving them a place to find you while at the same time maintaining a safe environment for those who already know you. Amen