Ben Dose
Tuesday, Jan 24
3:15 – 4:30 pm
Meeting Impossible Standards with the Grace of Christ
Sexuality and gender can be two of the most sensitive—and most avoided—topics in our culture. For Christians the standard is clear, if daunting: reflect Christ’s love to folks who often feel blacklisted by Christianity, without compromising on God’s design for sexuality. But the burden this places on LGBTQ folks often feels impossibly heavy: a standard of self-denial that they can’t possibly live up to—so why even bother? Better yet, why even believe in that God? One side finds the truth impossible. The other side finds balancing it with love impossible.
This breakout will explore these “impossible standards” in light of our unique Lutheran worldview. We will consider how to listen carefully, humbly, and compassionately and share the hope of the gospel while standing firmly on the truth of God’s unchanging Word. We’ll take an honest look at just how difficult this task is and how to approach that difficulty in terms of our own Christian identity and the hope we have in Christ. Whether in personal relationships, congregational ministry, or public dialogue, you’ll leave better equipped to share God’s truth and love—confident that his Word remains good news for every heart.
Ben Dose is the director of Reclamation, a gospel-centered community discussion and support group for WELS and ELS folks working through the impact of LGBTQ experience in their own lives or in the lives of their loved ones. Ben also sits on the WELS Committee on Identity, Gender, and Sexuality, where he utilizes years of insights from walking alongside fellow believers at Reclamation, and even more years of personal experience from growing up in WELS while coming to grips with his own same-sex attraction. His work with the committee has focused on building its new website project, www.madeknown.net. Ben lives in Seattle, Wash., where he builds all sorts of other digital and physical things in between hikes.
