In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im are joined by Caleb Kaltenbach, pastor and author of Messy Grace and God of Tomorrow. During their conversation, they discuss the following questions:

* What was it like to be raised by LGBTQ parents?

* How does this affect your marriage and parenting today?

* How does your personal story affect your everyday leadership and the lens in which you view leadership?

* Why do you think churches are so reluctant to engage the LGBTQ community?

* What are some things you teach churches to navigate through this issue?

BEST QUOTES

 “At the age of 16, I had never set foot in a Christian household before.”

“The more that I learned, the more that I studied, the more that I saw that Jesus was different.”

“I find myself having to be really intentional about what I say to my kids, how I tell them to love people, but at the same time hold firmly to their biblical convictions.”

“I wanted the book to be about how to empathetically love people without sacrificing your theological convictions.”

“A theological conviction is never a catalyst to devalue another human being.”

“I think we underestimate how much people base their view of God off of how we treat them and what our personal character is.”

“I help churches and organizations build policies that help create safe places where people can belong before they believe, where they can engage the church or organization, while that organization also hold firmly to its biblical beliefs.”

“The best thing you can do in a new context is ask questions.”

“There is a big difference between acceptance and approval.”

“Real love is built on acceptance, not agreement.”

“This is primarily an identity issue, and when we treat an identity issue primarily as a sexual sin issue, then we eventually end up shaming the person.”

“We’ve got to help them identify with Christ first and foremost.”

“What would you be willing to do to keep and build influence with your child?”

“The first thing I would do is forget the whole LGBTQ stuff and I would just get to know them as a person.”

“Treat them like a person, invest in them, and look for the opportunities to start talking to them about Jesus.”

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network

Gay Girl, Good God by Jackie Hill Perry

Messy Grace by Caleb Kaltenbach

God of Tomorrow by Caleb Kaltenbach