Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.
Title: Messy Grace
Subtitle: How a Pastor with Gay Parents Learned to Love Others Without Sacrificing Conviction
Author: Caleb Kaltenbach
Narrator: Caleb Kaltenbach
Format: Unabridged
Length: 6 hrs and 3 mins
Language: English
Release date: 11-19-15
Publisher: christianaudio.com
Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 161 votes
Genres: Religion & Spirituality, Christianity
Publisher's Summary:
Caleb Kalenbach is the Lead Pastor at Discovery Church in Simi Valley, CA. Raised in the LGBT community, he was exposed to how some Christians treated the LGBT community, and grew to hate Christians. In high school, he joined a Bible study to disprove the Bible, but ended up following Jesus instead. Later, his parents followed Jesus, too. This is the subject of his first book, Messy Grace - holding on to the truth of God's Word while being filled with grace.
Caleb is a graduate of Ozark Christian College, Talbot School of Theology (Biola University), and is finishing his doctorate at Dallas Theological Seminary. He speaks widely on the subjects of reconciliation, faith, diversity, and grace/truth. Caleb and his wife, Amy, reside in Southern California with their two kids.
Members Reviews:
For such a time as this
I am so grateful to Caleb for writing this book. I have been wrestling with how to make sense of these issues and this book has been a tremendous help to me. It has dispelled my fearfulness of what I didn't understand, and has encouraged within me a God-given love for the precious souls who identify as LGBTQ. Thank you Pastor Kaltenbach!
A desperately needed message
For anyone struggling with the Christian /LGBT issue, this is a must-read. The author has lived in both worlds and so brings a unique, loving, and honest perspective teaching us how to live in the tension of grace and truth.
Identity in Christ
"Some will switch their primary identity from their same sex attractions to a disciple of Christ."
That line spoke to me. This book does a good job of articulating what can be extremely disheartening in the Church today with how it by and large cannot communicate with people who are not like them. I will never know the struggle of being judged by my appearance or how I talk because those do not give me away as gay, but I do know how it feels to be judged by my sexual orientation and nothing else.
As Caleb says, you won't agree with everything he says, but he's not telling you what to think. He's sharing his story as well as his convictions of what he reads in the Bible that praises healthy sexual expression, and condemns sexual expression that does not seem to honor God.
I'm still wrestling with what it means to be a "Gay Christian", and all the questions that come with that identity. I am thankful that my primary identity is as a disciple/child of God, and I pray He uses my life to bring all sorts of people together, all for the glory of the LORD.
Helpful-ish
My church recently made a public stand about homosexuality. The Lead Pastor was asked to resign as he held beliefs that were more accepting in the way that he interpreted the Bible. This book was recommended to me to help me reconcile biblical truth with my desire to love other people radically. There are many insightful perspectives discussed in this book. It is worth the time spent to read it. It did not help me to clarify all of my questions on this issue as related to Christianity, but it has perhaps given me a bit more insight.
Not just for LGBT topics
The message of loving as Jesus loves by combining grace AND truth applies to every area of a Christian's life.