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Today, very few topics are as fraught with confusion, controversy, and challenge as homosexuality.

Yesterday’s first session of Straight Talk, which primarily focused on “Scripturally speaking, what do we know about homosexuality?” produced a packed classroom with participants actively involved in an interactive discussion embracing, “Living according to God’s Word (the Bible) is what makes us Christ-followers. If we do not learn, follow, and obey the teachings of the Bible, can we truly say we are an active follower of Christ?”

In Matthew 4:4 Jesus says, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

We use the Word of God to cut through every lie, deception, and argument that comes against the body of Christ. If we do not believe the Bible is the true Word of God, how will we overcome anything?

The next meeting of Straight Talk will be on Sunday, September 7, 2025, at Rock Harbor Churchhttps://rockharborchurch.net/ – beginning at 8:00am.

Future Straight Talk class/care group discussion topics include:

Answers to common pro-gay arguments, Myths of homosexuality, Homosexuality and the reality of change, Reaching gay youth, When a loved one confesses they are gay, Homosexuality and the church…to name a few.

As followers of Christ, we must respond with love to individuals dealing with same-sex attraction while remaining unwavering in our loyalty to God’s Word.

Pastor Phillip Lee
Executive Director
His Way Out Ministries

Please consider making a donation at www.hiswayout.com/donate. Thank you, Pastor Phillip Lee

There is no question what we are witnessing today are two kingdoms in conflict.

The entire world is now very much aware of homosexuality, and America remains very much the leader in promoting the “gay is good” notion. In fact, “gay is good” has swept over our culture like a tidal wave often led by Hollywood’s influence and fueled by the media.

Three huge mistakes are continuing to be made by the Church.

(1) Far too many continue to make homosexual practice the greatest sin.

(2) Much of the Church refuses to address homosexual practice having adopted a vow of silence leaving room for unbiblical opinions and uneducated congregations.

(3) The third huge and harmful mistake is to affirm the individual in his or her practice of homosexuality. It is impossible to affirm what God never affirms.

In the midst of the conflict, our primary call and mandate of Christ Jesus our King remains -proclaim God’s truth because pro-gay theologians, pro-gay apologists and revisionists of Scripture, in their misguided attempts to validate homosexual practice offer a false Gospel.

“The people who know their God will be strong and take action” (Daniel 11:32).

A lot of talk today about revival. Revival?

I believe we will witness revival not through political reform but through the avenue of personal repentance.

We must turn away from sin and towards Jesus Christ to save and restore our broken lives and nation.

Every church must use the Bible as its ultimate guide for wisdom, love, and truth.

Pastor Phillip Lee
Executive Director
His Way Out Ministries

Please consider making a donation at www.hiswayout.com/donate. Thank you, Pastor Phillip Lee

During my 32 years of ministry, I have talked and met with many men and women dealing with same-gender feelings and attractions. Without exception, each man and each woman experiences and battles many different influences which undeniably heightens the pull of temptation into homosexuality.

More than not, the individual’s first step into homosexual practice involves a breaking down of one’s resistance. That said, I do believe each and every one of us has an inbuilt barrier to any sinful activity.

This is our conscience which is the moral law of God Himself written on our hearts (Romans 1:19). This spiritual barrier often keeps a person from gay or lesbian sex, even when they begin to experience same-gender desires. However, the enemy of our soul has his ways and schemes of gradually eroding away this wall of protection.

Without a doubt, one way this has and continues to occur throughout American society is by the constant and continuous exposure to the gay subculture. When our attention is constantly being focused on the homosexual issue through magazines, news broadcasts, newspapers and specials on television, a sin which initially might have created intense repugnance has the potential of evolving to becoming less and less objectionable and ultimately attractive. The initial repulsion can turn to apathy, which has the capability of birthing curiosity.

When curiosity makes its home in one’s mind, God’s wall of protection is beginning to crumble.

The lure of the unknown regarding homosexuality has been enough in some cases for the individual to begin wondering, I wonder what homosexuality is really like? This question has the capability of developing into the visualizing of sexual acts which is often aided by the readily available wealth of gay pornography.

Once again, when anyone continues to ponder and daydream about same-gender activities, the erosion of one’s wall of resistance crumbles. As an individual that has traveled this road, I vividly recall that my novice and innocent approach to thinking homosexual practice as being exciting and ultimately fulfilling was terribly naïve and I did not consider the realities of what homosexual practice actually enables.

The costs of sexual involvement are extreme, and no one can anticipate the emotional and spiritual baggage that you drag along with you when you come away from or break away from an immoral relationship or being sexually active and once again embrace abstinence.

Frankly, today, I don’t know if it is at all possible to avoid full, complete sexual stimulation given our present culture – unless of course we hide at home with a bag over our heads. Today sexual stimulation is around every corner – television, movies, magazines and newspapers.

Therefore, I do believe an important question to ponder is – Is it a sin to have homosexual or lesbian feelings? Does God condemn an individual for being attracted to other members of the same sex?

No, being tempted is not the same as sin. God does not condemn anyone based on our feelings. All men and women experience sexual feelings. All of us experience sexual attractions every day. Married people may be attracted to individuals other than their spouse. Are these feelings sinful?

The Bible distinguishes carefully between such feelings and sin. Inappropriate feelings, in biblical terminology, fit the category of “temptation.” And temptations are not sin. Being sexually attracted to another person is not the same as “committing adultery in your heart” (Matthew 5:28). You have to act on the temptation, either in your mind or body, in order for it to become sin.

Hands-down, most men and women struggling with same-gender attraction tend to forget this huge and critically important distinction between temptation and sin. They walk around underneath a black cloud of continual condemnation and thinking that God is disapproving of them because of their same-gender attractions.

All Christians deal with inappropriate sexual feelings and attractions. Frankly, I don’t believe it’s a stretch to say that we are all sexually broken given this fallen world in which we live and the fact that we all combat a sinful nature. Therefore, those that are working toward overcoming homosexuality are not unique; they do not belong in a different subclass than the rest of the Church. For everyone, sexual struggles are part of being human.

Within the Church here in America, I have become increasingly concerned that many have all but dismissed the idea that the devil is a being that most certainly can influence our lives.

Scripture clearly and abundantly teaches that Satan is a fallen angel of great power, with direct access to our lives. I believe it is a huge mistake by ignoring his existence especially when Scripture clearly identifies him as a tempter “who leads the whole world astray” (1 Thessalonians 3:5, Revelation 12:9).

I strongly encourage anyone combating an issue of same-gender attraction to study the passage in Ephesians 6:10-18 which specifically lists the parts of our spiritual armor and challenges everyone to make specific applications with regard to combating and struggling with homosexual thoughts and temptations.

Looking back, I distinctly recall how my attitude and mindset regarding homosexuality was very tentative at first. However, little by little, thoughts and activities regarding homosexual practice as “ok” become more and more reinforced which ultimately enabled me to embrace the gay identity.

Now, I understand that I succumbed and fell prey to an unbiblical way of thinking about myself. For Christian men and women, their identity must center around what the Word of God says about them and their relationship with Jesus Christ.

Very soon after I surrendered my life to Christ in October of 1985, God clearly showed me that my temptations do not determine my identity. Unfortunately, this is a very, very common and dangerous error especially for Christians who are experiencing same-gender attractions. Our Christian mindset develops slowly but consistently over a long period of time. The Bible refers to this process as “renewing the mind” (Romans 12:2), which I believe is one of the most important principles of attaining significant freedom from both gay and lesbian thoughts and feelings.

Today, I remain alarmed that celibacy or sexual virginity continues to be ridiculed and scorned in American society. Rather than celibacy or sexual virginity being viewed and upheld as an admirable trait, it is too often viewed as old fashioned and even as an embarrassment. Sexual purity is an undeniable, wonderful gift from God. Please do not allow anyone to ever try and convince you that it’s not worth much.

Ultimately, when you and I are disobedient or rebellious to the holy boundary lines clearly defined for us within God’s Word, we do not get to choose the consequences that may come our way as a result of our being disobedient. Truly, “obedience is much better than sacrifice” (1 Samuel 15:22).

Pastor Phillip Lee
Executive Director
His Way Out Ministries

Please consider making a donation at www.hiswayout.com/donate. Thank you, Pastor Phillip Lee

To ‘The Church’ upholding the Lordship of Christ and the Authority of Scripture and not just a place where people gather…

With another birthday now behind me…special heartfelt thanks and appreciation to The Church. I would not have made it without you.

For years I have had a practice when speaking in a church or conference to eventually make my way to the back of sanctuary or auditorium, look toward the front, and think to myself – “This is good. This is decent. This makes sense.”

The years I lived as a gay-identified man within the gay communities of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City produced anything but a good, decent, and sense-filled life. The futility of homosexual practice enabled and produced a false self, a half-person, and left me with a perpetual question mark.

Ultimately, it was the Church that helped me to face reality honestly, compassionately, and courageously. With time, a sense of value, a sense of being loved and accepted, and a sense of living a meaningful life produced the best value of all – human well-being.

Honesty requires I acknowledge there were times of moving into my new life, my new identity, and a new community that was by no means easy. Thankfully and gratefully, within the process, I received an abundance of wise counsel, encouragement, and support.

Today, if I allow myself to look back, I marvel at how easily I became consumed by and locked into a false identity not knowing and realizing I was hopelessly and endlessly searching for “me” in all the wrong places.

The Church that surrounded me treated me with dignity and respect while at the same time being abundantly clear in stating and showing me from Scripture that homosexual behavior is just one of the forms human fallenness can take with divine forgiveness and restoration available to all that surrender to the Lordship of Christ.

To this day, I remain grateful to the Church for helping me to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy desires. It is a fact that truth can hurt, if not cut deeply before it heals. However, truth offered and presented compassionately is more than liberating. When truth becomes known and acted upon, truth frees.

Yes, indeed, Church is good, decent, and makes sense. Where I came from made no sense whatsoever. Truth and reality dictate that until each person comes to grips with this central ethical question – whether and why anything is either right or wrong – they will wander needlessly, hopelessly and God forbid, disastrously adrift.

To speak the truth in love is not to condemn the one to whom it is spoken. Truth is good, truth is decent, truth makes sense and will defend itself. I remain grateful the Church spoke truth to me.

“Let love be without dissimulation…” (Romans 12:9)

Pastor Phillip Lee
Executive Director
His Way Out Ministries

Please consider making a donation at www.hiswayout.com/donate. Thank you, Pastor Phillip Lee

In this powerful and deeply personal message, Pastor Phillip Lee of His Way Out Ministries shares his testimony of deliverance from same-sex attraction and boldly declares the truth of God’s design for sexuality.

Speaking at Rock Harbor Church in Pastor Brandon Holthaus’s absence, Phillip delivers a message of hope, healing, and restoration for those wrestling with unwanted same-sex attraction—and for their families.

From his 17-year journey in the gay lifestyle to the transforming encounter with Jesus Christ on October 5, 1985, Phillip’s story reveals that God is still in the business of new beginnings.

With compassion and biblical conviction, he reminds the Church that the issue is not just homosexuality—it’s the “Authority of Scripture” and the “Lordship of Christ.”

Youtube
There Is a Way Out : Philip Lee

He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” – Mark 16:15

His Way Out Ministries partnered with Rock Harbor Church to pray and share the gospel at the San Francisco Pride Parade on Sunday, June 29, 2025, one of the largest events in the world for the LGBTQ+ community.

Our mission was to reach people’s hearts with a simple message:

“Jesus Christ, fully man and fully God, lived a perfect life no one else could. He willingly went to the cross, died, was buried, and was resurrected, offering eternal life to all who believe in Him.”

Led by God in our conversations, we prayed for numerous people, and four came to faith in Jesus.

Responses varied—some were open and kind, while others reacted with anger or hostility.

Despite this, our mission was accomplished.

Don’t you know my personal sharing with young men, “I was once a member of the LGBTQ community,” was each time met with, “What do you mean you once were?” sparked great conversation and debate.

No doubt each team member will be talking about and sharing details of our outreach to the LGBTQ community for a long time to come.

And, as the saying goes, “Often a picture is worth a thousand words.”

Pastor Phillip Lee
Executive Director
His Way Out Ministries

Please consider making a donation at www.hiswayout.com/donate. Thank you, Pastor Phillip Lee

“If you would be My disciple, give up your right to yourself to Me” (Matthew 16:24).

The greatest crisis in our lives just may be the surrendering of our will.

1. Jesus must be put first in all matters of life. (Mark 8:34-38) The homosexual struggler must take a purposed and deliberate step to be set apart from the world. The individual’s focus must be on the Lord Jesus and pleasing Him in every area of life. In other words, put off self-centeredness and put on Christ-centeredness.

2. Follow all the teachings of Jesus. (John 8:31-32) Our obedience to the Father must be like that of a child which enables our being doers of the Word. Obedience is the supreme test of faith in God (1 Samuel 28:18).

3. Expect change. (John 15:5-8) As a disciple (even those that combat same-gender attraction), our job is to abide in Christ, and “if” we do, the Holy Spirit will produce change, with change being the result of our obedience. As we become more obedient to the Lord and purposed to walk in all of His ways, our lives change. The biggest change will take place in our hearts resulting in new conduct (thoughts, words, and actions), all being representative of “change.” Ultimately, the change we all seek in our lives occurs from the inside out, through the power of the Holy Spirit.

4. Clearly, from 1 John 3:10 and 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, we see that love is not just an emotion; it is an action. We must be doing something and involved in the process of discipleship. The attitude for the homosexual struggler as well as those desiring to help or minister to those combating same-gender attraction must be fueled by the motivation of ‘love.’ When it comes to the complexities of life (including homosexuality and related issues), our ‘attitude’ should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.

5. Making disciples of others. (Matthew 28:18-20) Too often, the homosexual struggler and those that have left homosexuality are reluctant to share their faith and tell nonbelievers about the wonderful changes Jesus has made in their lives. No matter what our maturity level in Christian life, we have something to offer.

Frankly, some of the most enthusiastic representatives of Christian life are new believers who have just discovered the awesome love of God. While they may not know what they’re saying goodbye to “gay” fully means, they have experienced the love of God and want to share their newfound lives and identify in Christ with others.

Admittedly, deliverance from homosexuality or any habit, addiction or compulsive behavior, for that matter, comes from a Person and not a method.

That said, I am concerned we have gotten far away from the command and calling of our Lord to “disciple” – especially, to the homosexual struggler. Heaven knows Christians throughout the ages have had sinful habits to overcome and misbeliefs to replace with truth.

I submit that the same Christian ‘disciplines’ that have helped a multitude will also help those struggling with same-gender attraction.

The greatest crisis in our lives just may be the surrendering of our will.

Pastor Phillip Lee
Executive Director
His Way Out Ministries

Please consider making a donation at www.hiswayout.com/donate. Thank you, Pastor Phillip Lee

Today, the battle that rages, is not over just a person’s sexuality, but rather over which spirit will claim that person’s allegiance. There is no doubt, the cultural and political battle over homosexuality has become in many respects the defining moment for our society.

The more important aspect of this battle is not the political one; it is the one for the individual human soul.

“Love, and the unity it attests to, is the mark Christ gave to Christians to wear before the world. Only with this mark may the world know that Christians are indeed Christians, and that Jesus was sent by the Father.” – Francis Schaeffer

By speaking truth, you can impact and change the future for many.

Be a professing Christian who adheres to and applies the truths of Scripture to our world as never before.

When you and I became a Christian, we began a transformation process not just of what we disapprove, but also of how we disapprove.

The disapproval of any particular behavior including same-sex practice(s) does not particularly identify one as Christian.

Being a Christian is far more profound than changing and voicing what we disapprove of.

The Apostle Paul said, “I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the barbarians” (Romans 1:14).

There is no doubt Paul understood and lived his life as a debtor to “everyone” on the face of the earth because of the Gospel of Jesus.

Do we, as Ambassadors for Christ, realize that same debtedness to every unsaved soul which includes the vast, enormous and virtually untouched mission field called “the gay community?”

Yes, the Bible is clear that homosexual practice is against God’s pattern for humankind, which should be all the more reason to be the bearer of good tidings to those with unwanted same-gender attraction and not just announce that a certain lifestyle is sinful.

The homosexual, along with many other people, do not know love, yet it is love that they seek more than anything else, by and large. If you and I can be vessels of God’s love, if we can be compelled by that love, that will get their attention, because it will be so starkly different from all of the counterfeit loves that they have experienced, that if there is a genuine desire in them for God, it will draw them to Christ.

The shedding of the false, “gay” identity will be a natural fruit of having discovered where love, true love truly lies.

Look beyond the “gay” or “lesbian” label to the whole person inside and share the transforming power of God’s love and forgiveness without compromising the truth.

Pastor Phillip Lee
Executive Director
His Way Out Ministries

Please consider making a donation at www.hiswayout.com/donate. Thank you, Pastor Phillip Lee

It is 1981, I am living in San Francisco and very much a member of the gay community. On a Sunday afternoon, I leave my apartment and walk down Powell Street toward Market Street, the main drag of downtown San Francisco.

The closer and closer I get to Market Street, clearly something is going on because the boulevard is lined with a huge crowd of people. I have happened upon my first Gay Pride Parade.

I cannot believe what I am witnessing. Frankly, the first thought that occurred to me was – “Why aren’t these people being arrested?” – largely due to the pornographic nature and displays that are parading by, one after another after another. And, I am thinking, “This is what I am to be proud of?”

It was my first and last gay pride parade. (See footnote at the end).

Today, far, far beyond equal rights for many groups in America in their attempts to reweave the social, cultural and political fabric of this country, is an unquenchable thirst for power.

Right on the heels of the power quest is a relentless crusade by many groups for acceptance and to gain society’s stamp of approval on a considerable list of various behaviors.

When same-sex marriage became legal throughout America (but not lawful in the Kingdom of God), the entire lid to Pandora’s Box came off. Various groups that had been for a very long time standing along the sidelines waiting their turn busted out of the box and began to be much more vocal and visible demanding to be recognized and accepted.

And, let me be perfectly clear by stating, we the Church did contribute to the past, and the on-going cultural vacuum that has allowed the redefinition of marriage, family, etc. to happen with so little resistance.

Frankly, the 17 years I spent as a gay-identified man, which included witnessing my first and last gay pride parade in 1981, I frequently found myself scratching my head and marveling at why the gay community adopted the rainbow as their emblem.

It was both confusing and perplexing then. But not now.

It is possible to desire, welcome and even invite the presence of God but ignore, if not totally dismiss any possible judgment of God.

But not so fast.

Genesis 9:13 says, “I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.”

Clearly, the rainbow signifies the promise of God regarding God’s judgment on the world.

Interesting, I was once so deceived to think I would not have to pass through the judgement of God.

And, lest we forget. The flood of God’s judgment came first. The rainbow of the presence of God then followed.

The exclamation, “don’t judge me!” is completely and totally misplaced and inaccurate.

Judgement will come – to each and every one of us.

Footnote: I will be joining a team from Rock Harbor Church to share the gospel during San Francisco’s Gay Pride on Sunday, June 29, 2025.

Pastor Phillip Lee
Executive Director
His Way Out Ministries

Please consider making a donation at www.hiswayout.com/donate. Thank you, Pastor Phillip Lee

Claudia Gonzalez, lead Counselor at Rock Harbor Church, and I are pleased to announce, “Straight Talk” beginning Sunday, August 3, 2025 at 8:00am.

Why bother discussing homosexuality from a Biblical standpoint?

The answer just may lie in whatever may motivate you to attend Straight Talk.

Christian Leader: You may simply want (need) a better working knowledge of the topic.

Parent or Friend: Someone you love might be same-sex attracted and you’re wondering, as a Bible-believing Christian, how you can keep a relationship with this person without compromising your deeply held beliefs and convictions.

Educator: What causes homosexuality? Is it immutable or changeable? As an educator you are wanting a better understanding and grasp on the academic questions the subject raises.

Counselor: Maybe you are looking for insights, for when your client says, “I’m gay.”

Same-Sex Attracted Christian: Maybe you are in the midst of feelings, emotions and attractions you neither desire nor chose, wondering what, if anything, you can do.

Concerned Christian: You may need a better understanding of the Biblical perspective on homosexuality so you can persuasively articulate it.

Seekers: Those seeking a reasonable, clear, and respectful understanding of why faithful followers of Christ Jesus believe what they do about homosexuality.

Whether Christian or not, anyone seeking truth, God’s absolute truth regarding homosexuality, must turn to the Holy Scriptures.

Straight Talk seeks to turn controversy into ministry because those who live by truth engage in the ongoing challenge of applying God’s unchanging standards to our ever-changing culture and world.

“Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts,” the apostle Peter admonished. “And always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.” (1 Peter 3:15)

After the initial launch of “Straight Talk” on Sunday, August 3, 2025, Straight Talk will meet faithfully on the first Sunday of each month at Rock Harbor Church – https://rockharborchurch.net/

Turn the confusion and controversies that often surround same-sex attraction into ministry by offering a Christlike response and become much more relevant to a rapidly changing world.

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