I woke up thinking about Exodus this morning and its mission to rebuild the Church.  I am unalterably convinced that the Lord means to use Exodus International in a significant way to restore wholeness to the Body of Christ.  After all, those currently caught up in homosexuality are the ones being used to destroy the Church.  But for the grace of God, you and I might be among those seeking to ‘renovate’ scriptures and sanctuaries to suit our unbridled passions.  I am so thankful that the Lord and His people helped me to see, believe and live out something far better than what I once accepted as a good alternative.  I am equally thankful that He has chosen to use me to minister from the very broken places of my life where His healing has been most significant.

I prayed that the Lord would speak to me, give me fresh vision, renewed excitement and the ability to communicate all of the above.  When I got to the office I decided to see what I could find in the Word to further direct and inspire me.  A notepad was stuck in my Bible at the beginning of the book of Haggai.  I am pretty sure that I have never even cracked open the book of Haggai—at least not for anything more than to hold my loose notepad.  I read the two short chapters that make up Haggai.  Interestingly, it was about the restoration of the Church.  The prophet Haggai spoke of obedience and disobedience in the Church and the results that come from both.  My favorite verse from this short book was one I had heard before, “‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the Lord Almighty.” (2:9 NIV)

The Lord doesn’t want to do an old thing in the Body of Christ. He doesn’t want the Church to go back to the ‘good ole days’; He wants to make it the best it has ever been.  Similarly, the answer to the issue of homosexuality isn’t that we get the world to treat homosexuality and homosexually identified people like they used to treat them; the purpose is to get the world to understand that homosexuality is, like every other sinful condition, possible to overcome through submitting it to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  The Church needs to lead the movement to help the world understand that homosexually identified people, like everyone else, are passionately loved by God Almighty.  The Church didn’t get that back in the ‘good ole days’.  It is time for a new season!

It is my deepest passion to see Exodus International used as a catalyst for change in our world and to ensure that it is used first and foremost as a ministry that serves the Church and builds the Kingdom.  I am thrilled to say that we are doing just that.  We are seeing an enormous difference within the Body where attitudes and hearts are concerned.  Certainly people are finding freedom from homosexuality, but more than ever before the Church is finding freedom from wrong mind-sets and feelings that it has had regarding homosexuality and those affected by it.  We are invited in to local churches and national denominations, impacting our fellow believers with the truth of God’s grace, mercy and holiness.  We are giving the church permission to love those they have feared loving and to speak the bold truth when they are afraid of offending.

Exodus has come a long way in 30 years and we have a long way to go.  As God continues to shape and prosper Exodus, He is revealing a greater mission, purpose, and potential for this ministry.  Sy Rogers, former President of Exodus and a leader in the ministry for over 26 years, recently said, “It has been great for me to observe what the Lord has done in this work (Exodus); God is taking [it] beyond what many of us could have imagined.”  I know we are in our finest hour.  My team and I dream daily of ways to impact the world for Christ and new ways to serve the Church so that she can do the same.

Building the Kingdom requires all hands on deck.