FIRST-PERSON: The paradox of surrender
Those who surrender to Jesus, Mike Goeke writes, gain "the great liberator who lives inside of us -- empowering, enlightening, encouraging and embracing us just as we are, yet destined for so much more."
FIRST-PERSON: Accepting & affirming the repentant
"If we ignore the call to repentance because we want to attract the unrepentant," Mike Goeke, associate pastor of First Baptist Church San Francisco, writes. "We will have nothing real to offer the unrepentant when they show up."
FIRST-PERSON: Fighting for our way or the Way?
San Francisco minister Mike Goeke takes stock of how Christians have responded to America's cultural shift from biblical values.
FIRST-PERSON: The significance of just being there for my kids
Columnist Mike Goeke says all the good things he could do for his children won't matter to them if, at the end of the day, he never spends time with them.
FIRST-PERSON: Why homosexuality IS different
Homosexuality is different because it is the only sinful behavior that has a cultural identity and movement surrounding it, says columnist Mike Goeke.
FIRST-PERSON: A biblical look at sexual orientation
Discussing the debate over sexual orientation, columnist Mike Goeke says there are only two true orientations for all mankind: pre-redemption and post-redemption.
FIRST-PERSON: A biblical response to ‘I was born this way’
How should Christians respond to those who claim they were "born this way"? Columnist Mike Goeke, who once identified as gay, gives a biblical response.
FIRST-PERSON: Thanks for offending me with the Gospel
Columnist Mike Goeke once pursued a life of same-sex attraction until his family and friends "offended" him with the Gospel -- a confrontation for which he is thankful.
FIRST-PERSON: A unique marriage-saving event
MIDLAND, Texas (BP)--Midland, Texas, home to Stonegate Fellowship Church, is in the middle of the West Texas desert. It is a dry and dusty place, the landscape dotted by oil wells and conspicuously absent of any natural body of water.
FIRST-PERSON: A challenge to the conservative church
MIDLAND, Texas (BP)--Since the news surfaced of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) decision to allow gays and lesbians in "committed relationships" to serve as ordained clergy ...
