Risking Grace

by Dave Jackson

As someone who helped write a book advocating reparative therapy for gay people back in 1987, it was with gut-wrenching love that my wife and I did not let our daughter go when she came out 16 years ago. We first prayed that God would change her, then that he would work out his purpose in her life, and finally, “Lord, what are you trying to teach us?” God answered with insights that led me to write RISKING GRACE, Loving Our Gay Family and Friends Like Jesus.

It’s a father’s story about my agonizing personal journey of coming to realize that we
evangelicals have lost our way when it comes to gay people by substituting a works/righteousness requirement for the clear Gospel message that salvation comes by grace through faith alone. I explore alternative interpretations to the “prohibitive texts,” but the main foundation for my change of heart is the life and ministry of Jesus, how he embraced marginalized people, and the way he and the early church dealt with difficult issues.

I share our story with you, our church family, because many of us have family members or friends who are gay, and we all need help learning how to love like Jesus. I’ve written with as much transparent vulnerability as I can, wrestling with the questions and presuppositions of the average straight dad (or mom) . . . who loves his daughter and his church but discovers that we have been driving gay people away from Jesus.

Click HERE to read what others are saying about RISKING GRACE.

CONTENTS

Foreword
Introduction
1—The Phone Call
2—What Went Wrong?
3—“Is She Safe?”

PART I
THE GOSPEL FOUNDATION

4—Grace and Truth
5—How God Gets His Family Back
6—What Can Separate Gay People from the Love of God?
7—Did God Create Gay People?
8—Marriage: One Man and One Woman
9—God’s Justice and His “Wonderful Plan for Your Life”

PART II
THE “PROHIBITIVE” TEXTS

10—Genesis 19 & Judges 19—20: Was Sodom Burned for Being Gay?
11—Leviticus 18 & 20: What Don’t We Understand About “Do Not”?
12—Does Romans 1 Describe Your Gay Loved Ones?
13—Is 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 and 1 Timothy1:8-11 about
Culturally Condoned Sexual Abuse?
14—“Did God Really Say . . . ?”

PART III
LOVING OUR GAY FAMILY AND FRIENDS

15—Can You “Love the Sinner, and Hate the Sin”?
16—Disputable Matters
17—Jesus Shows Us How to Apply God’s Laws
18—The “Ick Factor,” Myths, and Lingering Fears
19—Jesus, Help Us Live in Peace
20—The Cost of Risking Grace