Christians have been on the back foot on issues of sex for far too long. Whether that's questions of sexual identity, homosexuality or gender roles, we have increasingly appeared to be out of date, out of touch and out of ideas. Which is a massive shame, because the Bible's understanding of all these issues is truly liberating and part of the "life in all its fulness" that Jesus promises to those who follow him.
These big issues were the theme of this year's London Men's Convention which packed out Westminster Chapel in London last Saturday. The three talks on Maleness, Sexual temptation and Marriage were not just about helping Christians understand for themselves these important issues. They were also to help the assembled brothers think about how they can articulate the good news we have about sexuality and sexual purity to others.
Cracking talks from the crack team of UK speakers - John Tindall, Jonty Allcock, Graham Beynon and Matt Fuller - got straight to the point of these difficult subjects. And there were two enormously helpful video interviews from men talking about their struggles with pornography, and same-sex attraction.
Great singing led by Andy Fenton and the "Fentones", and time for discussion, personal reflection and prayer together made this an enjoyable and personally productive event.
The organiser, Christian Conventions is unsure where next years' event will be held, but is undertaking a complete review of aims and objectives, after running the gathering for 10 years. If you have any thoughts to feed into this process, please let the administrator Stephen Fletcher know.
Tim Thornborough founded The Good Book Company in 1991. Today his roles include Chairing The Good Book Company Trust and working with the Rights team to grow TGBC's international reach. He is the author of The Very Best Bible Stories series and has contributed to many books published by TGBC and others. Tim is married to Kathy, and they have three adult daughters.
