Samson's Jawbone

Several years ago a friend who was a member of a congregation we were attending came to me and said, "Why is it that our church never says anything about homosexuality?" (This was years before the controversial gay marriage decision of the supreme court). I was not on staff or in any formal leadership of the church, so I advised the person to ask the staff. She said, "I have." The church we were attending was a large church that actually was known for outreach and ministry to homosexuals, and yet we had never heard a sermon that even addressed the topic. Later I went to the staff and asked the question, which did begin a series of discussions that ultimately lead to several public teaching venues where people were taught a biblical view of sexuality, but it took some effort to get the church to talk about it. The situation, though, definitely reflected on the church's reluctance to openly discuss social issues.  I was once reprimanded by an elder board for preac