Drawing Lines—Building Bridges

Drawing Lines—Building Bridges seeks to bring clarity to the confusion Christians have today concerning what to do about homosexuality in the church and how to respond to homosexuals in their lives. While drawing lines between the values held by society and the traditional morality preserved by the church, Drawing Lines—Building Bridges advocates strategies of bridge-building engagement between Christians and the LGBT community—strategies which model the example of Jesus and Paul in the Bible and reflect the concerns of the LGBT community in areas where they correspond to shared Christian concerns. Standing in the gap that exists between Christian books and studies focused on biblical interpretation and the powerful testimonies of changed lives of former homosexuals, Drawing Lines—Building Bridges seeks to apply biblical principles to relevant contemporary practical and pastoral questions and issues previously unaddressed concerning how Christians and churches should respond to homosexuality in the church and homosexuals in society in a way that demonstrates the grace and love of Christ, yet does not compromise Christian morality.

About the Author

Timothy Garner Conkling, M.Div. Westminster Theological Seminary, PhD. University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, is an ordained pastor in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) and a foreign missionary serving in Taiwan, East-Asia and Indonesia. Rev. Conkling has served as an adjunct professor of Biblical Counseling, Practical Theology, and World Religions at Reformed theological seminaries and universities in Taiwan, Indonesia and Hong Kong. In addition to teaching, Rev. Conkling has served as a pastor and church planter for churches in Taiwan and the United States. Tim and his wife, Evie, have two children, Allison and Martyn. As a family they have served in missions and music ministry together while also cultivating a ministry of hospitality to those inside and outside the church.