![]() Recent political momentum all across the country and the ongoing discussions of human rights policy in North Carolina have thrown every citizen into this conversation. Steven Furtick has to be aware that his city is full of LGBTQ people. (Elevation can’t have missed this event because it has a campus on the same street as Pride.) This year, Charlotte’s Pride broke a record with over 100,000 people in attendance. This city has a massive queer population, the second highest in the state. We’re not talking about a small town with a few closeted individuals that go unnoticed. ![]() The city’s gay index actually indicates that Charlotte has a significantly larger percentage of LGBTQ people within city limits than the national average. This tactic erases an entire group of people:Ĭharlotte is a very progressive city for this region of the country. Philippians 2:4 encourages believers about “not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” The body of Christ has to be a place where we consider and look out for those different from us.Ģ. I believe checking our privilege is the Christian way. Unless Elevation wants to be a church only for privileged people, the narrative will have to change to include people outside the walls of inequality. That makes for great rhetoric, but it does not meet people where they’re at. Instead of acknowledging the complexity of applying the passage to all audiences, Steven Furtick chooses to view it only through the lens of his privilege. ![]() So, that verse is a lot more complicated when it comes to my life. If I want to have sex, the answer is not for me to get a wife, because I have no physical/emotional/romantic/sexual attraction to women. I don’t have a wife and I will never have a wife. Plain and simple, right? But, it’s not that easy for everyone. To Steven Furtick, I Corinthians 7:2 is a valid and complete theology on its own. But, it’s important that all people, especially spiritual leaders, recognize their privilege and acknowledge that not everyone has the same experience. That’s not his fault and there’s nothing wrong with privilege. As a white cisgender wealthy heterosexual Christian man, Steven Furtick is always speaking from a place of privilege. ![]() Not every person is having the same experience of life in this country or in the evangelical church. I believe that message is deeply problematic for three reasons. Then he moves on.Īnd that’s where I got concerned. He says it’s that easy - if you don’t have a wife, you don’t get to have sex. He quotes I Corinthians 7:2: “Each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband,” then repeats it patronizingly. Furtick explained that their position is very simple. Apparently, this is a common question about Elevation and one he seems to be tired of hearing. However, as I tuned in online to watch, it quickly became clear this series was not intended for me.Ī few minutes into the first sermon of the series, Steven Furtick admitted that his church often gets asked about their position on sexuality. Theoretically, a series on those topics would be very relevant and helpful for me as a 21-year-old college student. I used to attend Elevation every week, so I know that Steven Furtick is a compelling speaker who communicates effectively. As a young gay man who identifies as a Christian, I have lots of questions about singleness, marriage, dating, sex and love. Recently, Elevation Church began a series about relationships entitled Meant to Be. In their short history, they have consistently made headlines in Charlotte and nationally, sometimes positive and sometimes negative. Elevation is a church that exists “so that people far from God are raised to life in Christ.” They are easily the most well-known church in the Charlotte area with an average weekly attendance of 14,000. He gained popularity in 2006 when his church gave $40,000 to members in envelopes with $5, $20, and even $1,000, telling them to spend it kindly on others.Steven Furtick is the pastor of Elevation Church in Charlotte, N.C. The Elevation Church had its first service on 5 February 2006. Multnomah Books.Īfter working as music director at Christ Covenant Church in Shelby, North Carolina, he relocated to Charlotte and founded Elevation Church. Seven-Mile Miracle: Journey into the Presence of God Through the Last Words of Jesus. (Un)Qualified: How God Uses Broken People to Do Big Things. Crash The Chatterbox: Hearing God’s Voice Above All Others. Sun Stand Still: What Happens When You Dare to Ask God for the Impossible. Steven paid for with money from his book sales and publisher advances, rather than his salary from Elevation Church. ![]() Furtick and his wife built a home on 19 acres of land in Waxhaw, North Carolina, a suburb of Charlotte in 2013. ![]()
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