The Time Is Now: A Review of Greg Johnson's Still Time to Care

            Still Time to Care, by Greg Johnson shows us how Jesus is both the Lion and the Lamb. Greg presents the withering critiques of the Lion of Judah against those who have burdened and abused His people. He also presents the gentle care of the Lamb of God who offers grace and compassion to the bruised reeds among His people. Still Time to Care addresses the intersection of non-straight people, Jesus, the Bible, and the church. Greg explains what the Bible teaches about sex, marriage, attraction, and orientation. He also provides leadership for people and churches to shepherd straight and non-straight people with the gospel. In Still Time to Care, the Bible’s teachings on sexuality are “settings of silver,” and the applications of those teachings in a community of care are the “apples of gold” (Proverbs 25:11).

Still Time to Care is written in four parts. Part one is “The Paradigm of Care.” Here Greg demonstrates that the “ex-gay movement” has not been the church’s main posture toward the gay community. The ex-gay movement began 40 years ago and died in 2013. But, prior to the ex-gay movement, there were leading lights from across the broad range of the church who had a very different posture toward non-straight followers of Jesus. Greg quotes extensively from C.S. Lewis, Billy Graham, John Stott, and Francis Schaeffer, showing that each of them practiced and taught a Paradigm of Care. Nearly every Christian considers at least one of these four as a father in the faith. This Paradigm of Care manifested itself in compassion and patience and understanding toward Christians who experienced romantic attractions toward people of the same sex. These four were radically different from the ex-gay movement. They did not believe that a person's sexual orientation should be expected to change when someone committed to following Jesus. Greg shows that their posture and their practice was to be a deeply encouraging, “non-anxious presence” with non-straight people who were Christian, and with non-straight people who weren’t Christian. Their posture shows that the Paradigm of Care that Greg proposes in this book is not new. Greg's conclusions and pastoral approach are well-represented throughout the church. Still Time to Care is a call to return to the posture of a much healthier period of the church. This part of the book is powerful because many people don’t know that a significant portion of the church responded to non-straight people in this way.

Part two of the book describes the birth, history, and failure of the ex-gay movement. Greg describes the ex-gay movement as a Fall:  it’s a fall from the prior Paradigm of Care (Part 1) into what Greg calls the “Paradigm of Cure.” Prior to this Fall, the best of the church prioritized caring for people who follow Jesus and experience non-straight attractions. But the ex-gay movement changed it’s focus and prioritized curing people from their non-straight attractions. Here, Greg brings convicting exposure and clarity to the traumatizing damage that people suffered under this Paradigm of Cure. He also clearly exposes the inexcusable hypocrisy that characterized the ex-gay movement’s leaders. While he is critical because of the awful things done by the ex-gay movement, he also does acknowledge that some people experienced some positive things within it. Some non-straight Christians experienced vulnerable, honest community for the first time within the ex-gay movement, even if their attractions didn’t change.

But the majority of the ex-gay movement produced harm and abuse. It was guilty of heaping burdens on people that even its leaders weren’t able to bear. It was built upon the foundation of people with testimonies of “orientation transformation” that were untested. Leaders had little or no theological training, and most did not yet have proven character. These leaders had hands laid on them too soon. Their testimonies were platformed in front of a desperately hopeful community of non-straight people (and their despairing family members). These testimonies proved to be too simplistic and inauthentic. Audiences were left believing that orientation transformation was promised in the gospel and therefore should be expected. These testimonies in effect became a new law that produced 1) false hope that non-straight people could and should be “healed” of their non-straight attractions, or 2) condemnation for those who hadn’t experienced orientation transformation, because they didn’t believe enough or obey enough. It was similar to the way that people have felt condemned by ministries that teach that physical healing is available to any Christian who has enough faith. Greg’s analysis and critique is a warning to the church:  We should be wary against taking some peoples’ experience and universalizing them as the standard for everyone, especially when those experiences are untested.

Greg’s survey of the birth and death of the ex-gay movement also corrects another important misunderstanding in the church. Many Christians and non-Christians today believe that the church’s posture has always been ex-gay. Greg shows that this is not true. The view of the most prominent Protestant leaders was not ex-gay prior to the 1970’s. Greg’s paradigm of Care is not new. It’s a renewal of a time when the church’s response to non-straight believers was healthy.

In Part three of the book, Greg deals with the Bible’s teaching on sexuality. Greg’s analysis of the Bible is thorough and illuminating. He demonstrates that the Bible clearly teaches the traditional sexual ethic--sexual activity was designed by God for heterosexual marriage. He also demonstrates that taking the Bible seriously on sexuality also requires opposing the ministry perspectives and practices of the ex-gay church. You can humbly bow to the authority of Jesus expressed in the Bible while also rejecting ex-gay convictions. Greg explains what the Scriptures teach, and he applies it with love and care to people in the midst of ongoing struggle and confusion.

In Part four, Greg offers a path forward for individuals and the church. Here Greg describes how the church can remove the abusive thinking, practices, and culture of the ex-gay movement from the church. We can be free from the errors of the ex-gay movement, while still being faithful to biblical Christianity. The church can disciple people to maturity without making orientation change a requirement or an expectation.

This part ends with a chapter called “Celibacy and Hope.” Here Greg offers a path that will deeply minister to non-straight people and those who love them. This path includes a culture of acceptance and challenge that will help the church to minister to the non-straight community, and every other community that feels alienated by the church.

A debate has erupted within Greg’s (and my) denomination:  the Presbyterian Church in America. This debate is over whether pastors (or any follower of Jesus) should call themselves “gay Christians.” Some people want to remove any pastor from his ministry if he is publicly known to not be straight—even if he is committed to Jesus’ sexual ethic and is celibate. Greg paves the way for churches to welcome both sides of this debate. He believes God's family (and God's leaders) should include people who want to use this phrase and people who don’t. Greg’s view creates a church where both are worthy of honor and both are necessary for the church to be fully healthy. I hope that the PCA repents, and does not ratify its recent decision. I hope it embraces a position that embraces everyone who is committed to the way of Jesus, no matter what they call themselves.

Still Time to Care is a book for everyone—straight and non-straight, Christian and non-Christian. It is for anyone who wants to be a blessing to non-straight people. It is for anyone trying not to be guilty of the damage of the ex-gay movement.

This book is compelling, but what is more compelling than Greg’s book is Greg’s life. His testimony is beautifully told through the book. His humanity and the way he bears God’s image comes through as a demonstration of an indestructible life in Jesus. Greg has been committed to an extraordinarily costly obedience. He has taken up his cross to follow Jesus in a way that is heroic—especially in our day and age. Many people have rightly divided God’s word on the subject of sexuality, but in Greg’s life God’s word has become flesh. Anyone who knows him beholds the glory of Jesus shining through him. Our non-straight brothers and sisters who are committed to Jesus and His sexual ethic are super-heroes of the faith. They carry an incredible burden that is misunderstood by much of the church. They are ridiculed by the world for their commitment to celibacy. They deserve to be honored and followed. Many are qualified to lead and shepherd the church. There is still time to care for this community, and Greg’s book shows us how.