SPEAKING OF SEX ...

It's the time of year when I'm trying to finalize the plan for where I feel God wants us to go in teaching during the first half of '07.

I learned from my Pentecostal roots that I'm meant to stand up, rely on the Holy Spirit and say whatever he sends into my mind. However, it didn't take too long to realize that the Holy Spirit can speak to you six months ahead of an event, can guide your planning, give you insights, stir you up, so that when you actually stand in front of people what you are saying is not only inspired, but it's informed and organized too.

So I've been thinking about sex.

I know that a number of pastors I respect around the country have done series on the subject in recent months, though I have not really entertained the idea myself - either because God didn't want me to or because I was chicken!

Reading an article on the plane yesterday, I was reminded of how silent the church is on a subject which is a gift from God and that Hollywood and half the so-called civilized world has corrupted. It prodded me to think what a disservice I do to people I am resposible for and care about when I leave them without solid Biblical teaching on such a vital subject.

So brace yourself for '07. It'll probably upset some and it will be R-rated (I mean that - no kids whatever allowed in), but I will definitely bite the bullet and align myself in a modest way with the apostle Paul who talked about not shrinking from declaring the whole counsel of God.