Our Vision   Our Philosophy  Who We Are

Our Vision

We envision a Seventh-day Adventist church body in which straight, gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and trans-gendered members truly exemplify the love of God in their relations with each other -- loving unconditionally without demanding proof that others are "worthy" of love. For God loved us unconditionally, as unworthy as we are.

To this end we wish to foster understanding and dialogue to help reduce the fear of homosexuality that is too often evident in Seventh-day Adventist churches and to replace it with an active love that finds its source in the heart of God. (Particularly see our FAQ.)

We envision our discussion lists as aiding subscribers in recognizing their supreme value in the eyes of God. And we envision cyber communities in which persons with different sexual orientations "bear one another's burdens" and so fulfill the law of Christ, encouraging each other in our relationships with Christ. [back to TOP]

Our Philosophy

As Seventh-day Adventists, we agree with the fundamental teachings of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. We recognize that we are all broken by sin and become whole only by experiencing the healing love of Christ. We are saved through faith by His grace alone and not by anything we do or refrain from doing. Thus we have nothing in ourselves of which to boast, for all that we have -- whether in possessions, talent, or character -- is from Him.

We believe that the unconditional love of God draws us to Him and empowers us to change more effectively than exhortation or condemnation. And we believe it is God's purpose for His church to exemplify the unconditional love of Christ in a society that is performance-oriented.

We understand that same-sex attraction is real and not just a chosen behavior. Whether they are caused by heredity, prenatal influences, environment, or a combination of these factors, they are an integral part of an individual and are morally neutral. Those with a homosexual orientation are no more and no less sinful before God than heterosexual individuals. Before God we all stand on equal ground -- condemned as sinners in need of the saving grace of God. God is just as ready, willing and able to save homosexual sinners as heterosexual sinners. Praise be to His Name!

We believe that God designed sexual expression as a component of the life-long covenantal bond of marriage between one man and one woman. And He designed that our shared, intimate relationships with each other would draw us closer to Him. But when we look around us and see the many broken families and other fractured relationships in our society, it is evident that we have all fallen far from this ideal.

Just as God drew near to people in a fallen society in the past, so we believe He deals compassionately with us in our fallen condition today. And so should we treat each other with love and compassion, because only as we experience human love do we begin to understand the unconditional love of the Savior -- the only One who can meet the love-hunger of the soul.

We are not qualified to judge what is sin in another person's life -- particularly when it comes to intimate human relationships -- because sin is a matter of the heart (James 4:17) and only God can see what is in a person's heart. Thus Christ's parable of the tares and the wheat cautions us against being too enthusiastic about rooting sinners out of the church. God does ask us to witness to the power of His love in our own lives, and we can thus encourage each other in drawing closer to Him who is our strength. In faith, we will trust Him to guide each of us in the way that He knows is best for us.

John the Beloved tells us that God is love. Nothing we do can put us outside of His love. And we believe that experiencing God's love transforms our lives from the inside out." Our own Ellen White wrote prophetically that "The last rays of merciful light, the last message of mercy to be given to the world, is a revelation of His character of love. The children of God are to manifest His glory. In their own life and character they are to reveal what the grace of God has done for them." (Christ's Object Lessons, pp. 415,416) Thus it is our desire to communicate God's character of Love and manifest His glory through this internet initiative. (Also see A Balanced View)[TOP]

Who We Are

This ministry was founded by Inge Anderson and Ralph Seland. Inge has been the driving force behind initiating various email lists, the design and implementation of the web page, as well as the expansion of the ministry. Ralph has been much of the inspiration behind the project. Among other things, he transformed the book, My Son, Beloved Stranger from hard copy to web format, and and he served as chief moderator of several discussion lists for several years. (The book, though written by Seventh-day Adventist author Carrol Grady, aka Kate McLaughlin, was hosted on the GLOW site before Carrol Grady asked us to remove it because she no longer supports our philosophy. You can still read her book by buying it at Amazon.com.) Ralph is currently on leave of absence.

Inge Anderson is solely responsible for the overall tone and content of the site. Her wide involvement with Christians of various faiths has given her a vision that reaches far beyond the borders of the Seventh-day Adventist church, to all who long to know that they are beloved by the Creator who cared enough to become one with us. (While this site is specifically addressed to Adventists and purposely uses some Adventist jargon, our companion site, God's Love - Our Witness, is designed to minister to a wider circle of persons seeking a relationship with God.) Inge is fortunate to have the backing and involvement of her family, with members who contributed time and effort in suggestions, designing and critiquing, besides giving up large chunks of their spouse's or mother's time in the process. Credit goes to personal friends and to over a hundred individuals involved as silent supporters or contributors through messages on email lists. This project would not exist without them. [TOP]