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GROWING CHURCHES

I attend Gateway Church. The cover of your July issue states: “Church in Dallas.” It is not in Dallas. It is in Southlake, which is in Tarrant County, the same as Fort Worth. Please stop giving credit to Dallas when it does not deserve it!

—Phillip J. Peters, Fort Worth, Texas

Robert Morris (“God’s Stimulus Plan,” July) is just a feel-good artist. The “tithe” was for the widows, orphans and poor. If that is what Gateway Church is doing with the money, then give till your heart’s content. If not, then you had better reassess what your pastor is doing.

—Roy Blizzard, via e-mail

TED AND GAYLE HAGGARD

I cried through the piece on Ted and Gayle Haggard (Zoom Q&A, August). Their experience, the HBO documentary and now this article all point to the active, passionate work of the Holy Spirit to honor the words of Jesus that He is the author and finisher of our faith.

—Felicia Bush, Royston, Georgia

History is jammed with leaders who were caught in the golden cage of the adoring throngs. Jesus told His disciples that it was for their good that He go away. I don’t think He was referring only to the redemptive aspect of the cross, but also to the tendency we have of making a man, not the Holy Spirit, the one we follow.

—David Grant, London, Ontario

For Ted and Gayle, the restoration is ongoing; the healing, a lifetime endeavor. Our God gives us in each day a new portion of mercy. All we have to do is be humble and repent.

—Aida E. Pardo, Isabela, Puerto Rico

A lifelong commitment to humble service would rebuild Ted’s trust more than all the TV and movie contracts.

—name withheld

CIVIL RIGHTS AND WRONGS

I applaud the authors of your article “Gay Rights Are Not Civil Rights” (July). As the pastor of a predominately African-American congregation and one who grew up in the era of the civil rights movement, I am disappointed by the lack of courage on the part of black leadership to address this issue. I encourage African-American pastors to join the fight for the family because this issue will be our last stand.

—Rev. Phillip M. Davis, Nations Ford Community Church, Charlotte, North Carolina

It was God’s will for me to be born black. It was not His will for me to be a homosexual. The Lord saved me and delivered me 25 years ago from the gay life. Being a homosexual is a chosen lifestyle. You might say, “I was born that way”—but that is the reason you must be born again. You can be set free from the control of sin through Jesus Christ. I am happy and have been married for nine years (to a woman). I am an assistant pastor and I tell my testimony by the leading of the Holy Ghost.

—Elder Harold Simms Jr., Tacoma, Washington