A Video Featuring
Lewis B. Smedes

Introductions by Nicholas Wolterstorff
and Mel White

A renowned pastor-professor-author recounts his journey toward a new understanding of gay and lesbian people in the Christian community.

How should Christians respond to gay and lesbian people in society and in their own churches? It’s a subject of intense debate. At times like this we need to turn for wisdom to some of the great spiritual leaders of our time.

Dr. Lewis B. Smedes was one such person. In his introduction to the video, Dr. Nicholas Wolterstorff, himself a highly regarded Christian philosopher, calls Lew “a giant of the evangelical church.” Dr. Smedes (1921-2002) was a pastor, a professor of theology and ethics, and a best-selling author of over 15 books on the Christian life.

Shortly before his death Dr. Smedes granted an interview in which he described his own journey of understanding with respect to gay and lesbian people in the Christian community. In this 33-minute video (including introductions) he tells this story, demonstrating his genuine love for Jesus Christ, his sincere devotion to Scripture, his pastoral heart, and his theological and ethical expertise.

Early in the video Dr. Smedes sets the stage:

I’d like to put it this way: We are all born with a story to write, but we can only write it with the raw material we’re given. What God wants of us it to write the best story we can out of what we have. So that enters into this: What’s the best way that a homosexual person can write his or her story?

With that compelling question in mind, Dr. Smedes takes us on a journey as he tells about his own friendships with gay and lesbian people, his reflections on the church’s history of facing ethical issues, and his interpretation of Scripture (especially Romans 1). He then reflects on the hymn from which the title of the video is taken, “There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy.”

If you are looking for insight on the subject of homosexuality from one of the Christian community’s finest teachers, this is the video for you.  It will make an excellent resource for