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Tips on detecting fact from fiction

A minister says his practical message is for, and can be used by, everyone.

By WAVENEY ANN MOORE
Published June 6, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG - Joshua Harris is a product of homeschooling and on-the-job ministerial training. Now a Christian author and preacher, Harris will be in St. Petersburg this weekend to give a sermon at Gulf Coast Community Church.

Harris is senior pastor of the 3, 000-member Covenant Life Church, an evangelical congregation in Gaithersburg, Md. The church is a member of Sovereign Grace Ministries, a community of congregations in the United States and overseas.

Harris, 32, also is the author of four books: I Kissed Dating Goodbye; Boy Meets Girl; Sex Is Not the Problem Lust Is; and Stop Dating the Church.

In a telephone interview Tuesday, Harris spoke about his ministry and his upcoming visit to the area.

Q. What will be the focus of your sermon in St. Petersburg this week?

I'm going to be sharing a message on discernment, which was the theme of a conference, New Attitude, which we did in Louisville, Ky. It's a message that's basically saying that the truth is so important and knowing God is so vital, Christians - and really all humans - need discernment to judge between what is true and what is false. It's a very practical message and one that can be applied by anyone and can be helpful to anyone.

Q. Why are all of your books about sex and dating?

Not all of my books are about sex and dating. My most recent book, Stop Dating the Church, is about being committed to the local church and being committed to a community of faith. ... Because of the first books I wrote, I was very aware of the challenges that young adults face and so that particular focus has been a way for me to speak to a very real issue in people's lives. The way people handle their relationships and express their sexuality is a very important indicator of the reality of God's work in their lives.

Q. You sit on the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, what is that?

That is an organization that is seeking to faithfully represent what we believe is the Bible's teaching that men and women are completely equal before God and have dignity and worth before God, but at the same time have unique roles, distinct roles in marriage and the church. ... I'm not interested in returning to the 1950s or the 1800s, but I believe that the unique plan that God has for men and women ultimately leads to the greatest joy and fulfillment for both.

Q. Do people reject this message?

I think we're in a culture that is very much opposed to that fundamental perspective. ... People have seen real abuses of the concept of unique roles, men who are domineering or abusive. So when they hear that idea, I understand why they want to reject it, but God's plan is for men to be servant leaders. The first thing that needs to change is for men to be humble, self-sacrificing servants, not using their role of leadership as something to exploit, but to serve the good of others.

If you go

Sunday's speaker

Joshua Harris at Gulf Coast Community Church, at 555 76th Ave. N, St. Petersburg, at 10 a.m. Sunday. Call 522-7734 or go to www.gccc.net.

[Last modified June 5, 2007, 22:29:03]