Empty Tomb and Uncapped Wells

Nathan is a Londoner who attends a thriving church in the city. That community models how to welcome the unchurched and help them worship the living God. Beneath the dynamic surface, however, there’s no help for those repenting of homosexuality. 

This fountain of hope and practical help remains silent on “sexy issues.” The pastors won’t touch them: too controversial. Don’t be THAT church linked to ‘conversion therapy.’ Playing it safe, that community fails to extend the Kingdom to a generation seduced and divided by queer culture.

Years ago, Living Waters in London was a powerful healing center. Like Isaac in Genesis 26, Comiskey and company entered the land and re-dug the wells, releasing ‘living waters’ for the sexually confused. Enemies in the land seriously opposed the effective pastoral care of Living Waters UK. Issac and us spent as much time fending off opponents as we did releasing captives. That well has since been capped.   

There’s an intentional campaign against these wells. Capping them desiccates the land and kills hope for the Church’s most vulnerable members. Jesus’ Body cannot be sound unless her most vulnerable members are protected and set free!  The kickback is fierce. Our common enemy’s goal? Stop the flow of Divine Mercy!

Nathan was one of sixty young people who attended our recent Living Waters Training in London. Each participant was thirsty and desperate for Jesus. They came with open hearts: Jesus exchanged sin and shame for solidity of being.

I walked with Nathan in the small group. He was understandably cautious to trust. He had been labeled “dirty” by a trusted church leader for confessing same-sex lust. He knew that accusation was false but he still couldn’t shake it. 

The other men in the small group laid hands on him and prayed for Jesus to meet him. The presence of these good men broke Nathan’s familiar isolation and ushered in a cleansing flood. This London local needed living water, so God uncapped the well. No longer “dirty,” now a son, Nathan’s faith in the Body was restored.

I’m reminded of my friend Jim, who leads Living Waters in California. He’s a compassionate man free from past ‘gay’ identification who is seeking to release Living Waters to a premier church near and dear to him in Los Angeles. 

Some shocking news came to light. That dynamic church just platformed a prominent “queer Christian” who declared that embracing LGBTQ+ identity is compatible with following Jesus. My friend knew immediately that the enemy was seeking to ‘cap the well’ in the land where Desert Stream was first released 45 years ago.

Rather than retreating into silence, he spoke up. He has authority as a witness and practitioner of Jesus’ healing. And he knows that people like Nathan need more than a ‘safe’ witness who skirts core issues. Real seekers need accompaniment with a clear direction.

We need to uncap the wells. Mercy needs to flow. A worldly Church that plays it safe but not sound isn’t making the fight any easier. Let’s commit in the power of Risen Jesus to re-dig some wells for these fifty days of Easter. Uncap some wells with me. Release captives. Rout the enemy.