Sharing My Heart, My Vision, My Hope

We recently announced my new book with Westminster John Knox Press, and launched our new FreedHearts website. As we make these changes – and there is more exciting news to come! – I want to share my heart, my vision and my hope.

From my heart to yours. 🙂

If you are in the evangelical church, or if you are in the LGBTQ community, you know that the church today is fractured. Parents love their children to the ends of the earth—God created them that way—but their trusted leaders tell them to distance themselves from their LGBTQ children. This shreds a parent’s heart—if you’re a parent who has been there, you understand.

Or perhaps you are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, and you have been called unspeakable names and told God condemns you. If you are in that community, you likely know exactly what I’m talking about.

Or you may simply be a Christian who is heavy-hearted that the church’s treatment of the LGBTQ community is so, so far from the heart of Christ, as they push people away from God instead of drawing them in.

I started FreedHearts for these exact reasons. When our oldest daughter first came out, our family began a journey of discovery—to find out what the Bible really says and does not say, to listen for God’s heart for us and our daughter. God kept moving us forward—toward love, toward freedom, toward peace. Then our youngest daughter came out as well—for two children out of five! My husband Rob and I were grateful we had embraced this path and heard God’s voice through all of it.

Here’s the short list of what we discovered:

• The conservative church needs help to learn to love in the world. LGBTQ people have been bullied, shamed, abandoned and from the teachings the conservative church considers “loving,” and they need to learn a better way.
• The conservative church doesn’t know how to love parents well who have LGBTQ children, and they don’t know how to embrace LGBTQ people without a “secret” hope for change.
• Theology is not nearly as “clear cut” as many Christians believe. As we studied, we were shocked at what we discovered.
• We all need to listen for God’s voice and trust God’s ability to speak to us.

So I began the FreedHearts blog. I believed that if I could begin to address the issues theologically as well as from the heart of God’s love, I could help change the conversation. I did not know how gaping the need was out there and how much of an impact I would make. I only followed where God led me.

And I have fallen more in love—with God, my husband, my children, and people in general—than ever before.

Now, I have become the voice for parents of LGBTQ children, I get emails every day from parents and LGBTQ people alike, telling me that my posts or talks or books saved their lives. It is at once humbling and thrilling.

I invite you to visit our new website (HERE) – and check out other posts here on the blog, my new book for parents, and my recent book for LGBTQ, and our other resources—all created to help you find your way.

I am honored to be on this journey with you.

With love,

Susan