Why was the shoe stopped by the hall monitor? Because it was being knotty. : ) What is the church’s voice in the marriage equality issue, and how helpful is it? As I consider this question from Glad Alliance Church, I look at the church’s role overall. The church has produced immeasurable good in the culture, as Christians have followed Jesus’ call to protect the unprotected, feed the needy, stand up for the marginalized—the very things Jesus told us are... Read more
Shun your gay child? Don’t even have a meal with them? This is not the heart of God – but it is the heart of people like John MacArthur – or maybe the lack of heart. People just don’t know how hateful they are. It was easy to look at Fred Phelps’ Westboro Baptist Church and say that they were ‘extreme’ and that they didn’t represent mainstream Christianity. But what about someone like John MacArthur? Is he the new Fred... Read more
More today from my Saturday “Jesus Blog” – a word from Jesus to you… I love you. I love YOU. I LOVE you. No asterisks. No exceptions. No exclusions. No expiration. Always. Read more
Eleven years ago, I joined the ranks of honorees for Father’s Day. The previous July, my son Jason was born and put into my arms. The first Father’s Day for me was quiet with plenty of attention from friends and family, and it affirmed wonderful celebrations in the years to come. Today, for Father’s Day, I am honored to repost an article from evolequals.com, written by my friend Rob Watson, ‘a single gay Dad who cares’. Enjoy… Previously, Father’s... Read more
“Are you sure you’re a Christian? Because I don’t really think so–even though you say you are–and my ideas on your spiritually are more important than YOUR ideas on your spiritually…” Well, I think I’ve entered into some kind of Hall of Fame: I got my first, face-to-face, questioning of whether I know Christ. Yesterday, my close relative told me she is praying I will become a Christian in case I’m not. My mouth dropped. Perhaps you can relate. This girl has known... Read more
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” – Maya Angelou Once upon a time, on a dark and stormy night… okay, okay, I’m sure your story starts better than that. This is Rob, Susan’s husband, writing today. : ) We all grow up with stories. Family stories, hometown stories, books we read, books read to us. We hear stories at school, at family gatherings, on television and in the movies. Stories are everywhere! And we... Read more
The Texas GOP has added so-called “reparative therapy” to its new platform. How out-to-lunch, out of touch, or else plain-out hateful do you have to be to think this is a good idea? How selfish, obtuse, blind and cruel does one have to be? This country is not a giant family where “father knows best,” and can impose whatever standard he wants for his children, and hope they don’t take off in the middle of the night. This country is... Read more
Thursday I wrote about the Third Way re. the LGBTQ issue and was surprised by responses from two friends who know my heart and value my work. I knew I had written some profound truth in that post—no regrets there—but I also knew Liz and Michael had found cracks for people to treat LGBTQ people as a subclass. I did not want misinterpretation any more than they did. What happened? I wondered, as I searched for the disconnect between what I’d said... Read more
The Mother Wound. It’s the Mother of all wounds. It’s the absence of “mothering”—of tenderness, nurturance, connectedness — that I see in the traditional, patriarchal evangelical church. I’ve become keenly aware of this as I blog to the LGBTQ community of faith, because I’ve had to take a cold, hard look at the problems in the mainstream (evangelical) church. What I see is exclusiveness instead of a welcoming open-arms inclusiveness, homophobia instead of affirmation, and male-domination while obliterating the feminine.... Read more
The Third Way. Perhaps you’ve heard about it or seen the posts flying. The Third Way re. LGBTQ means to love without taking a position of “right or wrong” on being LGBTQ (or “acting” on it), but instead to suspend judgment and simply embrace.* Perhaps you saw this exquisitely thoughtful video by Pastor Danny Cortez, about Danny’s change-of-view on the LGBTQ issue. Perhaps you saw Danny’s son Drew Cortez’s heart-rending video. Perhaps you saw Albert Mohler’s critique stating there is no Third Way... Read more
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