Today’s my girls’ birthday, my lovely youngest daughter. She moves to LA tomorrow. Onward toward her music career. How the years fly and in the end, and when those kids soar off to their own adventures, we are left to wave and wish them joy and peace and life. What do you wish you had done differently as a parent? What do you wish your parents had done differently? Love. That is what a wise older woman told me she… Read more
Are we so terrified of an angry God that we choose to err of the side of judging a person instead of loving them? Unfortunately, the answer is “yes” for much of the church. And it is destroying the lives of people and entire families – many of whom we call brothers and sisters in Christ. What if it is wrong to condemn same-sex relationships? What if it is wrong to affirm same-sex relationships? “What if you’re wrong?” It is… Read more
What would Jesus do on Easter Sunday? As I stood under the bridge in downtown Austin, a man balancing his hamburger, chips, and a drink walked straight to me. “Will you hold my cigarette?” For a nanosecond I processed the request, then I carefully took his lighted cigarette which freed him to reshuffle his food and drink. Jen Hatmaker, next to me, kindly guided him to a place at the table where others were eating. I followed. After a little… Read more
I am sorry if the title of this post shocks you, or strikes you as harsh or over-dramatic. But honestly, parents don’t realize what they’re asking of their LGBTQ+ kids. And they don’t realize what their rejection is doing to them. This is not some debate about inclusion. This is a matter of life and death. By making children stick to their own expectations and standards for them — whether they really think the lie that their gay child is… Read more
“Prejudices are breaking down. Walls are breaking down. Pastors are rethinking their entrenched positions. Parents are choosing their child over learned doctrine that doesn’t reconcile with their lived experience or with the heart of God.” I wanted to share this, from a Mom who is part of my private Facebook support group for Moms of LGBTQI children. I’m pretty sure there are a lot of moms — and dads — who feel the same way. Being only two years into… Read more
“You want to shove those words back in and put the lid on. But you can’t. Your child is gay. This goes against everything you’ve been taught. It was not what you had in mind, and you instantly wonder where you went wrong.” When you become a parent, you know to expect the unexpected. But for many Christian parents, nothing can prepare them to hear that their beloved child is gay. This is the child you have cradled, spoon fed… Read more
With all this conversation about who we pee next to, I wondered if you could tell who was actually a transgender woman. Can you spot her? Can you tell? Do you care? Unfortunately, many seem to care, and have responded with fear-mongering and vicious lies, trying to make this about the safety of our children. Honestly, they should be ashamed of themselves. Anyone who takes an authentic look at this knows there is no connection whatever between transgender people and… Read more
What do you when the bully in a school is the teacher? What impact does it have on a child’s life when those he thought were there to protect him, turn out to be the biggest threat? J.D.’s mom, Shawna DiCintio, recalls J.D. as a happy, carefree kid, an up-and-coming advocate for youth, a leader determined to bring acceptance and awareness to LGBTQI youth. She was a competitive cheerleader who trained 12 hours a week and dreamed of going to… Read more
She was so upset. Almost to the point of tears. And nearly an hour later, you could still see the shame on her face. But why? Her voice. Her beauty. Her charm. She plays to sold-out stadiums. She delights her fans and moves people to tears. I am simply mesmerized as I watch her—including her outstanding performance last week on the Grammys. But as she started the tribute to the late George Michael, something was wrong, it wasn’t quite on,… Read more
One of the biggest lies perpetrated throughout Christendom is that God is primarily interested in our obedience. Not true. Patently false. To say our first responsibility to God is to obey is a big fat lie and distortion of the relationship God wants with us. God’s paramount interest in us is a relationship. Didn’t Jesus say simply, “Follow me!”? How quickly we complicate things by adding cherry-picked list of right and wrong behavior and focus our attention on that. By… Read more
