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Two nights ago I got this email: Greetings John, My name is [X], and I am/was a Pastor of [Super Cool-Sounding Job Title] at a church here in [Big American City]. My wife and I have both been very grateful for your blog, and it has spoken to us many times. Thank you for the…
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“Our pastor is gay! Our pastor is gay! How can we possibly continue being Christians now?!” Okay, fine: I don’t actually know what the two people said to their fellow parishioners at Bethany Presbyterian when, in the spring of 1990, they decided to out their head pastor, Scott Anderson. But they did out Mr. Anderson,…
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I’ve always appreciated Dan Savage’s brutal honesty, and to-the-point bluntness. Just look at Rick Santorum. Back in 2003, the former U.S. Senator compared gay sex to pedophilia and bestiality, and in retaliation, Savage, a Seattle based sex columnist and founder of the “It Gets Better” project, has led an almost decade-long Google bombing campaign, forcing…
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I was talking to a man recently who has been coming to our church after a small group discussion we had about faith and sexual orientation. His perspective really bothered me at the time, but I wasn’t sure why. The guy is a lot like me in many ways — white, in his thirties, middle…
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In my 30 years as any advocate for God’s love for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, I’ve had countless conversations with those who think differently from me about God, Scripture and the place of the LGBT faithful in the church. Throughout these years, I’ve heard, read and have been asked many of the…
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After the book God’s Politics became a best-seller in 2004, the accompanying website launched two years later became the “go to” place for conversations that tried to broaden the definition of what it meant to be a follower of Christ. When I published my first book in 2006, I welcomed the opportunity to blog for…
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In August, fundamentalist preacher Dr. Michael Brown organized a regimen of red shirted Bible-thumpers to infiltrate Charlotte’s gay pride event. Hundreds of zealots confronted and harassed festival attendees with their arrogant slogan “God Has A Better Way.” The hatred and religious bigotry was appalling, but not surprising. What truly bothers me, however, was the lack…
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Here we go again. Last week, the North Carolina state legislature passed a proposed anti-LGBT constitutional amendment that would ban any legal relationship recognition for same-sex couples. The amendment now proceeds to the ballot for a statewide vote during the May 2012 primary. This time, we’re ready. Believe Out Loud, along with partner organizations within…
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It is inevitable that Christians who would now be described as “liberal” will be the overwhelming majority of Christians in America. That sea change, the waters of which we already feel swelling everywhere around us, can no sooner be stopped than can the moon passing across the night sky. Today’s conservative evangelical Christians who are…
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Letter of the week: Hi John! I stumbled across your site about two weeks ago, and have just been absolutely floored as I’ve gone back and read post after post. I’ve been so blessed through your writings and the comments that people have left. As a mid-twenties gay Christian in a small-town, conservative evangelical community,…
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