Posts by Believe Out Loud
Learning To Live In Biblical Obedience
“Ah, how beautiful the feet of those on the mountain who declare the good news of victory, of peace and liberation.” Isaiah 52:7a These words rang true on March 21, 2015 when the Pacific Northwest Reconciling Ministries gathered at Bellevue First United Methodist Church for our annual gathering: Biblical Obedience: Learning, Engaging, Taking Action. We gathered to connect with…
Read MoreBlack Pastors Launch African Tour To Counteract Rick Warren’s Anti-Gay Movement
Spearheaded by The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries (TFAM), its founder and presiding Bishop Rev. Dr. Yvette Flunder and executive director, Bishop-Elect, Pastor Joseph Tolton, the organization’s international outreach ministry The Fellowship Global (TFG) has launched a month long tour of key African nations where LGBTI communities continue to experience extreme discrimination and persecution. These countries include:…
Read MoreThe Hope Of The Resurrection
On Easter Day, I spent some time reflecting on what this holiday is like for those who feel estranged from their church communities because they are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. For most of us who grew up in church, there was a time when the words “Happy Easter! He is risen” only ever brought…
Read MoreEaster Is About Seeing Those At The Margins
For many Christians, Easter is one of their high holy holidays. It’s their religious bedrock that not only anchors them in their faith, but it also shapes and governs them in their view of the world. I’m one of them. The author and Christian apologist C.S. Lewis eloquently captures it for me when he wrote…
Read MoreThe Queering of Jesus: How I Reclaimed My Faith
Today my mother has called me to ask what it is I plan on doing for Good Friday. She knows it has always been my favorite religious holiday of the year and is sure I have made plans. Hearing her voice, a ripe fruit bursting with all that good news and Baptist tabor, only makes…
Read MoreGay Jesus On The Cross Brings New Life To Christ’s Story
During Holy Week many LGBT Christians and their allies find inspiration in “The Passion of Christ: A Gay Vision,” a controversial series of paintings that are newly available as a book. The images show Jesus as a gay man of today in a modern city. He is persecuted, killed and rises again in the 24…
Read MoreLiving Christ’s Love: Would Jesus Turn People Away?
I am a Christian. I believe in Jesus. I believe in doing our best to follow God’s word and make it an active part of our lives. I also believe that every human being should be treated with dignity, respect and love—no if’s, and’s or but’s about it! I am heavily dismayed when I hear…
Read MoreLiberating Religious Liberty
When I went to work in West Hollywood in the mid-1990s, one of my new co-workers took me on a tour of the neighborhood at lunchtime. A long-time gay activist, he knew the local history well. He pointed out a building down the street and told me about the removal of a sign that read,…
Read MoreThat All Might Hear The Gospel And Live
Walking into my parish church August 13, 2014, I took notice of the sun streaming through the skylight in our church commons, gleaming on the water of the baptismal font. It was a bright and warm summer afternoon, typical for August in Indiana. On this afternoon, I had been summoned to a meeting with my…
Read MoreWhen Is “Enough” Enough?
Recently, some African American pastors who came to “heckle” me changed their minds and instead asked me what they could do to move the conversation about moral equality for LGBT people in the Black church forward. I appreciate their honesty regarding the difficulty of this justice shift and the courage of those who will embark…
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