Posts Tagged ‘Faith and Identity’
This #GivingTuesday: Donate To Support Our Life-Changing Work
Each week Believe Out Loud receives countless messages of support from our online community telling us how our work has impacted their lives. The messages are both touching and humbling. Here are just a few messages we’ve received on Facebook in the past four months alone. “Hey I just wanna say I love your page.…
Read More10 Transgender Christians Share Their Journey Stories
Today is the final day of Transgender Awareness Week, which culminated yesterday with vigils around the world for Transgender Day of Remembrance. As an ally to the transgender community, I recommitted myself yesterday to ensure that our conversations about equality always include members of the transgender community. For me, part of this means finding ways…
Read MoreGod Is Bigger Than Everything: Reflections On The Reformation Project
Growing up the thing that fascinated me the most about God was his size. My mother would tell me that God is bigger than everything. She would also tell me that God is everything, which I always questioned because wouldn’t that mean God would even be bigger than himself at times? Yet, my mother never…
Read MoreBelieve Out Loud Hosts Level Ground Film Festival In New York City
“A drag queen, a lesbian rocker and a Catholic nun walk into a church…” This might sound like the opening line of a joke, but on November 14, 15 and 16—that’s exactly what’s happening in New York City as Believe Out Loud joins Level Ground Film Festival to bring the Road Show to New York…
Read MoreGay Passion Of Christ Revealed In New Art Book
Image Detail: “Jesus Goes to His Execution” by Doug Blanchard My long journey with the queer Christ reached a milestone this month with the publication of my new book The Passion of Christ: A Gay Vision. The book features paintings of Jesus as a gay man of today in a modern city by New York artist Douglas…
Read MoreGroundbreaking LGBT Christian Journal Now Available Online
The year was 1985. I had graduated college the year before and had just started to come out as a gay man. The son of a Lutheran pastor, the church had made up a big part of my world. However, because of the growing awareness of my own sexual orientation, those years growing up were…
Read MoreHow This Baptist Believes Out Loud
Over the past year, I have had the privilege of spending time with leaders from the American Baptist Churches USA and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. It has been a deep blessing to grow and strengthen relationships with my sisters and brothers in Christ toward the day when all people who claim the Baptist way will…
Read MoreAriana Grande Is (Another) Wake Up Call For Faith Leaders
Dear religious leaders: When you tell people that God doesn’t love them as they are, they believe you. And then they act accordingly. Namely, leaving your faith community. In an interview with The Telegraph, pop superstar Ariana Grande shared that she left the Roman Catholic Church after her gay brother shared with her that God didn’t love…
Read MoreThe Struggle Of Rebirth: A Catholic Coming Out
In reflecting over my ongoing sojourn with faith and sexuality, I realize that who I am and the area I seek to evolve is one that both disturbs and is disturbed, changes and is changed. As I look back at my life in an effort to re-remember my re-membering as I wrestle with church teaching,…
Read MoreTransgender Faith Tour Extends Reach Beyond Kansas
Four months ago, I decided to begin what I called the Transgender Summer of Faith Tour. My hope was to speak at as many institutions of faith in and around the state of Kansas over the course of the summer. By all accounts, it has been quite successful. I have been blessed with the opportunity to present…
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