Posts Tagged ‘Faith and Identity’
A Gay Christian Athlete’s Letter To David Tyree
This week, David Tyree, who has publicly opposed same-sex marriage and promoted conversion therapy, was hired by the New York Giants as the director of player development. Dear Mr. Tyree, I remember that defining moment in Super bowl XLII. Your helmet catch was one of the most incredible NFL plays I’ve experienced in my 31…
Read MoreGay Games 2014: Sponsored By Cleveland’s United Church Of Christ
A generation of young Americans is rejecting Christianity because they widely perceive it to be anti-gay and, as such, “shallow,” “anti-intellectual,” “insincere,” and even “hypocritical.” That wasn’t the finding of some ultraliberal gay group, but rather the conclusion reached by conservative Christian pollsters, the Barna Group, who conducted a groundbreaking study in the mid-2000s and found…
Read MoreOperating Like Jesus: Discrimination Is Not A Christian Value
It’s no wonder that my LGBT friends have often questioned my sanity when I have talked about my Christian faith. They were even more surprised when I eventually decided to go to seminary. Why would I want to be part of a religion that has caused LGBT people so much pain, and that has contributed…
Read MoreFinding My Way Home: My Journey As A Trans* Christian
My greatest problem with being a Trans* person was coming to terms with my faith. I grew up in the Southern Baptist church. My earliest memories were of my church. It was always the center point of my existence. I didn’t think I was being traumatized by my church while I was growing up. I…
Read MoreWalking With God: Meeting My Hipster Pastor On The Streets Of Brooklyn
I went for a long walk recently. I woke up early, and I was all ready to be idle in front of the computer for hours when I heard a voice say, “Get out, it’s beautiful.” This winter was brutal, and I could’ve paid my rent for a few months if I had a dollar…
Read MoreThongs Galore: Taking On My First Pride Parade
When I woke up on the morning of Seattle Pride 2013, I was not ready for “Thongs Galore,” and that bothered me. In my mind, going to the annual Pride Parade was just an item on the list of things queer kids did. Also on the list were listening to Lady Gaga, loving Rent, and…
Read MoreRainbow Christ Prayer: LGBT Flag Reveals The Queer Christ
Colors of the rainbow flag reveal the many faces of the queer Christ in the following Rainbow Christ Prayer I wrote with gay theologian Patrick S. Cheng. Rainbow flags are flying around the world in June for LGBT Pride Month. Rainbows are also an important symbol in many religious traditions. The Rainbow Christ Prayer honors…
Read MoreWhen Our Daughter Came Out
Four years ago our daughter came out to us as bi. She was 20. My first thoughts were that we’d never be the same in the church. No kidding. My daughter is telling me something very intimate and scary, several thoughts are going through my head, and I am a little surprised to realize that…
Read More“Jesus Preaches In The Temple”
It took Douglas Blanchard’s painting “Jesus Preaches in the Temple” and Kittredge Cherry’s reflections on his series of 24 paintings of Jesus’ life, The Passion of Christ: A Gay Vision, to remind me that scripture says several times that Jesus taught in the temple in the midst of the Passion narrative. Of course, most of us remember that when Jesus…
Read MoreMy Roots: Reflections On Metropolitan Community Church’s PAD Conference
Whenever I think about my experiences over the years at the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) Conference for People of African Descent, Our Allies and Friends (PAD), I can’t help but think of the Tree of Life. Perhaps you’ve encountered this tree (pictured above) before and just didn’t know it. Remember Rafiki, the old and wise mandrill from The Lion King,…
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