Gays Can Be Christian Too

One of the most powerful verses in all the Bible is John 3:16:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. (World English Bible)

You see, God saw that we were lost and confused, hurting from so many ailments. He sent his Son that we may be reconciled to God. That we may be found and saved from the darkness that rules over our world. All we have to do is put our faith in Jesus Christ (the Greek word for believe means more than to believe with your mind, but rather to believe with our heart, soul, and entire being)!

The funny thing is, the churches that seem to love this verse the most are the ones that act like there is fine print attached to the whoever that states "unless you are a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender." However, this verse does not say that. Anyone who believes in Jesus Christ will be saved. That includes LGBT people as well. If we place our faith in Jesus Christ, we too are saved!

Gay-affirming theology is theology that accepts LGBT Christians and encourages them to be active in the life of the Church. Gay affirming theology doesn't tell LGBT Christians they must become straight, but rather celebrates the diversity they bring to the church.

Gay affirming theology can run the full spectrum from liberal Christianity to evangelical Christianity. When I lived in Dayton, Ohio, I attended an evangelical Pentecostal church that was predominantly gay. The only difference between this church and any other was that they accepted gays and embraced gay marriages (whether those marriages were legally recognized was irrelevant. They still had their marriage ceremonies which was recognized by their church and, in their belief, in the eyes of God). The church I attend now (an Episcopal church) is a little bit more liberal (but I wouldn't say overly so. Like much of the Episcopal Church, they are mostly moderate Christians), but is very welcoming to those within the LGBT community.

The biggest objection those Christians who are not gay-affirming have to the idea of LGBT Christians is that its against the Bible. They will cite half a dozen verses that seemingly condemn homosexuality. I have dealt with this in another forum post (see here). It is not these verses that are anti-gay, in my opinion, but these peoples' interpretation of these verses that are.

Yes, anyone can be a Christian. That includes LGBT Christians as well. If you are an LGBT person who has felt the Holy Spirit tugging you to become a Christian, then do so! Don't let the bigotry of others deprive you of the greatest blessing you will ever experience!

One Body? The Divide between the Gay and Straight Churches

There is one body, and one Spirit, even as you also were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in us all. (Ephesians 4:4-6 WEB)

The Church is meant to be one body. I don't think denominations are necessarily a contradiction to this either. Because denominations are beginning to work together to get things done. For example, here in Richmond several churches work together in a ministry that helps the poor. These churches, though from a wide difference of denominations, are acting as one body to fulfill Christ's ministry in the world, which is in part to help the poor (Luke 4:18-19). Having different churches serves God's purpose, I believe, by meeting the spiritual needs of different types of people.

So what is a violation of the one body principle of the New Testament? When Christians act like other Christians are not brothers and refuse to work with them to accomplish God's will. For example, the fundamentalist who claims that Catholicism is not a part of Christianity. Or the Roman Catholic that believes that the Roman Catholic church is the one true God and other Christians are not a part of the Church.

The divide that the Holy Spirit really placed on my heart this morning as I read the above passage was the divide between the straight church and the gay church. The straight church is the part of the body that is predominantly straight, and conversely, the gay church is the part of the body that is predominantly gay. Most in the straight church do not believe that gays can even be Christians. This is what brought about the founding of gay churches to begin with. And with the exodus of the gays from the straight churches, the straight churches have been allowed to believe the gay churches do not exist. And most of the time, the wall between the two segments of the body is never breached. Very rarely will they work together, worship together, eat together. There is too much baggage between the two.

There is a segment of the straight church that is welcoming and affirming of gay Christians. It is here where the healing of the divide between the straight and gay churches begin. My church (the Epsicopal church) has many congregations which do so.

By healing the division, I do not mean that the gay churches dissolve their ministries and join straight churches. No, I mean that these churches stay functioning, keep their ministries that reach out to the LGBT community while finding ways to work with other churches to accomplish Christ's mission in the world. And this burden doesn't rest solely upon the gay church. I would even argue that the burden is heavier on the straight churches that ran the gays out to begin with.

So how can we, as Christians which all belong to the same body, work to heal this divide? Other than praying that God shows us opportunities on how to do this, I am not sure. Any suggestions are welcome, of course. Feel free to put your suggestions in the comments below!

Have a good day, and may the glory of God the Father, and Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be with you, now and forever. Amen.