Are you alive? My phone began blowing up with texts, emails and messages early Sunday morning. Are you safe? This is not the first time I’ve experienced this. Are your people safe? My body remembers; we’ve been here before. Sunday…
When being a ‘blessing’ comes with some baggage
This is the fourth in a November series produced by BNG on what it means to be “blessed,” a word so flippantly used that it often loses meaning. For those of us who grew up evangelical, the term “blessing” comes…
It’s time to stop using the Bible as a sacred weapon to oppress LGBTQ people
For the last 76 years, evangelicals have been using the Bible as a sacred weapon to oppress LGBTQ people. While many people are under the impression that the word “homosexuality” has “always been in the Bible,” the reality is that…
Dear closeted queer one, Pride is for you
Dear Closeted Queer One: Yes, Pride is for you. I know you look on from a distance — perhaps through the stained-glass of your church window, or from the table of your un-affirming family, or the office where you could…
Meet the Mama Bears, who give away hugs and hope
A new documentary titled Mama Bears directed by Daresha Kyi has started sweeping the nation. Premiering at film festivals from coast to coast (and winning many awards along the way) this 90-minute film features three stories that encapsulate the heart…
Can God be found outside Christianity?
A few weeks ago, I attended my very first “energy workshop.” It’s taken years of deconstruction and healing from religious trauma for me to open up and allow myself to explore the energy work of more Buddhist traditions. My former…
‘Pray Away’ and the harms of the conversion therapy movement
This week, “Pray Away” — a documentary detailing the history and harms of conversion therapy — released on Netflix. It chronicles the rise and fall of Exodus International, whose primary mission was to make people “struggling with” homosexuality straight. During…
Honoring vaccination status is the next step for social justice
It has been a long 16 months, and I think we can all agree we’d like to move on with our lives. This past year has challenged not only our health and safety, but also our jobs, our finances, our…
God says it: You are good enough
I currently lead a national book club of approximately 60 LGBTQ people, parents, pastors and allies — all of whom are in various stages of deconstruction. We seek to cultivate safe community with one another in a private space so…