Amber Wylde grew up in a tight-knit family that strictly followed the “tough love” teachings of James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, the $133 million conservative Christian nonprofit where Amber’s father is a broadcast executive. “Amber, friends will…
The cause of a scene: Why gay Christians are afraid to come out to their pastors
In his song “Cause of a Scene,” Jake Wesley Rogers laments the struggle between wanting to come out to his community and fearing the social consequences of being publicly gay. He sings: “I wish I could be like a baby…
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…
When a child comes out, every family’s journey is different, professor says
Healthy parental responses to a child coming out as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender cannot be reduced to a one-size-fits-all formula, said one of the nation’s leading Christian counselors and scholars focused on sexual identity. “There is no one family…
How do you change a society?
The gospel calls for social justice, not just individual, personal salvation. Societal justice. Although it’s not the same thing, social justice is not unrelated to the call for “liberty and justice for all.” It is too commonplace in our superficially…
Raised a Baptist, Lance Bass feared who he was couldn’t be in sync with his faith
Talk to any adult who grew up in the 1990s and ask them to name the No. 1 boy band in the country at the time, and you’ll likely hear the name NSYNC. What most of those fans didn’t know…