Editor’s note: On Aug. 25, Baptist pastor Bob Browning testified before a joint committee hearing of the Kentucky Legislature, speaking in favor of a bipartisan bill in both chambers that would ban state-approved, licensed counselors from using so-called “conversion therapy”…
My quest to find the word ‘homosexual’ in the Bible
I was born and raised in a Southern Baptist church by two incredibly amazing parents who dearly love the Lord. It was a great experience. I remember Sunday school and Training Union, contributing to Lottie Moon and Annie Armstrong for…
How to win the war between keeping the peace and telling the truth
Sometimes the conflict between keeping the peace and truthfully stating what we believe is agonizing. In February 2006, I became semi-famous for writing an article in Christianity Today arguing that torture is morally wrong and that no American Christian should…
Couple helps parents of LGBTQ kids come out of the closet
Greg and Lynn McDonald are evangelical Christians who want parents to love their LGBTQ children — without exception and without condition. That’s all. They’ll talk theology with you, but they’d rather sit down for a study of the Gospels. They…
5 steps to becoming an ally to marginalized communities
In a time when our nation is experiencing a rebellion of oppression, many people of faith are wondering what we can do to become better allies to marginalized communities. It was only recently that LGBTQ people were finally awarded the…
Is the United Methodist separation still on?
Getting to the question of whether the biggest Methodist branch will divide requires a look at why separation poses such a monumental challenge for the 12-million-member worldwide denomination, with more than 7 million members in the United States.
Transforming a multi-issue culture requires us to be multi-issue people
Intersectionality helps us see that the problem is systemic. We live in a social system with institutions – including the church – built to ensure the maintenance of white supremacy and patriarchy. Our solutions, then, also have to be systemic.
Moderate ministers and churches: Want to kill Church in America? Just keep doing what you’re doing
There will either be Church to embrace our LGBTQ brothers and sisters As They Are – and to embrace them completely, unreservedly, joyfully – or they will find community elsewhere. It’s that simple.
Are LGBTQ people deserving of death? Christian writers must watch their rhetoric
Christian news media and their writers should know better than to use the Bible to justify their bigotry.