I got several messages from straight listeners encouraging me to post my Pride Month podcast episode more broadly, but the reason I’m going ahead with this blog post, which I’ll share on social media, is because of a message I received from a follower of Jesus who is LGBTQ and is committed to the traditional interpretation of Scripture that sex and marriage is to be between a man and a woman. This listener has sacrificed and surrendered their own sexual behavior so that their life lines up with Scripture (if only more straight Christians would have this type of faith and obedience), yet still has been rejected and dehumanized by Christians. Here is an excerpt from what they wrote me:
Ep. 80: Greg Coles returns! Can we love LGBTQ+ people & hold a traditional biblical view of sex and marriage?
Greg Coles is back and helps us navigate some tough questions, including is it really possible to love LGBTQ+ people in churches that hold to the traditional biblical view of sex and marriage being between a man and a woman?
Ep. 79: Single, Celibate, Gay Christian Greg Coles on sexual ethics in the Church
Gregory Coles shares about being a gay, celibate, single Christian. Noah and Greg dive deep into the church’s sexual ethic in a conversation that will stretch you and make you think, and hopefully open you up to a deeper understanding of how to love LGBTQ+ people.
The Flip Side Ep. 67: Jack Sytsema shares about being a gay / same sex attracted pastor in a mixed orientation marriage
Noah intros the topic of LGBTQ+ people and theology as a lead up to Pastor Jack Systema’s testimony sermon. This sermon is Noah’s top resource for helping understand a biblical view of sexuality and compassion for LGBTQ+ people.
Ep. 41: Interview with Wesley Hill on Covenant Friendships as a Biblical Path of Love for Celibate Gay Christians
After wrapping up the Flip Side Book Club’s reading of Spiritual Friendship, Noah interviews author Wes Hill on the book’s subject of providing a path of love for celibate gay Christians.
The unresolved tension that will never go away for gay / SSA Christians
What I love about Wesley is his ruthless honesty. He essentially spends all of chapter 5 making sure the reader understands he is not presenting a quick fix to the emotional ache that gay / SSA people feel. He wants to make sure gay / SSA Christians, as well as pastors looking for the magic bullet solution to all of this, understand that there is no magic bullet. He wants to make sure people understand if they walk down the path of kinship / covenantal friendship, they will meet pain and disappointment. This is not a good sales pitch! But it is real and it is honest. Us pastors hate this. We want a systematic theology that fixes everything. We want the right answer that grounds us in Scripture and that gives everyone warm fuzzies.