Palestinian Child Detention: A Lenten Christian Reflection
By Rubin McClain
Last year, at the beginning of Lent 2025, I joined a group of students, scholars, and activists on a Sabeel trip to the “Holy Land.” While I was reflecting on what exactly is “holy” in a moment in which the region is filled with strife and conflict, the arid landscape echoed back to me as a forceful impression of my dreary thoughts.
Inspirations
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Christlike Acceptance Across Deep Difference
Featuring Karen R. Keen, Ronald W. Pierce and 16 other contributors
This book (Baker Academic, 2025) invites us exhale collectively and to reconsider how we approach the topics of sexuality and gender—as well as how we treat our siblings in Christ, regardless of who they identify. It is the result of the editors identifying “a significant need, even hunger, within the church for resources beyond tired divisions.” Together they seek to broaden the conversation, improve the questions we ask, and look for what “both traditionalists and reformists can affirm with a hearty ‘Amen.'”
Why this book interests me:
Its subtitle—”Constructive Conversations on Sexuality & Gender”—hints at why this could be the quintessential Oriented to Love textbook! From the editors’ modeling friendship across theological difference to the call for loving dialogue from diverse Christians (including a handful of OTL alums—Tim Otto, Eve Tushnet), this book invites Jesus followers to consider the gifts inherent in our disagreements. — Kristyn K
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Many Voices
Featuring Rev. Cedric A. Harmon
Black LGBTQ+ people are too often case studies in discrimination, shame, hardship, insecurity and isolation. Many Voices envisions a Black church and community that embrace the diversity of the human family and ensures that all are treated with love, compassion, and justice.
Why this website interests me:
By giving voice to the stories and experiences of our beautiful Black LGBTQ+ siblings, this ministry gives the Body of Christ both the chance to learn from those parts that have traditionally “lacked honor,” and the chance to practice being a body whose “parts have equal concern for each other” (1 Corinthians 12: 24-25). —Kristyn K.
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Moonlight
Directed by Barry Jenkins
This gorgeously shot film looks with a sensitive and unapologetic eye at the intersecting oppressions of race and sexuality while presenting a whole, complex, stunning human story. (Read our staff review.)
Why this film interests me:
Story, especially when crafted as a work of fine art, conveys truth better than any other form of communication. This is powerful storytelling at its best.
— Kristyn K
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TED Talk: Elizabeth Lesser, Take “the Other” to Lunch
With Elizabeth Lesser
Tired of all the division and ideological bubbles? Do something about it: Try this simple, effective and radical idea.
Why this talk interests me:
Lesser explains how far a little courage and some genuine curiosity will go in breaking down barriers.
—Kristyn K.
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Meditations of a Traveling Nun
Written by Bridget Eileen Rivera
Bridget Eileen Rivera writes from the perspective of a traditional sexual ethic and has something to offer everyone as she examines sexuality and gender in the light of Christ’s good news.
Why this blog interests me:
Rivera is a winsome and incisive writer whose love for the Gospel infuses her advocacy for LGBTQ people in the church. I’m always challenged and encouraged by her intellect, nuance, and vulnerability. —Kristyn K.
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Geeky Justin
By Justin Lee
Justin Lee is smart, passionate, funny—and devoted to dialoguing across difference, because he wants the church to be a place for every queer Christian, regardless of what they understand to be a faithful expression of sexuality.
Why this blog interests me:
Lee founded the Gay Christian Network to offer a safe and engaging space for LGBTQ Christians. Our work is possible largely because of how he so faithfully shaped this conversation over the last two decades. —Kristyn K.
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Discerning Ethics: Diverse Christian Responses to Divisive Moral Issues
By multiple authors (Hak Joon Lee and Tim Dearborn, eds.)
Sexual orientation and gender identity are just two of the 16 topics discussed in this helpful book shaped by pastoral concern for the church, her witness, and all God’s children. The framework, in which each author outlines and critiques three different responses to each issue and then comments from her or his own perspective, is an excellent primer for any Christian who wants to understand—and dialogue with—different viewpoints.
Why this book interests me:
With so much noise out there, I find it restful and reassuring to visit the pages of this book, where divisive issues are discussed calmly, compassionately, from various angles, genuinely seeking to understand what each has to offer and how each can benefit from the others. —Kristyn K.
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Sex Difference in Christian Theology: Male, Female, and Intersex in the Image of God
By Megan K. DeFranza
Many Christians, entrenched in culture wars over sexual ethics, either ignore the existence of intersex persons or avoid the inherent challenge they bring to the assumption that everybody is born after the pattern of either Adam or Eve. DeFranza argues, from a conservative theological standpoint, that all people are made in the image of God — male, female, and intersex — and that we must listen to and learn from the voices of the intersexed among us. (Read our review.)
Why this book interests me:
Binaries can feel so nice, neat and reassuring, but this theologian invites us into the messier-than-expected world of gender. Although her book leaves us with more questions than answers, inquiring minds will thank her. —Kristyn K.
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Single Gay Christian: A Personal Journey of Faith and Sexual Identity
By Greg Coles
As a gay man committed to celibacy, Coles provides insights and guidance to those within the traditional church. This is a helpful resource for pastors and other community leaders. (Read an excerpt.)
Why this book interests me:
Coles resists stereotypes simply by being himself—his quirky, honest, joyful, struggling, brilliant self. Listen up, church.
—Kristyn K.
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A Space at the Table: Conversations Between an Evangelical Theologian and His Gay Son
By Drew Harper and Brad Harper
This unflinching and intimate book captures the voices, the struggles, and the relational ground lost/gained of a straight father and his gay son who hold different views on sexuality. (Read an excerpt.)
Why this book interests me:
The power of this book lies not just in the intimacy of the first-person stories but also in the authors’ willingness to be vulnerable with both each other and the reader. —Kristyn K.
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Us vs Us: The Untold Story of Religion and the LGBT Community
By Andrew Marin
The result of research conducted with over 1700 queer folks, this book explores the complicated relationship that LGBT Christians have with the church. Marin’s findings reveal that while many leave the building, many more cling to Christ, and he invites the church to consider how it might become a place of belonging for all. (Read an excerpt.)
Why this book interests me:
Marin does an impressive job of quantifying social and spiritual phenomena, while framing his careful research in a highly readable presentation.
—Kristyn K.
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Oriented to Faith: Transforming the Conflict over Gay Relationships
By Tim Otto
Otto “approaches the conflict over gay relationships from a kingdom perspective and politic, with a deep commitment to ecclesial life, undertaking careful theological examinations of such concepts as family, economy, sexuality, power, politics, and church.” (Read our review.)
Why this book interests me:
Rather than tell you where to land, this book embraces theological tensions and urges us to pursue flourishing for our gay siblings in Christ—no matter where our convictions lead us. As such, it’s a call to healthy community and a loving church. —Kristyn K.
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Two Views on Homosexuality, the Bible and the Church
By William Loader, Megan K. DeFranza, Wesley Hill, Stephen R. Holmes (Preston Sprinkle, ed.)
Featuring two “affirming” voices and two “traditional” voices, this book is a great place to start for anyone seeking a charitable understanding of—and engagement with—competing theological views. Each author states his or her position, followed by a response from the three other authors.
Why this book interests me:
This book models respectful, humble, open-hearted dialogue among Christian academics who disagree, and as such offers us a gift that goes far beyond information—it’s an invitation to spiritual formation. —Kristyn K.