Dear Pastor Conflicted about LGBTQ+ Inclusion
By Bill White and Brenna Rubio
Dear Pastor Conflicted about LGBTQ+ Inclusion, we have been in your shoes. You’ve started to wonder whether the church – YOUR church – needs to become more inclusive, especially of LGBTQ people, and you feel conflicted. Your heart is torn, your mind is spinning.
Inspirations
Listen
Life on Side B
With Josh Proctor & Team
This podcast takes a traditional sexual ethic as its framework, exploring what flourishing looks like for LGBTQ+ Christians through the lens of chosen family, community, celibate partnerships, adoption, and more.
Why this podcast interests me:
I appreciate the lively interactions among the podcast’s multiple co-hosts and guests, all of whom engage with their faith and sexuality with joy and vulnerability. —Kristyn K.
Read
Asking for a Friend
By LOVEboldly
Do you have questions regarding faith and sexual orientation or gender identity, but avoid asking them for fear of saying the wrong thing, sounding insensitive, or coming across as unloving? Here’s your chance to ask away!
Why this q&a service interests me:
We all need safe spaces and people with whom to explore our questions, doubts, fears and hopes. LOVEboldly offers a beautiful service to the church by allowing you to ask questions anonymously; then they pair you with one of their thoughtful, trustworthy LGBTQ+ Christian panelists (some of whom are Oriented to Love alumni!).
Read
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.
Watch
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
Watch
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.
Read
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.
Watch
Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party
Directed by Stephen Cone
This feature film boldly tackles sexual orientation, infidelity, moralism, tribalism, community, family and more through the lens of a single day. (Read our review.)
Why this film interests me:
Director Stephen Cone does a remarkable job of getting under the skin of the American evangelical culture. —Kristyn K.
Read
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.
Listen
Queerology: A Podcast on Belief and Being
With Matthias Roberts
Queerology is a treasure trove of deep, searching interviews with the likes of Pádraig Ó Tuama, Jeff Chu, Nadia Bolz-Weber and other theologians, poets, thinkers, and change makers. This is a great place to access a variety of thoughtful progressive voices.
Why this podcast interests me:
Matthias Roberts is delightfully Krista Tippett-like in his desire to understand each interviewee and his ability to create a sense of intimacy and connection between himself, each guest, and his listeners. —Kristyn K.
Read
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.
Read
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.
Read
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.
Read
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.
