As the nation is reeling from racial violence and crippling floods, a group of leaders decided it was a good time to draw some sharp lines around sexuality issues, making sexual orientation and gender identity a central tenet of the Christian faith. When I read the Nashville Statement, I immediately thought of all the precious people I’ve had the privilege and pleasure of meeting and coming to love through my Oriented to Love dialogue work. I knew how deeply yet another statement, complete with 14 articles, would cut, not just into their hearts but also into the hearts of those who love them. Regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or theological conviction, I know all too well the pain this statement will cause—even to those who agree with almost everything it says!
I’d like them to speak for themselves, so I’ve asked several Oriented to Love alums to comment on the statement. These are folks who, like the signers of the Nashville Statement, hold a traditional view of sexuality. These are people who live lives of faith and sacrifice and courage. And they are heartbroken about this latest call to draw hard lines around one of the most challenging and complex issues of being a human on this planet—how we navigate our brains and bodies and hearts, how we understand God’s good creation, how we serve, with our own flesh-wrapped spirits, a God who became flesh.
I urge you to listen to them, learn from them, pray for them—and the whole broken Body of Christ.
Why the Nashville Statement Is Dangerous, by Derek Kaser, a gay Christian
This Is No Time for Division, by Kimberly Dent, a parent of an adult gay child
Intersex and the Nashville Statement, by Lianne Simon, an intersex woman
The Nashville Statement: Lord, Have Mercy, by Brian Lugioyo, a theology professor
Kristyn Komarnicki is director of dialogue and convening at Christians for Social Action/The Sider Center. The creator of our Oriented to Love dialogues about sexual/gender diversity in the church, Kristyn facilitates these two-day, intimate retreats that help Christians of different sexual/gender orientations and theological convictions come together to get to know, understand, and love each other, unified by the love of Christ.
