Three Conversations About the LGBTQ Condemnation & Affirmation within the Church

I've been having one of those 24 hours. It started with some comments from another article on this blog. Keep in mind, that I appreciate it when people comment. Even the comments that I am writing about tonight. A pastor responded to a post about two fleeting images of same-sex parents within the moving "Storks." He intimated that my denomination, the United Church of Christ, believes that the Bible is just a bunch of stories. He then suggested that I have doubts about my own salvation and offered to pray with me. I told him that I don't think that he truly understands the UCC or those who worship within it. I also pointed out that it's not really cool that he's attempting to proselytize me like I'm not a Christian. He then reasserted that the UCC no longer preaches the Gospel and that he was just trying to assess my Christian faith like they did back in Jesus' day. He also noted that those being tested back in Jesus' day got upset also. I told the commenter that I don't really have time for religious gaslighting and that it was time to move on.

This was followed by a series of Facebook conversations between me, a friend, and a couple of her friends about a local evangelical church that purchased a strip mall for $3.5 million with plans to expand their worship community. My friend used to worship at this church until she heard a portion of a sermon about Sodom & Gomorrah that was used to confirm anti-gay bias. She reportedly left the church and never came back. She wanted to know from her friends who still attend worship there if they still preach that gay people are going to Hell. The friends denied that this is the case. One friend said that the pastor told her outright that they don't want to create unnecessary division within the church. So they don't talk about elections, abortion, or LGBTQ non-acceptance.

I noted that the default position of most churches is that they are anti-gay. That's not an indictment on most churches. It's just reality. There is a much smaller number of Christian churches that are fully affirming and I'm all about seeking out those churches and putting my time, money, and energy into those churches, especially as I'm an out gay married dad. I asked my friend's friend if this particular church allowed same-sex couples to marry? Or if we're allowed to volunteer or serve in ministry roles? I haven't yet heard the answer to those questions. Frankly, it doesn't matter to me. If/when my own church closes its doors, I won't be worshiping at this particular church. I have other local church communities in mind.

A few hours later, I stumbled across this street preacher video and was reinforced with the notion that most Christians really don't like LGBTQ people. These guys decided to wander through a Target preaching against Target's "pro pervert bathroom policy." Among the assertions screamed at Target's customers included "God said that homosexuality is an abomination to God. If you identify as an abomination of God, God truly will destroy you... God does not honor homosexuals." And that continues for about three minutes as one of Target's manager's tries to corral the men out of the store.

You can watch the entire video here.

It just seemed like full circle discussion on the same theme to me.