Category Archives: Transgender
Reparative therapy: Not the path to welcome
We often hear pastors express their conviction that they welcome all to their flock, and increasingly—in an attempt to love those they don’t completely understand, and to minister to real needs and questions—their churches are offering “reparative” or “conversion therapy” …
Black Churches Increasingly Nuanced Approaches
Black churches and black people continue to be portrayed as especially anti-gay, but we should remember that these organizations’ and individuals’ perspectives are not static. Black Christians are portrayed as an anti-gay bloc, but their views are not static. First, …
Gays are us
From the pen of Reverend Dr. Dennis W. Wiley, prior to the King Memorial Dedication As the nation prepares to celebrate the dedication of the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C., this weekend, I am reminded that …
Growing the economy of belonging
We frequently look at belonging, in society and in the body of Christ, as a limited and diminishing account – few are called and few will ever measure up enough to make the cut! What does Jesus have to say …
How inclusive hospitality can help your congregation grow
Congregations with inclusive attitudes and practices toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people make themselves much more attractive not only to LGBT people but to many others as well. Becoming a welcoming and accepting congregation can create an atmosphere …
So…Gay or not gay?
“Do you think Sam will grow up to be gay?”
I hear this question all the time, from family, friends, and strangers who learn about Sam’s proclivity for pink. It’s a question that reflects the asker’s assumption that boys who like pink must be gay.
Ethiopian eunuchs and reading the text from the margins
As a man of color, I always read the story of the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8 with an emphasis on Africa. My reading through Hispanic eyes unmasks insights about the text that most of my Eurocentric colleagues miss. Nevertheless, I can easily fall into a similar myopia if I solely read the text with heterosexual eyes.
While whites may gain insight from me when I read the text from my particular social location, I myself am in danger of missing all the gems to be mined from a passage if I refuse to learn how to read the text from other marginalized social locations.
What’s the role of straight people?
I’ve heard people say that the job of supportive straight people (heterosexuals) is to help gay and transgender people, that the work we do for equality is to benefit them. Similarly, I’ve heard supportive straight folks say that they feel uncertain how to act, because they’re not sure they have permission to speak.