If I Hadn’t Been Shown Grace, I’d Be a Trans Woman Right Now
By Alan Lamb (name changed to protect privacy) If I never learned about pure, undistilled grace, I would have transitioned to a female and left the church. My journey toward accepting grace began when I graduated high school and stood on the cusp of transitioning. For years I had the desire to dress, act, […]
Clothed with Suffering
The following post was written by Laurie Krieg, a member of our Collaborative Team, and Founder and Executive Director of Hole in My Heart Ministries. Sometimes, when I am meeting with people, I hit what I call a “suffering sentence.” A suffering sentence is a brick wall of unavoidable pain I do not […]
Announcing A Pastor’s Resource!
Hey friends! One of the most frequent questions we receive from pastor’s is: How do we actually do this? That is, how do we move from ideas to implementation? That question drove us back to the drawing board to create A Pastor’s Resource. This multi-media resource helps equip pastors and leaders to create a culture of […]
Book Review: UnClobber by Colby Martin
Colby Martin is a pastor and church planter in San Diego, CA, and he has written an engaging book on “Rethinking Our Misuse of the Bible on Homosexuality.” The book is half memoir and half Bible study, and it’s written in a light hearted and lively prose that makes the book very easy to read. […]
What Do We Actually Know about Sexual Orientation? Part 1
The short answer is: a lot less than we think we do. I often hear people use terms like gay, straight, or bisexual as if these categories are neatly defined. Or I’ll hear people say things like, since some people are born gay, then it’s wrong to say they shouldn’t be who they are. […]
A Celibate Lesbian’s Cold Hard Look at Sexual Immorality in the Church
By Bridget Eileen What I’m saying in this post regarding sexual desire is pretty simple, but it’s difficult for people to swallow. I’m saying that sexual fulfillment does not come through a sexual relationship but instead through sublimation to Christ. It’s astonishing to me that this needs to be said, but it does. Christians will accept the […]
What Pronouns Should Christians Use For Transgender People?
Gregory Coles is on the Collaborative Team for The Center. His academic research on rhetorics of marginality (how language works in society for disadvantaged groups) has appeared in or is forthcoming from College English, Rhetorica, and Cambridge University Press. You can read his whole bio by clicking here. As Christians, what pronouns should we use when we […]
How should Christians Respond to Sex Reassignment Surgery and Hormone Therapy?
Dr. Mark Yarhouse and Julia Sadusky are on the Collaborative Team for The Center. Learn more about each of our team members by clicking here. How should Christians respond to sex reassignment surgery and hormone therapy? There is no shortage of people weighing in on this question. Far too often, however, the answers we give […]
The High Cost of Low-Cost Weddings
*The following blog is written by Dr. Branson Parler. Branson is an ordained pastor in the Reformed Church of America and a professor of Theological Studies at Kuyper College in Grand Rapids, MI. In my previous blog post, I posed the question: how does our practice of weddings help or hinder a focus on the biblical meaning […]
Guidance for Churches on Membership, Baptism, Communion, Leadership, and Service for Gay and Lesbian People
Joshua Ryan Butler is on the Collaborative Team for The Center and serves as Pastor of Local and Global Outreach at Imago Dei Community in Portland, OR. You can read his whole bio by clicking here. Can I Belong? There is perhaps no question more central to the human heart than this: Can I […]