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An Open Letter to My Friends and Family in the LGBTQ+ Community

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What brought me here: To say this has been a long time coming would be an understatement of the year for me. It has been years in the making, one that has been fraught with struggles of identity, values, compassion, and truth. It's a letter that I've longed to share but only now have had the courage to. Many have walked this journey of discovery, wrestling, stretching, testing, and questioning. To those who have been a part of this expedition, I thank you for your grace and patience.  For those who know me, it would not be shocking to discover that I've struggled with a significant amount of cognitive dissonance over the last several years. My theological tradition has deep roots in the liberation movement. Our history started with a man (John Wesley) who became a voice against the oppression of the impoverished and advocated for his followers' work to alleviate that suffering. He focused his message of personal and social holiness, which caused him to coin a term that
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Not Every Narrow Road is the Way of Jesus

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I've noticed an interesting trend developing over the last 12-18 months. In Matthew 7, Jesus invites us to a "narrow way" in pursuit of the Kingdom of God. Spending time in the Gospels reminds us of how countercultural this way truly is. The picture Jesus paints of this Kingdom that rejects oppression and coercion while uplifting the meek and downtrodden. This Kingdom seeks reconciliation and forgiveness when circumstances might push us towards revenge. The way of Jesus is genuinely narrow because it flies in the face of what has become human nature. The way of Jesus is narrow, but not every narrow way is the way of Jesus. Just because a concept is countercultural doesn't make it right or good or holy.  A growing movement appears to have gained a foothold within the Church that assumes that all countercultural movements are Jesus' movements. This assumption is a massive misstep that not only adds division within the church but taints our public witness to the wo
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