There’s still a difference between accepting and affirming Last month, United Methodist Church delegates voted to repeal the denomination’s long-held exclusionary stance toward its LGBTQ+ members in church doctrine, polity, and social standing. The news was received with mixed feelings — cheers and tears. “We
Christian nationalism won’t ever show itself out, so we need to help it find the door LGBTQ+ people are far from alone in knowing the personal and collective impact of the seeping poison of Christian nationalism in our society, as it has steadily and significantly
Let’s talk about what Progressive Christianity is and how it’s reshaping U.S. churches A bunch of North Carolina congregations just left (disaffiliated from) the United Methodist Church, the second-largest Protestant denomination in the U.S. As a child sitting through fierce anti-gay sermons in the American
It is easy for the blinded oppressor, from an ivory tower of privilege, to look around at the burning world and declare, “everything happens for a reason.” It is easy for the white slack-tivists, who reap the reward of systemic oppression, to ponder quietly the
“I can not do this,” I thought to myself as I began my inaugural ascent out of the basement of The Bistro, the premier gay bar in Bloomington, Ill. My right hand traced up the railing, and my left hand clenched tightly around a nine-inch
When Aaron finishes making atonement for the Holy of Holies, the Tent of Meeting, and the Altar, he will bring up the live goat, lay both hands on the live goat’s head, and confess all the iniquities of the People of Israel, all their acts
The White House has an oft-overlooked religious ally for solving the country’s social problems through greatly expanded government programs, if a new survey of senior pastors in mainline Protestant churches is a good indication. Republican politicians and commentators have opposed President Obama’s economic stimulus initiatives
“The Church’s Unfinished Sexual Revolution” was the title of an article in the spring 2006 issue of Yale Divinity School’s Reflections magazine. In it longtime Christian ethicist James B. Nelson described some progress in church thinking about sexual ethics, but contended that the church’s agenda
A transgender United Methodist pastor has shared his story with other members of the denomination’s Baltimore-Washington Conference in the hopes of promoting a broader discussion about gender identity. The Rev. Drew Phoenix – formerly the Rev. Ann Gordon – spoke at both a closed clergy
What do a defrocked Methodist minister, a furniture maker and a former, self-described, homophobic, right-wing bigot have in common? A commitment to ending religious-based discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. Their weapon of choice? Advertising. “These ads are intended to start something –