Coming Out Christian

Unless you've been under a rock lately, you've probably heard at least a little bit of the buzz going around about Jay Bakker. As a renegade pastor of a progressive Brooklyn church, he recently authored a book entitled "Fall To Grace". He has been the topic of much scrutiny in the evangelical world, due to his open acceptance of the LGBT community.

We need more people like Jay! Please pray for him as he helps us fight in the civil rights movement of our time!

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Above all else, know one thing: coming out is a journey. No one can tell you when the right time is to tell those who are closest to you. Having just come out to my family, this is a topic that is near and dear to me right now. I happened upon a fantastic and humorous personal essay today, and thought it appropriate to share. Thank you, Jana, for sharing your experience and your heart!

Click here to read the article.

Here is the 2nd installment of the two articles I stumbled upon today. These were written in 2005 by Dr. Teresa Whitehurst, a Christian clinical psychologist. Although they are a few years old, they still ring true today. It is my hope that these will simply bring about some reflection and contemplation to those who read them. Remember it is never an erroneous thing to re-evaluate. You may ultimately reach the same conclusion you've held in your heart for years... yet you may reach an unexpected, fresh closure. It's up to the individual. And really, I think that's the whole point here.

Click here to read the article.

I'd like to share the 1st installment of two different articles I stumbled upon today. These were written in 2005 by Dr. Teresa Whitehurst, a Christian clinical psychologist. Although they are a few years old, they still ring true today. It is my hope that these will bring about some reflection and contemplation to those of us who read them. Remember it is never an erroneous thing to re-evaluate. You may ultimately reach the same conclusion you've held in your heart for years... yet you may reach an unexpected, fresh closure. It's up to the individual. And really, I think that's the whole point here.

Click here to read article.

My first memory of knowing I was different in "that way", happened around the age of 9. My parents had friends over for dinner. They also brought their daughter, Stephanie, who was a year younger than me. I had a playhouse that my parents had allowed me to set up in our living room. I loved that thing... it allowed me all of the privacy I craved, yet, I was within earshot of anything that was happening. I never wanted to miss any of the action.

I have always been more of a follower than a leader. Even though I was an only child, I was completely at ease letting others decide what we should play. If there was ever anything I didn't want to do, I'd speak up. But for the most part, I enjoyed just going along with things.

This particular evening, Stephanie and I decided to play house while our parents began a game of cards in the next room. She immediately suggested that I be the "husband" while she played the part of the wife. I had no problem with this. She began to cook us a pretend dinner, all the while asking me what I'd like to do. My response probably mirrored my own father's gentle response these things in our own household. "Oh, honey... whatever you'd like to do is fine with me." I remember we had a delicious dinner in that little cardboard house. Then Stephanie crawled over to me, tucked her legs underneath herself, and lay her head on my shoulder. I didn't really know Stephanie all that well. And up until now, I'd never really been much into cuddling. That all changed at that moment. There was something exciting racing through my body that I had never recognized before. She gently rubbed my back... because, as she said, I'd "had a long day at work". Her touch was very soft. Although not sexual in nature, my body was responding in small ways. The hair on the back of my neck was standing on end. My attentiveness to her became an infatuation, in a way, at that moment. I remember thinking that mom and dad would probably think it was strange that we were playing husband and wife.

It was then that I decided I should keep this to myself.