Why I Stay
Last week I saw a video (it's a few years old but new to me) called "Why I Stay ," from the perspective of a gay pastor on why she chooses to remain a Christian despite the church's treatment of LGBTQ people. On the second anniversary of my coming out, I decided to reflect on why I stay. The last two years have found me wrestling with what it means to be an out-and-proud bisexual man while remaining a Christian, and a theologically-trained Christian at that. There are those who find my existence a contradiction in terms, who believe it impossible to love and serve God without totally abnegating one’s queer identity. Incidentally, one of my favorite things about being a queer Christian is that all I must do to disprove the inane thesis that one can’t be both (queer and Christian) is to exist as myself. To love God and embrace my sexuality. My mere existence problematizes these rigid categories of who’s in and out. It’s kind of a trip. Still, I have dear friends who...