A Continued Call to The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) to Reflect on LGBTQ+ Inclusion

Last updated on: January 13, 2020 at 5:06 pm by Brandan Robertson

A Continued Call to The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) to Reflect on LGBTQ+ Inclusion 2020-01-13T17:06:02-04:00 Brandan Robertson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Last week my colleague Richard McCullen and I posted a call to our denomination to reconsider how we posture ourselves on the topic of LGBTQ+ inclusion as a denomination. This public post emerged out of a sincere desire to cultivate conversation about how we could be truly inclusive of the vulnerable and marginalized in our midst. I have written extensively about the tangible psychological harm that is caused to LGBTQ+ individuals who find themselves in non-affirming enviornments- they are five times more likely to attempt suicide than those who are in inclusive environments.

Yet, our denomination continues to fund new churches that are not fully inclusive and clergy across the country are not trained in understanding sexuality and gender identity. Because up to this point we have valued unity over the dignity and true inclusion of LGBTQ+ people and we have treated the topic of LGBTQ+ inclusion as a mere theological disagreement rather than a matter of human rights and dignity, our denomination is culpable in the harm being done to LGBTQ+ people across North America. For any follower of Jesus, this should be a distressing realization, and should call us to deeply reflection and deep conversation on this topic.

Today, our General Minister and the Executive Director of the LGBTQ Alliance released statements (which I assume are a response to our post from last week) that reaffirm their personal commitment to LGBTQ+ inclusion, which I am deeply grateful for. However, these statements again treat this conversation as a matter of mere theological disagreement and dismiss those of us calling for deeper reflection on how we exist in relationship with each other as somehow not valuing Jesus’ call to love and unity, which I found deeply disappointing. Because tone and heart are often lost in writing, I have decided to release the following video where I describe the heart and intention behind last week’s post and my desire for continued conversation in The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) on how we engage on LGBTQ+ inclusion in the decade to come:

Breaking News

Current Events

About Rev. Brandan Robertson

Brandan Robertson is an author, activist, and minister working at the intersections of spirituality, sexuality, and social renewal. He is the lead pastor of Missiongathering Christian Church in San Diego, California and founder and director of Metanoia, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting inclusion in churches. Robertson is also the author of Nomad: A Spirituality For Traveling Light (2016) and True Inclusion: Creating Communities of Radical Embrace (2019). He received his Bachelor of Arts in Pastoral Ministry and Theology from Moody Bible Institute (2014) and his Masters of Theological Studies from Iliff School of Theology (2017). You can read more about the author here.

Previous Post

January 8, 2020

Tolerance Is Not A Progressive Value

Next Post

February 4, 2020 A House Divided Cannot Stand: A Lament

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Breaking News Contributor Post Current Events Devotional Devotional Ideas For A Better Tomorrow General Posts Guest Post Interview Missiology Nomad Rants Recalibrate Reflections Response Review The Other Side Theology Uncategorized

Select a Month May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 August 2017 July 2017 May 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 June 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

How many books are named after prophets in the Old Testament?

Select your answer to see how you score.

21 17 5 12