How does the Church reach the LGBT
community when the gap between us seems so wide? The culture roots for them to
be authentically themselves, the Church is confused at best as to what life
could be for them in Christ. And at worst, sections of the Church can be
completely uninterested in them being in Christ. I have thought for a while
that there are 2 camps with a large gap between them. Namely, the 2 camps are the
Community and the Church. The task of this outreach is to help the LGBTQ people
connect to God, but what does that really mean? Recently, I think I have seen
the firm landing of an individual from the community into Christ and it wasn’t
because of a recent conversion. We haven’t had one since David and Tim, the
latter is the one who recommitted his life but seems shaky in his connection to
Jesus still. I am starting to see more of the entire bridge and this is because
I just saw someone live honestly in the Christian community, in light of their
past and current needs.
Bob (a pseudonym) was once doing
the Who is Jesus? Study with me, but stopped after I challenged him to share with
one person he trusted at his current church. After I left him one day after our
time together, our entire relationship seemed to come to a screeching halt. To
understand the challenge faced by Bob, you have to understand the background
story behind is journey with church.
Years prior, Bob had attended a
church that completely embarrassed him and I believe, wronged him, in a very
public way. One day his pastor stood up to publicly discipline Bob for some deep
struggles in Bob’s life. While I don’t know the full extent of this, his
sharing dealt with a drug addiction and a homosexual life. Needless to say,
Bob’s relationship with this pastor and church eroded quickly. Since that time
he was burned while living an integrated life, he had been unable to share his
story in the new church where he had already been for 2 years. He was, in fact,
not only part of the church but he was running a ministry, taking in destitute
people he met on the streets, and a number of other radical things for God. He
was vibrantly (and is) in love with God and thankful for the forgiveness he had
received in the sacrifice of the Son. Yet, no one really knew him. He wasn’t
living an integrated life where people knew his story and loved him along his
journey.
It was only recently that I ran
into Bob on the streets in Hillcrest, he mentioned that he had finally shared
his story with his church and that he was going through great trials in his
life. He mentioned that he had been recently diagnosed with cancer and lost a
lot of weight after having surgery that hindered his ability to eat. He
confessed he left the church for a while, but when he came back he shared his
story with a trusted friend. After he shared, he told me that the pastors of
the church came around him and expressed their love for him. As I saw the
beauty of a reconciled community member, I knew more of what we were meant to
do here in Hillcrest and with the LGBTQ.
It is not easy and not all the way
clear, but we want people to have an authentic walk with Christ. That means to
really be a renewed and regenerated person, with a new connection to God. But
it still means, being a person. A person has a history and they have a present,
both of which are often not so pretty. People live an integrated life in
Christ, when in spite and in the midst of their humanity, they are surrendered
to Jesus and nestled deeply in a loving community of Believers. This is the
destiny for an LGBT person who accepts the call of Jesus.
