Highlights from the Queer Epistle of Paul to the ex-queers and "side b" gay Christians

What follows is a queered reading of highlights from Galatians.  It is written as if by Paul, who is, in this queer reading, ex-antigay crusader.  It is written to those being seduced and persuaded by the "ex-gay" and "side b" (queer, but celibate because to act on it would be sinful) Christian communities.  It stands on its own, but might be read alongside Paul's Epistle to the Galatians to see the parallels.  It is also important to note that I believe the Spirit of Scripture is still speaking and moving in us today.  Because of that, scripture needs more than to be queered.  It needs to be retold from a womanist perspective, reclaimed as the book of oppressed people of color, told again as the narrative of immigrants and the poor.  My rendering will fail to do all of that, so I encourage you to edit, in the comments if you wish!

CHAPTER 1

Paul, an evangelist-not sent by some political organization or by human authorities in religion, but through Jesus Christ and God the Mother, who vindicated Christ and did not leave Christ dead-and all of the members of God's family who are with me, 

To Christians in the "ex-gay" and "side b" communities:

Grace to you and peace from God and from Jesus Christ, who gave himself over to this broken world to set us free from the present oppressive age, according to the will of our God and Mother, to whom be the glory for ever and ever. Amen.

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the queer-affirming grace of Christ and are turning to a different "gospel"-not that any of what they are telling you is good news of any sort, but there are some who are confusing you and want to pervert the good news of Christ.  

You have heard, no doubt, of my earlier life in anti-queer crusading. I was violently persecuting queer children of God and was trying to destroy their self-worth. I advanced in that movement beyond many among my people of the same age, for I was far more radical in my views of homosexuality and gender roles. But when God was pleased to reveal real Incarnate Love in Christ to me, so that I might proclaim it to the queer community, I did not need the approval of any "respected" church leaders, nor did I wait for churches and denominations to finish their long drawn out "holy conversations" about human sexuality, but I went away at once into gay bars and to pride parades and eventually returned to the churches to preach this.

Later I visited gay bars in some smaller cities, but the queer community in larger cities, all they knew of me was "The guy who was leading the anti-gay wing of a huge Christian organization is now out there promoting queer-affirming Christianity that he once tried to destroy."  And they knew God was up to something.

Chapter 2

Then, fourteen years later, I went to a major denominational meeting with Barnabas, and Titus came along.  I went up because I knew that's where God wanted me to go and speak.  Then I told them (though it was only in a private meeting with the appropriate committee leaders) the gospel message I had proclaimed to the queer community, because I wanted to know that I had not been doing all of this work just to have the church ignore it or table the discussion!  But there were still plenty of the ex-gay/anti-gay/"confront them in love"/"love the sinner hate the sin" people, who slipped in to try to find out how we were living in love and freedom in Christ Jesus, so that they could enslave us again in the church-we did not flinch in the face of this or back down, because we knew the truth of this message was too important for you!

It should have been quite clear that the same God who had called us to openly affirm women in ministry and emphatically denounce racism and sexism and all the other oppresive isms, had called me to preach this gospel to the queer community.  

But when Cephas came to San Fransisco, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly out of line; for until certain people came from the "love won out" group, he was happy to hang out with queer members and same-sex couples.  But after those people showed up, he started avoiding queer friends because he was afraid of what the "ex gay" and "gays should be celibate to be holy" crowd would say. And the other straight church members joined him in the hypocrisy. I said to Cephas in front of all of them, "If you, as a straight cisgender man and a Christian, live your life being comfortable with who you are, loving who you love and marrying and having sex and raising a family with your wife, how are you going to tell gays, lesbians, bisexual, transgender and queer believers that in order for them to be a good Christian they have to NOT do all of that?!"  

I used to be in one of those narrow "us four and no more" churches and it killed me, so that I could finally live in the expansive and inclusive community of God. The same oppressive religion that crucified Jesus, crucified me with Christ.  Anti-gay Paul is dead.  Now it is the inclusive Love of Christ that lives in me.  And the life I am living now is that kind of inclusive, expansive, affirming love that God gave me.  How could I ever go back to the way I was?  If God's love that included me cannot include my queer sisters and brothers, then Jesus' message and death is meaningless.

CHAPTER 3

You foolish Christians! Who has bewitched you? You have seen before your very eyes how that kind of religion killed Jesus!  The only thing I want to know is this: if God wants gay people to be straight so much, why does God keep calling and using queer people?  Starting with that understanding of the love and call of God, are you now going to end by trying to be straight or rejecting your feelings and identity?  Were all of those moments with God just an elaborate joke God was playing on you from birth?

Do you think God was not present until you decided to work really hard to be straight? Those who are relying on being straight-acting enough, masculine enough, feminine enough, are going to be disappointed; because those expectations are not even realistic to begin with.  So it is evident that no one is going to get right with God by being straight. 

Before we grew into living this life of Spirit writing on our hearts, words of ancient scriptures still hinted that this is what it was all really about.  And now that we understand the message Christ taught about God, the world, and ourselves, we are not subject to some ancient code that was just hinting at this reality.  Just like what God said at Jesus' baptism, YOU are all the beloved child of God in whom She is well-pleased. There is no straight or gay, there is no male or female, there is no "acting on it gay" or "being celibate gay"-for you are all one in Christ Jesus.  And if you are marked as beloved, then you are Sarah's children, heirs of the promise that God was going to bring life where everyone said it could not be birthed.

CHAPTER 4

Now I hear you are back to doing all the same stuff the church that kicked you out did.  I am afraid that all my work for this message will be wasted on you if you just go back to that small god with rules that make no sense.  Friends, I beg you, listen to what God is saying through me, because I have listened to what God is saying through you.  Am I now your enemy for still telling the truth?  Those anti-queer people tell you how great and brave you are so long as you are obedient to their myopic view of following Jesus, but they have an agenda; they want you to get their approval and blessing so they can feel important.  

Friends, we are not the heirs of a faith that was meant to make the circle smaller, but of one that was meant to draw it wider.

CHAPTER 5

You have been set free to live free.  Stand firm, then, and do not let someone make you a slave again.  Listen to me!  I, Paul, am telling you that if you let them convince you that you need to be heteronormative or celibate, do not think there will be liberation or freedom in that.  If you accept what they say about you as a queer, then you will have to believe what they say about everyone else and God and the Bible too.  In the process of trying to be someone other than who you are, you will cut yourself off from Christ who loves the true you.  The Spirit is working in you, telling you that you are worthy of all of the fullness of life that others enjoy.  For in Christ Jesus, neither sexual or asexual or straight or queer counts for anything; the only thing that will bring real whole-iness is the love of God working in the authentic you.

You were doing so well; who stole your self-worth from you?  That kind of persuasion does not come from the One who calls you.  And, for those who believe it is ok to be queer as long as you do not "act on it," you have become a thief too-a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough.  Those who are trying to confuse you about your worth as a queer person living out your queer life, will have to answer for the carnage they are leaving behind.

Listen, you are free to live your life now.  Do not waste this opportunity to use your freedom to liberate others.  All of the various verses of the Bible everyone wants to throw around all come together to say one thing: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."  But if you use your life-giving inclusion to turn around and find someone else to exclude, you will just end up abusing people the way you were abused.

If you are led by the Spirit, you do not have to try to live up to the expectations of a oppressive system.  The signs of that system are obvious: bigotry, white supremacy, misogyny, erasure, justifications, excuses, self-righteousness, inequality, repression, fear, closets and condemnation and the like.  I am warning you; if this dominant system is where you are building your house, you are not building in God's city.

By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, justice, equality, and upsetting the cisheteropatriarchy. These things are never wrong. If we are here because the Spirit brought us this far, then let the Spirit guide us all the way.

CHAPTER 6

My friends, if you see someone straying off the path of full inclusion and liberation, you who are led by the Spirit should guide that person back.  Be careful that you do not ignore your own privilege when you are doing it.  You will fulfill the law of Christ when you side with the marginalized and the poor and the excluded.

Those who receive the gospel of inclusion and liberation must work for the inclusion and liberation of all people.  God is not mocked, if it is not good news for everyone, then it is not good news.

Do not grow weary in talking about queer liberation and working for it, because it will make a difference if we do not give up.  Every chance we get, we ought to stand up for queer people, especially at church.

I am going to stop here and write by hand.  Listen, those people telling you that you are broken or sick or disobedient are just projecting.  They want you to be "exgay" or "side b" so they can show everyone how righteous they are, because they know they really aren't.  They want to parade you around as a proof that they are right.  I hope I never parade anyone around except for Jesus who died rather than to listen to the lies of religious leaders or the bigotry of society.  Being straight or queer does not mean a thing; but being authentic and WHOLE means everything.  And if that is what you are doing, gay-straight-trans-cis-bi-lesbian or anything else, you are the true representatives of what God wants for all people.

May the broad and expansive grace of Jesus Christ be with your spirit, my beloved family.

A New Wind is Blowing in East Texas

 

May 20, 2012 was not Pentecost Sunday.  May 27, 2012 was.  May 27 was also Memorial Day weekend and Woodland Christian Church in Longview, Texas likes our high holy days to be well attended.  So we just moved Pentecost up a week.  Because that’s how we roll.  We (basically) follow the lectionary and we sing the doxology but we are far from dyed-in-the-wool liturgical.  So moving Pentecost up works for us.

May 20, 2012 was also the day of a very important vote in the life of our church.  Not realizing it while scheduling everything in the month of May (do you have any idea how much stuff goes on just in May alone?!), Pentecost Sunday and the Sunday that we voted on whether or not to amend our constitution to become officially Open and Affirming fell on the same day. 

Without being dramatic with the suspense, I’ll simply tell you: the vote passed with more than the 2/3rds congregational vote required to amend the constitution.  The vote is historic.  We are the first church in East Texas to officially declare themselves to be Open and Affirming (there may be a very select few other congregations who might fit the bill, but the denominational requirements differ or do not require a congregational vote of this nature, perhaps).  We are the 5^th Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) church in Texas to declare O&A and the 20^th in the South Central Conference (comprised of several states, including Texas) of the United Churches of Christ to do so (we are part of the 25% of that conference who now declare ONA). 

The same day of our vote, historic First Presbyterian Church in downtown Longview voted by almost the same percentage as our vote to leave the Presbyterian Church, USA (PCUSA) in protest over the denomination allowing the ordination of non-celibate gay and lesbian clergy.  But that vote is just more of the same in East Texas.  Why it makes news is confusing since it’s just part of the stale, old wind that’s been blowing around for years (in East Texas and the church).  It’s part of the same tired arguments about taking a stand against the homosexual agenda or bowing to culture or holiness or purity or whatever other excuse we make to marginalize groups of people.  But there is a fresh Wind blowing.  The Holy Spirit is moving…even amid and among the tired, stale winds that threaten to calm the fierce movement of the Holy Spirit.  And the Holy Spirit, well, She’s never been known to back down or settle down.

Here’s what’s most surprising about that historic vote Sunday.  It didn’t feel historic.  Not for me (Maybe others will comment about how it felt for them).  It didn't feel life changing.  I heard no rushing mighty wind.  I saw no flames of fire flickering and dancing unexpectedly in the room.  I felt no breeze.  I heard no strange languages.  I honestly felt relief.  Relief that we can finally put this issue that is contentious in Christendom today exactly where it belongs—in the past.  Relief that we as a church can finally be honest and proud of who we are because individuals in our body had the courage to say “enough of this wrangling over words and statements…let’s be clear and let’s do this because these people we are talking about are our family!”  And we did.  

The Earth did not move.  There was no crowd outside stopping in their tracks asking “what meaneth this?”  Actually, some just clapped and then we went to lunch (or a board meeting)!  Just like every Sunday.  Because what we voted on wasn’t to fundamentally change anything about our church.  It was just to tell people who we are—who God has fit us together to be. 

But that lack of amazing fanfare doesn’t fool me at all…this was a work of God’s Spirit and it was mighty indeed.  The Wind blowing through our church on Sunday morning isn’t finished blowing.  People will take notice of this.  They may talk about it.  And even in churches and groups where people gather to criticize our church’s stance, there may be some gay or lesbian in the closet listening…some young questioning teen or some straight teen who just can’t get their head around why the church won’t fully include their gay friends.  And they’ll hear the message the Spirit of God was saying at Woodland Christian Church on Sunday: “Don’t remember the former things or think about the past.  I’m doing a new thing—it’s springing up now, can’t you see it?  I am making a road in the wilderness and streams in the desert to give drink to my people, the people I formed for myself so that they will declare my praise.   Hey! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters!  And you who are flat broke, come buy and eat the wine and the milk that are free…” (my paraphrase from Isa. 43 and Isa. 55)

Don’t be mistaken, justice isn’t always established by far reaching legislation and legal mandates. Sometimes it is established in meekness. Sometimes it doesn’t come at a great denominational meeting in a big city with lots of delegates speaking for lots of people…Sometimes it is established in a small corner of the world in a little church in East Texas.  Justice doesn’t always fix every problem, sometimes it raises our awareness of other problems and drives us to do something about them too!  Sometimes a few people in an upper room get a breath of Wind and are set on fire to leave those four walls and go change the world—one moment of justice, one act of mercy, one statement of grace at a time. 

Ms. Nancy, the "kitchen queen" at Woodland!  

I could not begin to say it any better than my dear friend, Ms.Nancy, the “kitchen queen” at our church, said it: 

 “We are starting a new chapter in the life of Woodland Church.  There should not be,nor should there ever have been any ‘us’ and ‘them.’  We are all children of God.  Let’s move forward as ‘we’ and ‘our church.’  After much prayer and personal soul searching,I am certain we took the right path.  Let us all work together to build ‘our’ church, and be open to being led by Him in whatever plan he has for our future. Welcome to all my precious friends…!!”

Amen!  And thanks be to God!