Resource List - Week 4
Proximity Changes Perspective
For the month of June I am highlighting queer friends who grew up in or spent significant time in conservative evangelical spaces. Earlier this week Karl Johnson Gurley shared about his decision to leave behind the framework of his youth in order to find a healthier way forward in Faith, Fruit, and Fire.
Following these weekly posts I’m sharing resources for thinking more deeply about your own response. Everything today was suggested by Karl and he suggests two songs to put on your playlist, one book to deepen your thinking, and two organization working to bridge the divide between the church and the queer community.
Music:
Turning over Table, The Brilliance
I was introduced to The Brilliance and their song “Turning Over Tables” at the last church where I was a member and instantly fell in love. This song epitomizes what I believe is the good fruit at the core of Christianity and is one of the few church songs I can still sing whole-heartedly because these are values I still share. - Karl
Devil, Tyler Glenn
Tyler Glenn’s entire Excommunication album resonates with my experience growing up gay in a conservative Christian environment, but the last song “Devil” hit the hardest. It speaks to the pain and uncertainty navigating this space, and what it is like to have come out the other side. But while Tyler may be able to still trust in the love of a parent and the ability to be welcomed home, that is not the case for all queer folk like myself. - Karl
Books:
Walking the Bridgeless Canyon: Repairing the Breach Between the Church and the LGBT Community, Kathy Baldock
From the book description: Walking the Bridgeless Canyon is relevant for several target audiences: those who are striving to understand how the LGBT community has become a target of cultural and religious discrimination, students of civil rights, and social and political history, conservative Christians seeking to find a more informed, civil and gracious way to engage their own gay or transgender family and friends and the LGBT community in general, and progressive Christians who strive to rise above biblical disagreements and engage in a more informed and broad conversation for inclusion of LGBT Christians in faith communities.
Organizations:
From the organization’s website: “Founded in 2013, FreedHearts reaches into hurting communities with a message of love, inclusion, belonging, and hope — for parents, LGBTQ+, educators, therapists, and the church.”
From the organization’s website: “Q Christian Fellowship prophetically models a world where all LGBTQ+ people are fully loved by family, church, and community, and Christians worldwide live up to their calling to be instruments of grace and defenders of the outcasts.”