The Gay Hurricane
The Gay Hurricane
This is a response to the Gospel Herald's promotion of ex-gay ideology; an ideology that uses hyperbole to create a victim mindset when there is absolutely no need for it.
In what seems to be written by AI, the article “How the Church Can Be the Mainstay of Society Admist the LGBTQ Inrush” is full of toxic ex-gay ideology disguising itself as a safe haven of understanding. Here are just a few quotes from the overly long article and my response. Then, in conclusion, I add just a few more thoughts on this dynamic.
In today's society, LGBTQ issues are hitting the church like a hurricane. How can the church be a mainstay of society amidst this spiritual battle?
A “hurricane”? No, it’s not, that’s just silly. No one in the LGBTQ+ community or even our activist community is making coming against (hitting like a deadly hurricane) the conservative evangelical church a top priority.
On the other hand, people need to come out of the conservative evangelical church to thrive in who God created them to be, that’s about their need to escape stigmatized theology, not about a fictional tidal wave of gayness taking over the church.
Also, “How can the church be a mainstay of society amidst this spiritual battle?”
How about minding your own business?
People dealing directly with LGBTQ+ issues can determine who they are and how they want to spend their lives without your interference and what I consider false messages. It’s condescending (patronizing?) to think the conservative evangelical church should be a mainstay for us.
In the next quote, emphasis mine…
This is a question that requires in-depth thinking and action. Dr. Jane Yang (杨符济珍) points out in her sharing that churches must pay attention to the LGBTQ community and develop ministries to contain them. If they are not cared for and nurtured in the church, then these people will turn to a society that is more than eager to indoctrinate them with secular values.
Yes, because people just love being “contained.” That doesn’t even jive with current ex-gay talking points of setting people free from sin. However, I think this article is revealing that the true motive of all ex-gay ministries (and especially the church that supports them) is to contain, not free.
And “eager to indoctrinate…”? Passionate opinions are not indoctrination. Indoctrination is shuffling gay people off to the far corner of the church every Thursday at 7 PM to tell them how broken they are. All I am eager to do is live life and help others find that the gilded cage of ex-gay ideology is a prison, not an escape from a sexual sin as defined by homophobia. It’s up to the person on what they want to believe before and after they leave that toxic world. I am just pointing at an exit strategy from what I consider spiritual abuse.
I know what indoctrination looks like. I was a victim and perpetrator of it for a very long time. Showing people the exit door to the ex-gay cultish way of life, for them to choose to walk through it if they want, isn’t indoctrination. Shaming gay people with lies of an inevitable disastrous life of addictive sexual sin, eternal damnation of fire and torture, and setting up ex-gay leader’s as unquestionable spiritual authority is almost a perfect example of indoctrination.
Moving along…
Citing a survey with a 15,000 population sample, Dr. Yang points out that the number of adults who identify as LGBT has risen significantly, especially among Gen Zs. Six in one Generation Z (people born between 1997~2012) adults identify themselves as LGBTQ, compared with 3.8% of Gen Xers. Dr. Yang points out that the influence of the LGBTQ movement has already broken into church walls.
I dunno. 6%? … That typo (among many weird edits) is what makes me think someone at that publication used AI to write the article.
But regardless of the messenger, the message is hurtful. Back to the point.
Again, nothing has broken through the church walls. However, the church has walled itself off from reality and the rest of the world. The percentage increases because people feel safer to be open about who they truly are. The percentages don’t show growth, they reveal people who have always been there but now are not afraid to be more open about.
Dr. Yang emphasizes that the topic of LGBTQ is no longer an issue of morality, but a civil rights issue. Once it was elevated to the level of civil rights, the space for discussion became very limited. This is a change the church must be aware of.
Now what in the blue blazes? Limited? No, it isn’t. The discussion is and always has been broad. Gay people are not simplistic caricatures.
It’s always been a civil right to be ourselves and enjoy our constitutional right to the “pursuit of happiness.” We are just out in the open, loudly, sometimes defiantly, talking about it.
The only limits come from a worldview perspective the conservative evangelical church refuses to accept; that gay people are equal to Christians in every single way under public policy, the marketplace, and public discourse. OH, and that gay Christians are just as “saved” and a part of the Body of Christ as other Christians.
The conservative evangelical church only sees one thing when they consider LGBTQ+ people, that one thing being sin (also known as “brokenness””. When Christian leaders seek to confine us to one negative box, that’s their self-imposed limitation and misinformation. Not ours. We didn’t change the ground-rules on dialog; it seems the conservative evangelical church is looking for more excuses to not engage the LGBTQ+ community as equals.
Conclusion
It seems nowadays that conservative evangelical leaders want to prop up ex-gay leaders and spokespeople to frighten the church for support while at the same time not having to deal with LGBTQ+ people and issues directly. It’s one of the few areas I feel bad for those who align with ex-gay ideology because they are being used and will never be seen as equals to other conservative evangelical church leaders and members.
Yes, they will get that honorarium check and platitudes of who brave they are to speak the truth in love but will always be seen as not fully equal and someone to keep an eye on in case they go wayward.
They also prop up ex-gay ideology based in stigmatized theology as a mask of compassion and God’s will. But like a true masquerade ball mask, it may look shiny, bright, elaborate, yet it can only hide the truth for a little while. Eventually the mask is taken off and when we look in the mirror, we can see our true selves fighting to get out from behind our own eyes and express ourselves fully.
If you feel trapped in the ex-gay world and/or conservative evangelical gilded cage. I am not a counselor, but I can be a listening ear and would love to hear from you. You can privately message me on Facebook Messenger, Instagram, or email at randy(at)randyscobey(dot)com.
More about Randy…
WHY: A Memoir
Helpful resources…
