Everything Is Going Down, But The Word Of God……It is such a mind-bending paradox that it sounds like one of Jesus’ parables-‘how can you be a Christian, Man of God and gay?’ The relationship between gays and the Church has always been complicated. When you factor the Black community into that equation, it becomes a slippery slope.
TheRoot.com recently ran the op-ed blog written by Benjamin C. Evans under the title “#BlackMenLove: I’m Black, I’m a Minister and I’m Gay”. In the article, 30 year old Evans wrote,“For more than 15 years I’ve struggled to accept that. My journey has been grueling and painful. But it’s similar to those of many others who struggle to accept who they are because of society’s prejudices toward the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning community. Now is the time to put aside differences, be willing to preach love, and to make room for people of all colors and sexual orientations.”
Npr.org recently ran an article that says the Black Church has become “the public face of resistance to same-sex marriage.” In the article commentator Keith Boykin said “The church might be the most homophobic and most homotolerant of any institution in the black community.”
Church is supposed to be the one place where we are all safe from ridicule…free from prejudice and freely accepted. Yet, how many times do we sit high on our self-proclaimed pedestal and look judgingly down on others for the least little infraction—maybe they don’t know where to find the scripture, or didn’t have any money to put in tithes and offerings or maybe her dress was a little too short or too tight. Church isn’t where we go to see how we measure up to the person sitting next to us…it’s where we see how we measure up to Christ.
Some choose not to sit under a Pastor who is openly gay. Others have walked away from Pastors who have been exposed as wife-beaters, adulterers, thieves or a multitude of other actions and behaviors they find unacceptable. There are still people who won’t sit under a Pastor who is a woman.
To call the church “homotolerant” is simply exposing another flaw…it’s also been racist, sexist and elitist. How can the church exists with so many flaws? Because people are the church—and people are flawed. Perhaps we should stop thinking that church is full of perfect people and realize that we are all trying to grow into something better than we are presently.
Certainly the bible does address homosexuality in Romans 1:26, Jude 1, Mark 10, 1 Corinthians 7, Leviticus 18 and so many other scriptures. How Evans addresses or explains these scriptures to his congregation was not discussed in the article and is relevant since part of following Jesus is obeying the Bible. Yes, people fall short and violate the word, but that’s where confession and repentance come in. Evans doesn’t sound as if he wants repentance because he never calls homosexuality a sin, but says he was “born that way”.
Judging others is something God tells us not to do. But shaming the Black church into accepting something that many interpret as going against God’s word based on their understanding is also a type of judgement. It’s basically asking people ‘who are you going to believe me or God?’ Gospel singer/pastor Donnie McClurkin was criticized by the LGBT community for saying he was delivered from a gay lifestyle. Is this being tolerant? The whole Black homophobic argument takes the focus off the only true authority—God and His word and places it in the flawed, human arena of people and the Black church.
Evans says he wants a world where “we learn to love despite our differences”. That means loving people who may not see eye-to-eye with your life choices. It makes them in need of the same mercy, grace and love you want extended to you.
What do you think about Evans’ confession “I’m Gay and a Minister”?
