Addressing LGBTQ+ Inclusion: Challenges, Faith, and Resilience in the Church and her People
Main Article Content
Keywords
LGBTQ , congregations, discernment, inclusion, faith, resilience
Abstract
The questions of the reception of and role of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Plus (LGBTQ+) persons in the Christian faith and Christian church have increasingly called for churches and denominations to discern a position on membership, leadership, and participation in the sacraments. Individuals, families, congregations, and denominations are impacted by the differences in perspective, policy, and practice of affirming, including, or excluding LGBTQ+ persons. This article reports on a qualitative research study of 97 interviews in 20 congregations across three denominations exploring difficult conversations, decisions, and the impact of those decisions. The challenges and opportunities in both conversations and decisions are nested in faith perspectives. One significant finding is the role of individual and corporate faith in the resilience essential to both survival and growth.
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Shelley, B. L. (2013). Revised by R. L. Hatchett. Church history in plain language. (4th ed.). Thomas Nelson.
Stephens, D. W. (2018). Out of Exodus: A journey of open and affirming ministry. Cascade Books.
Vines, M. (2014). God and the gay Christian. Convergent Books.
Whitehead, A. L. (2014). Politics, religion, attribution theory, and attitudes toward same-sex unions. Social Science Quarterly, 95(3), 701-718. https:www.//DOI: 10.1111/ssqu.12085
Wilson, K. (2014). A Letter to my congregation: An evangelical pastor's path to embracing people who are gay, lesbian and transgender into the company of Jesus. Read the Spirit Books.
Wingfield, Mark. (2019). Why churches need to talk about
sexuality: Lessons learned from hard conversations and bout sex, gender, identity, and the Bible. Fortress Press.
Woodford, M. R., Weber, G., Nicolazzo, Z., Hunt, R., Kulick, A. Coleman, T., Coulombe, S., & Renn, K. A., (2018). Depression and attempted suicide among LGBTQ college students: Fostering resilience to the effects of heterosexism and cisgenderism on campus. Journal of College Student Development, 59(4), 421-438.
Yarhouse, M. A., Dean, J., B., Stratton, S, P., & Lastoria, M.. (2018). Listening to sexual minorities: A study of faith and sexual identity on Christian college campuses. IVP Academic
Baldock, K. (2014). Walking the bridgeless canyon: Repairing the breach between the church and the LGBT community. Canyonwalker Press.
Cahill, L. S. (2009). Religion and politics: USA. Theological Studies, 70(1), 186-192.
Castle, M. A. (2011). Abortion in the United States’ Bible belt: Organizing for power and empowerment. Reproductive Health, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/1742-4755-8-1
Chaves, J. (2020). Lenten lectionary: Serving Jesus amid cutthroat capitalism? Ethics Daily.Com. https://ethicsdaily.com/lenten-lectionary-serving-jesus-amid-cutthroat-capitalism/
Chu, J. (2013). Does Jesus really love me? A gay Christian’s pilgrimage in search of God in America. Harper Perennial.
Cole, C. & Harris, H. W.. (2017). The lived experiences of people who identify as LGBT Christians: Considerations for social work helping. Social Work & Christianity: An International Journal, 44(1-2), 31-52.Collins, T. (2018). What does it mean to be welcoming? Navigating LGBT questions in your church. IVP Books.
deJong, Dirk H. (2020). Conservative Christianity, gender
identity, and religious liberty: A primer and a proposal. Palgrove Macmillan.
Descombe, M. (2007). The good research guide for small-scale social research projects (3rd ed.). Open University Press.
Doka, K. J. (2016). Grief is a journey: Finding your path through loss. Atria Books.
Encyclopedia Britannica. (2020). Christianity-The Gentile mission and St. Paul. 3-2-20. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Christianity/Protestantism
Evans, J. (2009). Religious leaders weigh in on current and future embryo research. Nature Medicine, 15(1), 3-5
Fishburn, J. F. (2003). People of a compassionate God: Creating welcoming congregations. Abingdon.
Gaede, B. A. (Ed.). (1998). Congregations talking about homosexuality. The Alban Institute.
Gushee, D. P. (2017). Still Christian: Following Jesus out of American evangelicalism. Westminster John Knox Press.
Hamman, J. J. (2010). Resistance to women in ministry and the psychodynamics of sadness. Pastoral Psychology, 59, 769-781.
Harms, L. (2015). Understanding trauma and resilience. Palgrave/Macmillan.
Harris, H. W. & Yancey, G. I. (2017). Values, dissonance, and rainbows: Practice tips for Christian social workers in a polarized world. Social Work & Christianity: An International Journal, 44(1-2), 123-142
Hill, C. C. (2019). A statement from Perkins School of Theology Dean Craig C. Hill. Perkins News Archives. https://www.smu.edu/. Retrieved February 28, 2019).
Kaltenbach, C. (2015). Messy grace: How a pastor with gay parents learned to love others without sacrificing conviction. Waterbrook Press.
Kirkpatrick, Frank G. (2008). The Episcopal church in
crisis: How sex, the Bible, and authority are dividing the faithful. Praeger.
Lee, J. (2012). Torn: Rescuing the gospel from the gays-vs.-Christians debate. Jericho Books.
Levy, Denise (2014). Christian doctrine related to sexual
orientation: current climate and future implications. In Adrienne Dessel & Rebecca Bolen (Eds.), Conservative Christian beliefs and sexual orientation in social work: Privilege, oppression, and the pursuit of human rights. (pp. 11-31). Alexandria, VA: CSWE Press.
McConkey, Dale. (2018). United Methodists divided:
Understanding our differences over homosexuality. Global Parish Press.
McKenzie, B. D., & Rouse, S. M. (2013). Shades of faith: Religious foundations of political attitudes among African Americans, Latinos, and Whites. American Journal of political Science, 57(1), 218-235. www.http://DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-5907.2012.00611.
McVeigh, R., Crubaugh, B., & Estep, K. (2017). Plausibility structures, status threats, and the establishment of anti-abortion pregnancy centers. American Journal of Sociology, 5(122), 1533-71
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Faith. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved October 13, 2020, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/faith
Moore, M. E. (2003). Congregations struggling with hope: Embodied knowing,” in J. F. Fishburn (Ed.). People of a compassionate God: Creating welcoming congregations. (pp. 130-142). Abingdon.
Morse, J. M. (2015). Critical analysis of strategies for determining rigor in qualitative inquiry. Qualitative health Research, 25(9), 1212-1222.
Pentz, M. (2008). Resilience among older adults with cancer and the importance of social support and spirituality-faith. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 44(3-4), 150-4372.
Polaski, L. M., & Eiland, M. (2013). Rightly dividing the word of truth: A resource for congregations on sexual orientation and gender identity. Baptist Peace Fellowship of North American.
Presbyterian Church (USA). (2020). Stances of faiths on LBGTQ issues: Presbyterian church (USA). https://www.hrc.org/resources/stances-of-faiths-on-lgbt-issues-presbyterian-church-usa
Quezada, S. (2018). Love undocumented: Risking trust in a fearful world. Herald Press
Reconciling Ministries Network. (n.d.) Mission – Who We Are. https://rmnetwork.org/who-we-are/mission/
Redden, E. (2020). A way out of impasse over LGBT issues? Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/01/09/proposed-split-united-methodist-church-over-lgbt-issues-welcomed-methodist-college
Reivich, K., & Shatte, A. (2002). The resilience factor: Seven keys to finding your inner strength and overcoming life’s hurdles. Bright and Happy Books LLC.
Richards, J. (2020). The splintered cross: Exploring the origins of Christian denominations: A step toward understanding one another. KwestWorks.
Robertson, Brandan. (Ed.). (2017). Our witness: The
unheard stories of LGBT+ Christians. Darton, Longman + Todd.
Rogers, Jack. (2009). Jesus, the Bible, and homosexuality
(Rev.). Westminster John Knox Press.
Shelley, B. L. (2013). Revised by R. L. Hatchett. Church history in plain language. (4th ed.). Thomas Nelson.
Stephens, D. W. (2018). Out of Exodus: A journey of open and affirming ministry. Cascade Books.
Vines, M. (2014). God and the gay Christian. Convergent Books.
Whitehead, A. L. (2014). Politics, religion, attribution theory, and attitudes toward same-sex unions. Social Science Quarterly, 95(3), 701-718. https:www.//DOI: 10.1111/ssqu.12085
Wilson, K. (2014). A Letter to my congregation: An evangelical pastor's path to embracing people who are gay, lesbian and transgender into the company of Jesus. Read the Spirit Books.
Wingfield, Mark. (2019). Why churches need to talk about
sexuality: Lessons learned from hard conversations and bout sex, gender, identity, and the Bible. Fortress Press.
Woodford, M. R., Weber, G., Nicolazzo, Z., Hunt, R., Kulick, A. Coleman, T., Coulombe, S., & Renn, K. A., (2018). Depression and attempted suicide among LGBTQ college students: Fostering resilience to the effects of heterosexism and cisgenderism on campus. Journal of College Student Development, 59(4), 421-438.
Yarhouse, M. A., Dean, J., B., Stratton, S, P., & Lastoria, M.. (2018). Listening to sexual minorities: A study of faith and sexual identity on Christian college campuses. IVP Academic