Tag Archives: discipleship

Community of Christ, Come out!

06 Monday Nov 2017

Posted by in Community of Christ, discipleship, Religion

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Part of my role as a full-time minister for Community of Christ is serving as the Invitation Support Minister for the Greater Pacific Northwest Mission Center. This post was my Invitation Support Minister article that was printed in the Autumn 2017/Winter 2018 edition of The Chinook, our GPNW MC Biannual Newsletter. 

Claim your unique and sacred place within the circle of those who call upon the name of Jesus Christ. Be faithful to the spirit of the Restoration, mindful that it is a spirit of adventure, openness, and searching. – Doctrine & Covenants 162:2a

Over Labor Day Weekend, I had the honor to join with others who identified somewhere on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum as well as straight allies at a GALA Retreat at Camp Red Cliffe in Huntsville, UT. GALA is an organization whose mission seeks to “Providing sanctuary, spirituality, and transformation: For persons of ALL sexual orientations and gender identities through our shared faith experience in Community of Christ building bridges of understanding”. A common theme at the retreat was the concept of “coming out”. It was present while people shared their personal stories of faith and sexuality in their journey as a disciple. We occasionally wept tears of pain, hope, and even joy, as we listened to one another share their stories of courage. Stories that reflected the sharing of their authentic truth with others. Continue reading →

Dear Mr./Mrs. Evangelical…

30 Wednesday Aug 2017

Posted by in Religion

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To those who authored and signed the “Nashville Statement”,

You question why Christianity is dying in America. I see it in books that you author and blog entries you write. So you question why people are turning away from religion and then you publish this garbage. Shame on you. Look in the mirror. The answers you seek about the decline in Christianity may just be staring right back at you.

I would love to sit down with any person listed as a signatory on this document and share in a conversation about it. Maybe we could both grow from seeking to understand one another? So how about we get a drink from Starbucks and listen to one another. And don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be a Unicorn Frappuccino. I’m sure that’s too gay for you anyways. We can just enjoy a regular cup of black coffee that is heavily diluted with white vanilla flavored creamer since I’m sure that is how you prefer to drink it anyways. Hmmm… Actually, Starbucks and their “liberal agenda” may not be the best place. I wouldn’t want you to be uncomfortable. Does Hobby Lobby, Chick-fil-A, or Cabela’s serve coffee? We could always go there. I don’t mind meeting you on your turf. Oh, I know there are some bakeries we could go to. They won’t bake me a wedding cake if I marry a guy but maybe they would serve me a scone to go with my coffee while we talk? Hmmm… Maybe. Continue reading →

Singing, We Need Revival

16 Friday Jun 2017

Posted by in Community of Christ, discipleship, Religion

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Holy Spirit rain down. Change us from the inside.
Singing. We need revival.

These lyrics from the song “Revival” by Soulfire Revolution (feat. Kim Smith) became an anthem for me as I sensed my ministry focus shift a few years back. It was a shift that led to my call, acceptance, and ordination to the office of Seventy. In many ways, congregational life in the Christian church is in the midst of its own huge shift as well, or at least needs to be. The needs and demands are changing. Building glorious structures of praise, beautifying our property, and traditional 11 am worship on Sunday meet the needs of many of our active members, but they no longer meet the needs of many in our communities. An “If we will build it, they will came” approach to living out congregational life is no longer relevant in our Western culture society today.  Continue reading →

Because you asked… Why come out?

15 Wednesday Mar 2017

Posted by in Community of Christ, Culture, Personal

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After about 6-8 weeks of sharing my personal truth with close friends and family, I publicly came out as bisexual on Monday, December 5, 2016. I must admit, I was fearful. I was concerned. I was scared. As a full-time minister for a denomination that was just three years shy of being fully supportive of LGBT rights in the United States, I was concerned about potential backlash from people who just weren’t there yet on this issue. Especially so since a large part of my ministerial focus is working with youth. I was concerned about stereotypes and stigmas and how parents, congregational leaders, fellow leaders in youth ministry, etc would respond. To put it in the context of our present-day culture, I was fearful about people’s possible perceived truths (aka alternative facts) with what it even means to be LGBT. I also knew that I couldn’t let the fear of the “what if” control me any longer. I knew that I needed to come out and that I needed to so publicly. Continue reading →

A Holiday Blessing: O God Of All Children

24 Saturday Dec 2016

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A few years ago while preparing for a sermon on the Sunday before Christmas, I discovered a special Christmas Prayer on Huffington Post. I have included it in a few sermons since then.  At this holy time of centering and celebrating, I share it again. 

Through out the month of December, I join many other Christians around the world in celebrating the birth of Christ. In the midst of the commercialization of this sacred holiday, I pause to remember that Christ came and showed us a better way to live. A way that should inspire all to work towards justice and build communities of peace. A way that that embodied spirit of equality and not one of privilege. Whether you celebrate a Christian interpretation of the Divine, an interpretation through the lens of another faith, or are do not believe, may you be challenged by this blessing. May it carry us through this holiday season and into the new year. Amen. 

O God Of All Children
by Marian Wright Edelman

O God of the children of Somalia, Sudan, and Syria, of South Africa and South Carolina,
Of Afghanistan and Pakistan, and of India, Iraq, Iran, and Israel
Of the Congo and Chicago, of Darfur and Detroit
Of Myanmar and Mississippi and Louisiana and Yemen
Help us to love and respect and protect them all. Continue reading →