I laughed. I cried. I learned. I rolled my eyes. This one article has all the makings of a decent made for tv movie… but it’s real life and oh, so timely.

At a time in history when what is reported by those grasping at control like it’s the only straw left in the dispenser is so boldly different than what’s real, these kinds of discrepancies seem to stand out more than ever. What the church of the Nazarene and its “leaders” say in this article… just isn’t true. The writer even calls it out, at one point. And it feels like a breath of fresh air.

Here’s the thing, folks, you can point and blame all you want… but the curtain is falling. The ivory tower is crumbling. The glass house has more empty frames than in tact panes. I’m so deeply saddened for all of you who thought you did something by reaching the pinnacle… All it really seems to have done is put you at the head of the church of the Nazarene at a point in history when it is very much on the wrong side.

And the silence from the top screams loudly. I’m certain it’s likely advised silence… there is so much invested in the general counsel that it would seem wasteful not to take the advice.

But maybe… just maybe… consider your own humanity. Consider the fact that shame has done to you exactly what it intended to. It has silenced and isolated and created this system of abuse and destruction. And then, maybe take a look at what can counteract those impact.

It won’t be more rules. It won’t be clearer lines in the sand. It won’t be the rigid fundamentalism that has harmed so many for so long. Maybe step out of the shadow and look around at what love is beyond what you have made it out to be in order to be able to avoid having to do it.

As long as you have to keep pointing at the rainbow to convince yourself that what you’re hiding is okay, there is nothing left to talk about. The LGBTQIA+ community isn’t who you say they are… and sadly neither are so many pastors and leaders who are doing the damage for which you keep trying to avoid liability.

I’ll see myself out for now. But don’t think I’m not still watching. And don’t think I will be quiet when something needs said.

#hereticbybirthright #orthopraxyoverorthodoxy #forthemargins #lovingoutloud