Heavy Burdens Seven Ways Lgbtq Christians Experience Harm In The Church

Author : Bridget Eileen Rivera
Publisher : Brazos Press
ISBN 13 : 1493432672
Total Pages : 224 pages
Book Rating : 4.77/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Heavy Burdens written by Bridget Eileen Rivera and published by Brazos Press. This book was released on 2021-10-26 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Religious faith reduces the risk of suicide for virtually every American demographic except one: LGBTQ people. Generations of LGBTQ people have been alienated or condemned by Christian communities. It's past time that Christians confronted the ongoing and devastating effects of this legacy. Many LGBTQ people face overwhelming challenges in navigating faith, gender, and sexuality. Christian communities that uphold the traditional sexual ethic often unwittingly make the path more difficult through unexamined attitudes and practices. Drawing on her sociological training and her leadership in the Side B/Revoice conversation, Bridget Eileen Rivera, who founded the popular website Meditations of a Traveling Nun, speaks to the pain of LGBTQ Christians and helps churches develop a better pastoral approach. Rivera calls to mind Jesus's woe to religious leaders: "They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them" (Matt. 23:4). Heavy Burdens provides an honest account of seven ways LGBTQ people experience discrimination in the church, helping Christians grapple with hard realities and empowering churches across the theological spectrum to navigate better paths forward.

Author : Bridget Eileen Rivera
Publisher : Brazos Press
ISBN 13 : 9781587434839
Total Pages : 240 pages
Book Rating : 4.30/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Heavy Burdens written by Bridget Eileen Rivera and published by Brazos Press. This book was released on 2021-10-26 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Religious faith reduces the risk of suicide for virtually every American demographic except one: LGBTQ people. Generations of LGBTQ people have felt alienated or condemned by the church. It's past time that Christians confronted the ongoing and devastating effects of this legacy. Many LGBTQ people face overwhelming challenges in navigating faith, gender, and sexuality. Christian communities that uphold the traditional sexual ethic often unwittingly make the path more difficult through unexamined attitudes and practices. Drawing on her sociological training and her leadership in the Side B/Revoice conversation, Bridget Eileen Rivera, who founded the popular website Meditations of a Traveling Nun, speaks to the pain of LGBTQ Christians and helps churches develop a better pastoral approach. Rivera calls to mind Jesus's woe to religious leaders: "They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them" (Matt. 23:4). Heavy Burdens provides an honest account of seven ways LGBTQ people experience discrimination in the church, helping Christians grapple with hard realities and empowering churches across the theological spectrum to navigate better paths forward.

Author : Wendy VanderWal-Gritter
Publisher : Brazos Press
ISBN 13 : 1441245855
Total Pages : 288 pages
Book Rating : 4.54/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Generous Spaciousness written by Wendy VanderWal-Gritter and published by Brazos Press. This book was released on 2014-05-13 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Committed Christians may respond differently to gay and lesbian Christians. How can we engage those with whom we might disagree and navigate our journey together in a way that nurtures unity, hospitality, humility, and justice? Through her extensive experience in ministering to gay and lesbian Christians, Wendy VanderWal-Gritter has come to believe we need a new paradigm for how the church engages those in the sexual minority. She encourages generous spaciousness, a hope-filled, relational way forward for those in turmoil regarding a response to gay and lesbian Christians. This book offers a framework for discussing diversity in a gracious way, showing that the church can be a place that welcomes a variety of perspectives on the complex matter of human sexuality. It also offers practical advice for implementing generous spaciousness in churches and organizations.

Author : Gary David Comstock
Publisher : Westminster John Knox Press
ISBN 13 : 9780664222802
Total Pages : 308 pages
Book Rating : 4.03/5 ( download)

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Download or read book A Whosoever Church written by Gary David Comstock and published by Westminster John Knox Press. This book was released on 2001-01-01 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book features interviews with twenty black scholars and religious leaders who speak out--from various theological perspectives--against institutional prejudice toward gay and lesbian people. The interviews are conducted in a conversational format in language that will be accessible and interesting to lay readers.

Author : Michael A. Sand
Publisher : Red Wheel/Weiser
ISBN 13 : 160163675X
Total Pages : 224 pages
Book Rating : 4.51/5 ( download)

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Download or read book How to Manage an Effective Religious Organization written by Michael A. Sand and published by Red Wheel/Weiser. This book was released on 2011-07-15 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If you are one of the millions who regularly attend religious services, you are undoubtedly aware of the profound effect your church, synagogue, mosque, or temple has on your life. Your religious congregation is likely involved in celebratory occasions such as births, marriages, and religious holidays, as well as in times of misfortune, illness, or the death of a loved one. Therefore, it is important, to have input into the major decisions that your congregation makes. And it is even more essential to know your duties, responsibilities, and options if you are even peripherally involved in its management. How to Manage an Effective Religious Organization will teach you: How your religious leader is hired, evaluated, and, if necessary, let go How you can offer suggestions to your priest, minister, rabbi, or imam Whether your religious organization is financially stable, and what type of fundraising is needed How the governing body of lay leaders of your congregation can be more effective How to Manage an Effective Religious Organization will give you numerous ideas for improving your congregation, whatever its religious affiliation.

Author : Michael Coren
Publisher : Signal
ISBN 13 : 0771024126
Total Pages : 320 pages
Book Rating : 4.22/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Epiphany written by Michael Coren and published by Signal. This book was released on 2016-04-26 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the posterboy of Catholic conservatism, a major change of heart and soul on one of the Church's most controversial and intractable stances. "This past February, a conservative Roman Catholic blog, Contra|Diction, gave me perhaps my best headline ever: 'Michael Coren Complicit in Destruction of Souls Who Practice Homosexuality, Pt 1' (I'm still waiting for part two). It was one of countless posts, tweets, and articles that have condemned me for coming out in favour of same-sex marriage. I've also been fired from columns that I wrote for years, been banned from various Catholic TV and radio stations, had speeches cancelled, and been accused of cheating on my wife. My children have been called gay, and I have been compared to a child molester and a murderer. These are new experiences for me. Until last year, I was considered something of a champion of social conservatism in Canada and was well known among politically active Christians. I hosted a nightly show on Crossroads Television for twelve years, was a syndicated Sun columnist, and wrote briskly selling books with such titles as Why Catholics Are Right. Today, I am working away at a new book, Epiphany: Changing Heart and Mind on Same-Sex Marriage. How and why did it go so terribly wrong?" --Michael Coren What went "terribly wrong" is that Michael Coren had a profound spiritual and personal change of heart. Epiphany is about how and why that happened; the reaction from both sides of the fence; and how the Christian doctrine, when studied closely and without bias, heartily supports Michael's findings. As a middle-aged, very white, very straight, very Christian man, he was obliged, first reluctantly and then eagerly, to explore the complex dynamic between faith and homosexuality and to work out a new narrative. The crux of that narrative: God is love. Honest, brave, and rigorous in its scholarship, Epiphany is a groundbreaking book on one of society's most pressing issues.

Author : Mark A. Yarhouse
Publisher : Zondervan
ISBN 13 : 0310521424
Total Pages : 241 pages
Book Rating : 4.26/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Costly Obedience written by Mark A. Yarhouse and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2019-06-25 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Though we often hear about the "gay problem" today, there is an even deeper problem in the church today--one that we often overlook. The call to follow Christ is a call to costly obedience for all, not just for gay Christians. Far too often, the church has elevated homosexuality above other sins and required a costly obedience from gays that it is unwilling to demand of others. And yet, the answer is not to weaken the demands of obedience. Instead, gay Christians who make the difficult choice to align their lives with the biblical view of sexuality are a gift to the church, reminding all of us that spiritual growth and maturity is costly. There is a price to pay in following Christ and devoting our lives to the call of the gospel, and it is one that we all must pay--gay and straight Christians alike. Through the stories and struggles of gay Christians who are reorienting their lives around the costly obedience required to follow Christ, Mark Yarhouse and Olya Zaporozhets call the church to reorient as well, leaving behind the casual morality that is widespread today to pursue the path of radical discipleship. Unlike any other book on homosexuality and the church, this is a call to examine your life and consider what God is asking you to lay down to take up your cross and follow him.

Author : Eve Tushnet
Publisher : Ave Maria Press
ISBN 13 : 1646800753
Total Pages : 224 pages
Book Rating : 4.59/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Tenderness written by Eve Tushnet and published by Ave Maria Press. This book was released on 2021-12-03 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of a second-place award in the category gender issues, inclusion in the Church from the Catholic Media Association. What would happen if gay Christians began to believe the truth about God—that he loves all people unconditionally? In Tenderness, Catholic writer and speaker Eve Tushnet says trusting God’s love would be the beginning of a transformation, not only in the lives of gay Christians but also in the Body of Christ itself. She offers hope and companionship to those who have been deeply hurt by their parishes, a wound that also damaged their relationship with God. Tushnet also offers practical guidance from her own journey as a celibate lesbian. Tenderness explores scripture and history to find role models for gay Christians—including Jesus, King David, Ruth, St. John, Mary, poets, mystics, penitents, leaders, and ordinary gay people who have found unexpected paths of love. The book also offers guidance on living through or recovering from the painful experiences that are all too common in gay Christian life—from familial rejection and weaponized Christianity to ambivalence and doubt. Weaving her own story with resources, prayers, and practical actions that can help gay people trust that God loves them, Tushnet renews our understandings of kinship, friendship, celibacy and unmarried life, ordered love, personal integrity, solidarity with the marginalized, obedience, surrender, sanctification, and hope. This book is primarily for gay Christians, but it also offers a window into their experiences and needs that will make it useful for anyone in pastoral care or who wants to be a better friend to the gay people they know.

Author : Nate Collins
Publisher : Zondervan
ISBN 13 : 0310526035
Total Pages : 320 pages
Book Rating : 4.32/5 ( download)

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Download or read book All But Invisible written by Nate Collins and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2017-09-12 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What does it mean to be gay ... and a Christian? Beginning with how the Bible describes the Church, author Nate Collins outlines a vision for community life that challenges Christians to examine obstacles that inhibit spiritual unity. This new vision calls straight and non-straight believers alike to patterns of Christian obedience that respect and honor their similarities and differences.In addition, Collins provides a theological framework for understanding how Genesis 1-2 describes both gender and sexuality. He then unpacks biblical concepts like desire, lust, and temptation, and applies them to modern constructs like sexual attraction and orientation.Collins explores the theme of identity, focusing on facets of personal identity that are central to the experience of Christian gender minorities. He looks at what Scripture says about the formation and function of Christian identity, highlighting several theological and sociological tensions. Collins writes for believers who have a traditional sexual ethic and provides a compelling vision of gospel flourishing for gay, lesbian, and other same-sex attracted individuals.

Author : Vicky Beeching
Publisher : HarperCollins
ISBN 13 : 0062439944
Total Pages : 304 pages
Book Rating : 4.49/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Undivided written by Vicky Beeching and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2018-06-12 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Vicky Beeching, called “arguably the most influential Christian of her generation” in The Guardian, began writing songs for the church in her teens. By the time she reached her early thirties, Vicky was a household name in churches on both sides of the pond. Recording multiple albums and singing in America’s largest megachurches, her music was used weekly around the globe and translated into numerous languages. But this poster girl for evangelical Christianity lived with a debilitating inner battle: she was gay. The tens of thousands of traditional Christians she sang in front of were unanimous in their view – they staunchly opposed same-sex relationships and saw homosexuality as a grievous sin. Vicky knew if she ever spoke up about her identity it would cost her everything. Faced with a major health crisis, at the age of thirty-five she decided to tell the world that she was gay. As a result, all hell broke loose. She lost her music career and livelihood, faced threats and vitriol from traditionalists, developed further health issues from the immense stress, and had to rebuild her life almost from scratch. But despite losing so much she gained far more: she was finally able to live from a place of wholeness, vulnerability, and authenticity. She finally found peace. What’s more, Vicky became a champion for others, fighting for LGBT equality in the church and in the corporate sector. Her courageous work is creating change in the US and the UK, as she urges people to celebrate diversity, live authentically, and become undivided.