For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 29:11
Each day, WordPress offers a prompt for blog posts. Most days, I ignore them, but when the one below popped up, I thought I’d answer it for my Sunday post.
What change, big or small, would you like your blog to make in the world?
When I began writing my Sunday posts, I wanted a weekly post that allowed me to do three things:
- I wanted to provide a place for other LGBTQ+ members of the Churches of Christ to be able to find people like them. There are not as many members of the Churches of Christ as other denominations, and while many denominations have LGBTQ+ support groups, both sanctioned and not, I found it hard to find other members of the church who were like me.
- I also wanted to advocate for my fellow members of the Churches of Christ to show that being gay was compatible with what the Bible actually says, not the mistranslations people often use to justify their hate. I wanted to advocate my belief that LGBTQ+ Christians are completely compatible with the Churches of Christ and should be embraced by the church.
- I wanted a place where I could study and grow in my faith. I wanted that place to help others to also study and grow, to be able to think about what it means to be a Christian, and to inspire myself and my readers to be better Christians.
- I wanted to be and advocate for the Jesus I believe in: the Jesus of the Bible who was accepting and loving, who was nonjudgmental, and who wanted to make the world a better place. Too often in this world, Christians do not follow what the Bible actually says, but instead, they pick and choose what verses they want to follow and disregard the ones that don’t follow their politics and prejudices.
Back in 2011, a friend of mine sent me two articles from the New York Times about homosexuality and religion. These articles were published in print in the Sunday Magazine (pg. MM30) on June 19, 2011. These articles made me think back on the struggles that I faced (and to some extent still did at that time) about my own faith and sexuality. It also inspired me to find other LGBTQ+ members of the Churches of Christ. I found very little. There was a defunct newsletter that had been published decades ago, a magazine published by Harding University (a university affiliated with the Churches of Christ) students, and a debate about sexuality and the Churches of Christ organized at Pepperdine University (another Churches of Christ university). So, I decided to first look at my own faith and second to create a space for LGBTQ+ members of the Churches of Christ. My discussion of those New York Times articles led me to write seven posts about my views on LGBTQ+ Christians. Here are links to the full series in order:
- Quid Est Veritas (What is truth?—John 18:38)
- Sola Scriptura (By Scripture Alone)
- Abusus Non Tollit Usum (Just Because Something Is Misused Does Not Mean It Cannot Be Used Correctly.)
- Veritas Vos Liberabit (The Truth Shall Set You Free—John 8:32)
- Deus Caritas Est, Veritas Est Amor (God is Love, Truth is Love)
- Vince Malum Bono (Overcome Evil with Good—Romans 12:21)
- Via, Veritas, Vita (The Way, The Truth, and The Life—John 14:6)
I have not gone back and read these posts in a while, and I suspect my style of writing and level of editing is quite a bit different from it is today. However, it is what began these Sunday devotionals.
Second, I wanted to stay true to the hermeneutic approach that the Churches of Christ claim they believe in, but often do not follow anymore. I wanted to use the historical-grammatical method of studying the Bible. This is a modern Christian hermeneutical method that strives to discover the biblical authors’ original intended meaning in the text. To study the Bible this way, you have to strive to understand the word used by the original writers of the Bible, not modern interpretations that have been highly influenced by politics. I believed that through study, I could show that the Churches of Christ should be the greatest champion for LGBTQ+ Christians. I wanted LGBTQ+ members of the Churches of Christ to know that they were not alone and should not feel shame over their sexuality.
Third, I no longer attend church. I find it hard to find a Church of Christ that I think fully follows the Bible. Also, I have never felt comfortable in other denominations, and I hated going to church by myself. Therefore, I wanted my blog to be place where I could worship, study the Bible, and spread the words of Christ. These Sunday devotionals became my personal bible study, and a place where I could grow my faith and help others to do the same.
Lastly, I wanted to spread the faith that I have in a loving and forgiving Jesus. I wanted to help the world to be a better place. I wanted to spread that love and to remind myself to guard against my own worst demons. We all have metaphorical demons inside us who think unkindly of others, judge others, and basically, have unchristian thoughts. I wanted to inspire myself and others to know those metaphorical demons and to in some show that just because we think it does not mean we have to act on on these thoughts.
Over the years, my blog has grown beyond my original intent of sharing LGBTQ+ history and culture. It has come to include my struggle with my migraines and other health issues. It has also been a place where I could show my love for the beauty of the male body and to express my sexuality. It has become a place where I have a wider group of friends. Some of you I will never know in person and will likely never know your real name. It doesn’t mean that I don’t consider you a friend. Others, I have become great friends with, Susan is an example of this. She has become one of my closest friends and confidants. I have met others along the way, some of who are no longer with us. There are those who seem to have stopped reading and moved on, and some who have passed away. This blog has shown the ups and downs in my life, but it has also been a place where I could grow my faith and make myself a better Christian.
So, these are the changes, big and small, I would like my blog to make in the world. I don’t know if I succeed in doing any of this, but I will keep trying to make the world a better place.
Joe
The Closet Professor 
August 20th, 2023 at 8:28 am
I’m grateful for your journey of understanding and growth to fully embrace all you are in the love of God in Christ. I attended and joined a CofC in Texas when I left the UMC. They were a different kind of community, and yet still in a deeply conservative area. When I found the United Church of Christ, I discovered the progressive place of faith where my sexuality, my orientation faith could all be celebrated with authentic. It’s not perfect. Every area and congregation will vary, but the commitment to inclusion is key.
I’m grateful for your blog that brings a picture of hope, joy, contemplation and love.
August 21st, 2023 at 1:50 pm
Steve, there are numerous United Church of Christ congregations in Vermont. Most towns have one, and it is usually the largest of the churches. I have always considered going to a UCC church, but I never have. I just don’t feel comfortable going to church on my own. One of the reasons I do these Sunday devotionals is to take the place of church for me. Not everyone would agree with me on this, but I consider myself still worshiping whether I go to church or not. I do miss the singing and being able to take communion.
August 21st, 2023 at 7:12 pm
“Joe,” I always enjoy your Sunday reflections. You bring a spiritual perspective and openness to a faith expression that many of us connect with. Sadly, so many “Christian” places are not welcoming and reflecting the way of Jesus. I’m grateful for the ways you connect and share a living and hopeful faith.
As with all UCC congregations, it’s always a mixed bag of places, but there are many Open & Affirming (ONA) congregations and most of the UCCs are still among the more progressive and welcoming in nature. You’re always welcome to join us online (https://stjohnsuccfullerton.org/ or https://youtube.com/@stjohnsuccfullerton). You can find ONA congregations on UCC.org.
However you find meaning and hope in your faith journey, I hope you’ll always know you’re never alone, but I get it. It’s not easy when on your own.
August 21st, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Thanks. All of the UCCs in this area seem to be ONA as they all fly a rainbow flag. As a rule, Vermont is a very welcoming place for LGBTQ+ people.
August 20th, 2023 at 5:49 pm
Thank you for sharing your spiritual journey. It is amazing that you can still draw from the Christian tradition when it was misused to harm yourself and others. Did you ever question whether you could be gay and Christian? Did you ever consider yourself an agnostic or atheist? That’s a perceived dichotomy that many gay men face. So many are taught that it’s an “either or” choice and one can either be gay or Christian, but not both. From the other websites that I follow, many gay men condemn Christianity. Sometimes their angry comments reveal the level of their spiritual pain. My own journey was into agnosticism in my teen years, rejecting Christianity (but not Jesus!), and a spiritual awakening when in nature. This led me to understanding my spirituality in terms of following Jesus, but from a noncredal approach. My beliefs about Jesus shift often and I still draw from his life and theology. Though I do not share all the aspects of your faith, I am grateful that you are willing to share it and can bridge a perceived gap that so many gay men cannot. Thanks for you courage and your witness.
August 21st, 2023 at 1:51 pm
Beau, for many years, I did question where I could be gay and Christian, and like I approach most issues, I did a lot of reading and studying. The more I read and studied the Bible, I realized that not only could I be gay and Christian, but I did not have to feel any guilt about it. I never questioned whether God exists or not. I find it hard to believe that we are all some colossal cosmic accident, and that God did not guide our creation. I do believe in evolution, but in no way find it to be out of line with my beliefs. Everyone has their own choices to make in what they believe or don’t believe. It greatly saddens me when people look down on gay men who remain Christian. I have had some very nasty comments on my blog in the past about this subject. One time, someone wrote, “You seem so intelligent, so I can’t understand why you’d be so stupid as to believe in religion.” You’ll never find those comments on my blog because I delete them. At one time, I tried to respond to them, but you can’t reason with some people. So, I just delete them. Unless they are a follower of Donald Trump, I am not going to make fun or denigrate anyone else’s beliefs. It’s not what Jesus would want me to do, but I will speak out against anyone who uses hate and wraps it in a pretty package and calls it Christianity or any other religion for that matter.