Work Well in an LGBT+ Environment
Body
“Being a loving, uncompromising, and effective witness calls for courage and wisdom. Here are six suggestions to help you navigate these turbulent waters.” - TGC
As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“Being a loving, uncompromising, and effective witness calls for courage and wisdom. Here are six suggestions to help you navigate these turbulent waters.” - TGC
“LGBTQ+ people are people. They are made in the image of God and worthy of dignity and respect…. don’t overcomplicate things. What are ways, in general, we can grow in making people feel welcome?” - 9 Marks
“MacKinnon studied the lives of detransitioners, initially convinced they were a fringe minority whose stories were not significant in understanding the issue. Her research led her to the opposite conclusion.” - Breakpoint
Fade in on the little town of Bomont, presumably in rural Illinois. At a pulpit in a small local church is the Reverend Shaw Moore. He’s fond of crazed pastoral rants against dancing. You may recognize him—he’s the angry pastor-dad from Footloose.
“28% of U.S. Protestant pastors say LGBTQ+ individuals can serve anywhere in their church, while 31% say there is nowhere they can serve.” - Lifeway
Gallup “found a slight increase in the percentage of Americans who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender… climbing from 5.6% in 2020 to 7.1% in 2021. Since 2012… LGBTQ identification has risen slowly but steadily from 3.5%.” - Lifeway
“At the United Methodist Church, money’s tight, factions are readying exits, and social justice takes priority in witness.
“This month, the United Methodist Church (UMC) was scheduled to hold its quadrennial General Conference in Minneapolis, with a debate about homosexuality causing a potential schism. But the 10-day meeting and the much-anticipated vote have been bumped to August 29, 2021, still in Minneapolis.” - CL
“A new study appearing last month in the American Journal of Psychiatry concluded that ‘gender-affirming’ surgery is associated with reduced demand for subsequent mental health treatment…. even a cursory reading of the study itself tells a far less optimistic story” - Public Discourse
“At a Council of Bishops meeting on November 6, the five active Western Jurisdiction bishops announced a Safe Harbor Declaration for LGBTQ clergy.
Discussion