Faith

Tending Fence

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I enjoyed a quiet drive through the country today. One of most favorite things to do. I had my youngest daughter with me and I was pointing out different things and sharing some of my experiences growing up in the country. It wasn’t too long and she was engrossed in something on her phone, so I just moved to musing to myself.

I was struck by a particular sight that I’ve been mulling over. It seems like this was on my mind since the instant I saw it. A large acreage heavily fenced in…a well-worn path just inside the fence line obvious from daily trips tending to the fence…pastureland that has long passed from valuable and useful into a state of neglect and harboring weeds, thistles, saplings, and brush. A gently rolling landscape of what must have been, in the past, the pride and joy of someone…but has since devolved into just something ugly.

The thought came to me immediately that this is what has happened to the church in some places. So much attention has been paid to tending fence to keep in the flock and keep out the unwanted, that the vitality and beauty of the thing has turned ugly from neglect and distraction on lesser priorities. To the point that those who pass by have no interest of getting in any longer.

I remarked to my daughter that the owner needed to do some serious “brush hogging” and burning to save the value of his property.

Maybe God does, too.

In some places I’ve been told I’m not wanted, no longer valuable, not even to be a greeter or usher…certainly not to “minister” in any way. There have been times I’ve been tempted to just keep moving on and not give the church a second chance. But, I keep driving by, hoping against hope that one day I will find an open gate and a pastureland that is beautiful from its tending.

But, then again, I’m a country boy.

When Someone Gets It

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The best, most useful analogy you can use to understand homosexuality is heterosexuality.

A powerfully written piece from a layman’s perspective.

http://www.evangelicalsforsocialaction.org/oriented-to-love-sexual-justice/homosexuality-whats-next-for-the-conservative-evangelical-church/

-Trevor

Moving Past The “But”

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Growing up, I learned God loved me. A whole lot. I was special, gifted, and He had a plan for my life.

Growing up, I learned that my family loved me. A whole lot. I was special, talented, and they had high hopes for me.

But…except…well, you see…there’s this little thing.

I could make God and my family love me more.

I just needed to try harder. I had to fit into the mysterious shaped hole in the human atmosphere that had been predetermined for me and left for me to struggle to discover and conform to. If I said the right things, did the right things, dressed in the right way, joined with the right people, claimed the right experiences, and avoided all the “wrongs” of those I would be loved more.

These days, I’m finding great freedom by relenquishing my hold on the “but.” I’m living in a freedom of just being me.

Well, at least to a point.

With God, nothing is hidden. I believe that God knows all about me, and nothing that He knows could possibly make Him love me any less. Period. Here, the “but” is nonexistent. No need to carry it.

With my family, many know all the good, bad, and ugly. And I believe they love me unconditionally in spite of all that. Others of my family, if they were to know all the bad and ugly stuff, would still love me, but that love would be strained and its expression forced. Here, the “but” is always in play. It is a constant.

I probably won’t ever be able to fully move past the “but” in this life. But, I believe, at the dawning of the next it will have faded into obscurity.

-Trevor

 

#gaylivesmatter

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The attached article was written as a Christian response to the #blacklivesmatter campaign. It is a powerful call to the church to embrace this important element of its true existence. I believe that it can also be interpreted as a call that #gaylivesmatter. It is a reminder that too many are lost to us and we must do all we can to stop the broken lives and hopelessness.

https://sojo.net/articles/social-justice-christian-tradition-not-liberal-agenda

Gay ≠ Lesser

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Good thoughts…important questions.

Another Anomaly Among Many

I recently sat down with one of my friends to catch up on life, and the reflections that I had after that conversation are the basis of this post. Now, I generally try to refrain from writing angry/irritated posts just for the sake of it, but I’ve been realizing that if this blog is going to be about my experiences, it has to include everything, because other people have probably felt those things too. So I’ll try not to just go off on everything, but what I write here is going to encompass all the different things that I’ve felt and experienced.

What I’ve been thinking about since my friend and I had that conversation is this: why do people automatically view us as being somehow dirtier, more sinful, and less sincere about our faith just because we identify as LGBT? Why do our theology and our motivations get questioned…

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The Problem With Gay People Is That They Are…

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I know you’ve got a problem with gay people. Let me see if I’ve got this “straight” (pun included at no extra cost) –

The problem with gay people is that they are…

Normal
We love. We dislike. We work. We play. We hope. We lose hope. We dream. We despair. We are just normal people. Just like you.

We do not have some kind of mental or physical disease that needs to be fixed or cured. This is who we are. Our sexual orientation is just as an integral part of us as your heterosexual orientation is an integral part of you. Which means that just like you didn’t choose heterosexuality, we didn’t choose our homosexuality; just like you can’t change your orientation, we can’t change ours. This isn’t a fad or a phase we are going through. We aren’t out to win some popularity contest or be “cool” (are you kidding??).

For most of “us,” at least for those of us who are “out” to some extent, this has been a journey that has taken a significant amount of time and effort in our lives. In my own case, I’ve been on this journey since about the age of 9. In my compartmentalized state, I kept this hidden and secret. All because of the imposed shame that I was given. But, I have nothing to be ashamed of. I’m just your normal guy.

Too bad you can’t see me like that.

You really wish we were strange, freaky, hateful, and unlovable people. But, come to find out, we aren’t.

I know that’s a problem for you.

People of Faith
It may make you uncomfortable. It may make you squirm. You may not be able to bring yourself to accept the fact. But it is a fact. We love God. We love to worship. We love to study the Bible. We love to discuss theology. We love the community of faith. We love to volunteer to make our churches happy and healthy. We love to work alongside of you to reach the community and make it a better place. We believe that “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son” (John 3:16). We are faithful followers of Christ. We are Christian.

Yes, we are gay Christians.

You really wish we were God-hating, devil-worshiping people. But, come to find out, we aren’t.

I know that’s a problem for you.

Agenda-Driven
You are right…we do, in fact, have an agenda.

Here is my personal gay agenda.

Here is the perspective of the “gay agenda” by a LGBTQ supporter.

You really wish we were out to destroy everything you hold dear. But, come to find out, we aren’t.

I know that’s a problem for you.

~~~~~~~

It is my belief that if these three facts could be embraced, then we could begin to have a good conversation about how true “community” can be expressed and experienced by all people. Straight and LGBTQ alike.

And more than a conversation. Conviction. Then…reality.

-Trevor

Weekending

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I’m waking up this morning in the beautiful Ozarks. The sun is shining brightly around a smattering of fog hugging the lake and the hillsides. The birds are happily singing their springtime tunes. The foliage is just beginning to put on the slightest tinge of green.

It is so quiet (except for the fishing boats I hear speeding along the lake to get to the favored honey hole). It is so peaceful. All seems to be in harmony.

I’ve been sitting here thinking about my life…my marriage…my family…my work…my faith.

I’m blessed.

Weekending takes one away from the normal humdrum, routine, and stresses of life. It helps the mind release. It helps the body relax. It restores. It rejuvenates. It reharmonizes. Or…it can, if we let it.

It will, if I let it

I know what matters. Most importantly, I know who matters.

I still believe there is hope for a beautiful life to be discovered within the cocoon.

So I choose to indulge in all the positive around me, and let the negative die the death of neglect.

The coffee’s not bad, either.

-Trevor