I got to know who Justin Lee was when I became acquainted with the “Bridges Across the Divide” website. Years before I was even connected with New Direction, the spouse of one of our ministry’s board members was one of the first group to get that site started. Seems like bridging and the ministry of reconciliation has been in our blood for some time.
Justin went on from Bridges Across to form the Gay Christian Network which is an online community for gay Christians of diverse theological perspectives. If you’ve never visited their site, go take a look: www.gaychristian.net
I spoke with Justin for the first time, when I called him to talk about the possibility of coming to a GCN conference – which I shared more about here. I was so impressed with his generosity of spirit. He could have slammed the phone down saying, “A lot of our members have been really hurt in Exodus ministries – and we don’t want you coming anywhere near our conference.” I would have understood if he had done that. But he didn’t. He took me at my word when I explained my reason for wanting to attend – a big step of trust on his part – and when I met him at the conference he was gracious, kind and inviting. After meeting him, he was someone I knew I would like.
As the ideas began to come together for our Bridging the Gap dvd, I knew that Justin would be a wonderful candidate to interview. His perspective was one that the piece needed to have – even if some of the things he shared would be stretching or uncomfortable or disagreed with by many of our viewers. What I hoped that people would walk away and be challenged with is the clear love and commitment that Justin has in his personal and intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.
In the midst of all of our disagreements about theology and homosexuality, we can begin to build a bridge when we see one another’s humanity – and for those of us who are believers – when we see one another’s love for Christ.
During the interview, I asked Justin, “Why would you want to be part of an initiative of a ministry like New Direction?” …… I asked it anticipating that his answer would hit the heart of the matter of what we were trying to accomplish with our DVD piece. Well in this clip, you hear part of Justin’s answer. And whether you agree with everything he says or not ….. I challenge you in the Spirit of Christ to open your heart to hear and connect with Justin, our brother in the Lord.
Thank you Justin for being so willing and generous to be a part of Bridging the Gap!
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
Wendy,
Thanks for adding this video tape. I have known about Gaychristian.net for some time and have found their website and organization very useful. I do have a few concerns about what he says in this video when he points out that he has more in common with Christians with whom he may disagree with than those gays who are outside the church.
I am not really sure what he was trying to point out but I didn't find that comment very helpful. It almost sounded like he was saying that he was a more evolved gay christian/person.
It came across, at least to me, as placing a barrier between him and the rest of the "sinful unchurched gay community". I am SURE that is not what he meant but you know enough about my posts here that I believe words are very important and he might want to think about how he says something.
I find as a Gay Christian that I have things in common with all sorts of people both Christian and Non-Christian. I would never try to make a distinction between the two. I realize he is just trying to reach out to those Christians who do not believe homosexuality is appropriate behavior but I think it came off sounding a little judgemental.
The thought that ran through my mind was "Well I may be Gay but I am CHRISTIAN GAY, which makes me a little bit better than the rest of the Gay Community." I know I am a little sensitive to language than most and I recognize that BUT it just didn't come across as positive.
I guess I probably should contact him with my comments rather than posting on your blog but I saw the video here and thought I would share my opinion. Hang in there Wendy God is Good!! :)
Jack
Jack,
I think your comment raises the reality of an ongoing tension that those of us who speak publicly into this divide face: we are speaking to multiple audiences every time we speak publicly - and this means that we are almost guaranteed to trigger a sensitivity in one audience or another. This is particularly true when you're looking at the topic of faith and sexuality - because it is such a sensitive subject. Those who seek to be gracious and give people the benefit of the doubt, never-the-less have their sensitivities.
My conclusion in the matter, is that you really can't "please all the people all the time" .... but that when a sensitive area is triggered it can be an opportunity for a new conversation. It isn't then conversation for the sake of conversation - just a never ending exchange of ideas without really finding agreement - but rather conversation as an essential part of relationship. For even where relationships have disagreement (essentially a given in any relationship), the relationship itself can still be inherently valuable.
So .... Jack .... as someone who continues to engage in the conversation - rather than stomping off because you disagree with something or how something was said - thank you. I think you're modelling the kind of values that BTG hopes to foster.
Wendy,
Thanks for your comments and I agree we need to be in conversation and I know that his video was meant to be positive but I just felt the need to point out how it sort of "stung" me a little. At any rate, I have enjoyed our back and forth on here and look forward to your future posts!
Meanwhile good news for those of us on "Side A" : Maine has become the next state to legalize gay marriage!
Blessings,
Jack :)
Speaking as a gay non-Christian, I can actually understand what Justin is saying about having more in common with other Christians. I just happen to think it's unfortunate. And he's right to say that it often seems like the only common thread in the gay community is the fact that we're all gay.
I'm also reminded of a quote by John Mahoney's character in "The Broken Hearts Club":
Sometimes I wonder what you boys would do if you weren't gay. You'd have no identity. It was easy when you couldn't talk about it. Now it's all you talk about. You talk about it so much that you forget about all the other things that you are.I've been around enough that I think there are a lot of times where there's a lot of truth to that observation. I think it's important that we all start looking for more common ground and other interests.
Having said that, I do admit that some gay Christians do seem to take non-Christian gay people for granted. I've met a few who still assume that while the stereotypes about gay men may not apply to them, they still apply to the rest of us, for example. And I'm reminded of a conversation I had with Christine Bakke. She commented about a couple of times where she really felt uncomfortable at the first ex-gay survivors' conference a couple years ago because she was one of the few people involved who wasn't still a Christian.
It seems to me that the Christian/non-Christian gap is just another one that still needs to be better bridged at times.
-- Jarred.
Jarred thanks for your valuable comments. I know there would be some who would take unfair advantage of the vulnerability of self-critique - but I personally think it is courageous and authentic - and we would all benefit if groups could commit to that kind of transparency.
Christine is a friend - and I listen really carefully to her experiences because I am so aware of how easily we capitulate to 'insider' language and mentality. For those of us who embrace relationship with Christ, clearly we believe it to be life-giving and want to share that with others and have them join us in that experience. But that desire should not express itself in superiority or coercion or exclusion .... because the heart of the Gospel, for those with eyes to see, is essentially about an invitation to all.
Stereotypes and assumptions simply do not serve the common good in any way, shape or form. Embracing our shared humanity through real relationship is the only truly grace-filled way to extend any invitation IMHO.
I've mentioned here before and mention again that Justin has produced a new dvd "Through My Eyes" which I've purchased and strongly recommend. My sense about Justin (which comes from several years of viewing the GCN website/gaychristian.net and listening to the GCN radio programs) is that he is simply a very bright, thoughtful, fair, funny, hard-working, God loving kid (at least that's my 51 year old "mom" perspective). If Justin has any "fault" (and I'm sure he could respond to this), it might be that he unwittingly finds himself, as many born & lovingly-raised-in-the-church kids do: schooling, socializing and working almost exclusively within Christian contexts. This might set him up to view the secular community (inc. the secular glbt community) with some sense of distance. The GCN website notes that they are aiming to "engage the wider glbt community" (not sure they've yet developed this as well as other objectives). But here's what I appreciate about Justin: 1) he has authentically personalized the faith of his parents alongside his gay orientation and done this with sheer honesty and amazing integrity and 2) he graciously and unwaveringly flies in the face of many conservative Christian stereotypes about gay people: that they lack a proper bond with their parents, that they habitually fill their need for love with drugs or promiscuity, etc. 3) Through the GCN online community and annual conferences God has used Justin and others to minister much love and encouragement to many gay people of faith (and even a few atheists/agnostics). As GCN's moderator, Justin is committed to having all people who enter his space, as it were, feel welcome and safe.
It's a month and a half later, and I just saw this, so I don't know if Jack will see my comments or not. But I'll try anyway. :)
Jack, thanks for the feedback on how I came across. As Wendy said, it's always difficult to speak publicly on these issues, because so many different people are listening for so many different things.
I'm so sorry if it sounded like I was "placing a barrier" between me and non-Christian gays! That wasn't my intent at all! In fact, the vast majority of my local friends are gay and not Christian.
In that clip, I was trying to convey something about myself personally. My whole life is wrapped up in Christian ministry, and has been for many years. So for me, the bond with other Christians is always going to be stronger than other kinds of bonds I might have with people, such as nationality, sexuality, gender, and so forth.
In saying that, I'm not at all intending to suggest that those other bonds are nonexistent or somehow sinful, or that I'm superior to anyone. Far from it! I'm just saying that the center of MY life is my faith, and so the bond I have with others who share that faith is stronger than bonds I have with people who have other things in common with me.
I made the point because I've met a lot of Christians who don't know much about gay people (including many who would be the targets of this film) who somehow assume that the gay community is monolithic, that we all think alike, that we have a secret "agenda," and that they (the straight Christians) have nothing in common with us, as if our sexuality were the only salient thing about us.
My point to them was to say, "Hey, guess what. I'm a lot like you. My whole life is built around my faith. In fact, I probably have more in common with you as a person of faith than I do with a random person off the street who happens to also be gay."
Does that make any more sense?
I also think Jarred's point is excellent about gay Christians taking non-Christian gay people for granted. I've seen that too, and I don't want to come across that way at all.
When I do public speaking to Christian crowds, one of the points I always try to hammer home is that the gay community, like the straight community, is not monolithic. Christian or not, we are diverse people. We don't all look the same, listen to the same music, hang out at the same places, or have the same sexual practices. You can't make any assumptions about someone based solely on their orientation or their faith; you have to get to know them as people first.
--Justin
Post a Comment