The great divide
by Greg White
Staff Writer and Special Correspondent
Everything is bigger in Texas. That includes the Gay Christian Network Conference, which held its twelfth annual conference in Houston last month. The event, which attracted over 1,500 LGBTQIA Christians and straight allies, was the biggest of its kind. With so many people from such diverse backgrounds, countries, and theological viewpoints, there was bound to be some tension.
Justin Lee, founder of GCN, addressed those tensions in his opening night remarks, commenting on the divide between those who espouse a Side A viewpoint, (the belief that God blesses same-sex unions) and a Side B viewpoint, (the belief that God calls gay Christians to lifelong celibacy). “We’re a bunch of people who, as far as the world is concerned, don’t belong in a room together…these differences matter and yet it also matters for us to reach across the divide,” he said.
The diversity of viewpoints was especially clear in the variety of workshop sessions available to attendees, including those dealing with marriage and dating, the struggles faced by Side B Christians, coming out, transgender issues, advocacy within the Church, and parents of LGBT children.
They were also evident in the keynote addresses, which focused on broadening the conversation regarding LGBTQIA Christians and the Church, including the role that racial justice and trans inclusion should play in the movement. Speakers included Rev. Broderick Greer, Rev. Allyson Robinson, and blogger Misty Irons. Although her keynote focused on countering conservative evangelicals’ hostility to the LGBT community, it was Irons’ Side B stance that drew concern from some conference attendees.
“It's not that I expect to agree with everything in a church or a Christian organization.… But I do think that we are obligated to confront messages that are damaging to people - in this case, to LGBT people,” said Liz Dyer, Founder of Serendipitydodah for Moms, a support group for mothers of LGBT children. “We must be clear that if Side B is producing bad fruit in the life of someone, that should be a sign that it isn't the right choice for that person,” she said.
Still, signs of grace and unity persisted throughout the weekend through the words of Justin Lee and Rev. Allyson Robinson, who said, “God is not Side A and God is not Side B…we are now all children of God through faith in Jesus Christ.” Lee’s Sunday morning address was a call to recognize privilege in the community, empathizing with and lifting up the marginalized within their own ranks.
But the real unity at the heart of the GCN Conference was to be found not in the keynotes or workshops, but in the community formed by the attendees between sessions. Groups from every background and denomination could be found around the conference center playing games, sharing their stories over drinks, worshiping together, and even enjoying a private Mary Lambert concert, where she invited couples to the front of the stage to dance.
“These small moments are life giving to individuals and they add up to give people hope and strength and comfort - all the things that good theology should offer to people,” said Liz Dyer. “One thing I so much love about the conference is how we all make it a goal to welcome each other, to greet and invite people in…and to be honest [and] vulnerable with each other. This is something I try to enact after the conference. It makes me feel like the conference’s effects on me are still echoing,” said one attendee.
When asked how so many people and perspectives could form this kind of community, Justin Lee said, “I think from the beginning this has been a community of people that has been marginalized in various ways in their own lives….
“And that shared experience of marginalization is part of what brings us together…What we’ve decided to do is build a community of mutual support to work toward our shared goals of having churches be more supportive places for LGBTQ people.”
Alberto Garcia Olivares, a first-time attendee, found the weekend particularly powerful. “I’ve never found anywhere so safe and so open and so loving,” he said. “When I grew up, I literally never had friends…I’m actually walking out of these doors with friends…I thought it only existed in movies… yes, [it] is possible to have such peace…even though there’s such diversity between Side A, Side B, LGBTQ, denominations…and yet we’re all here saying ‘I love you’…because you’re a child of God.”
The Gayly - 2/19/2016 @ 4:26 p.m. CST