I am a LGBTQIA+ ally.
I am also a Christian.
To me, those two things live in perfect harmony.
There are those who believe that they are mutually exclusive. There is a movement to shun and disown and not accept or try to "pray the gay away."
But to me, being a fully supporting LGBTQIA+ ally who leads with love over hate is in perfect harmony with being a Christian. And I'm not talking "love the sinner hate the sin" type support. A beautifully created child of God living their authentic life while causing no harm IS NOT A SIN.
Hate, judgement, misrepresenting God's authority to serve your (not God's) beliefs... those seem, to me, to be more sinful than being authentic to yourself. I've spent a long time looking into the mirror to contemplate this... If you have a heart capable of love and are willing to listen... I recommend doing the same.
If you don't... you probably already stopped reading and moved on... for those who are left... well.. let me tell you about a resource I came across that just re-emerged in my world.
I attended an Austin Independent School District one day seminar/gathering/event a few years ago and one of the break-out session presenters was Susan Cottrell, the founder of FreedHearts.
FreedHearts is a non-profit organization formed in 2013. According to their website (and my personal experience with them) this group "reaches into hurting communities with a message of love, inclusion, belonging, and hope — for parents, LGBTQ+, educators, therapists, and the church."
Her story is very interesting... and she even did a Ted Talk - "Why I chose my LGBTQ daughter over the Evangelical Church" telling her story back in 2018. you can watch that here - link.
Well.. it looks like they launched a podcast back in October.. and I just discovered it today. I listened to the Father's Day podcast by Robert Cottrell (Susan and Robert have been married for 30+ years) on Spotify. I highly recommend listening to it... here.
Then it automatically rolled to the next one...which is the one I share below.
I wish that every human being who has a heart capable of love and who is willing to let love move first to guide their lives would give a listen to this podcast...
There is no limit to what we can achieve when Love Moves First.
