Why Do We Need a "Gay Church"?
by Pastor Jeff Miner, June, 1997
note: Pastor Jeff Miner is with Jesus MCC
This is a question we sometimes hear and probably don't much like. It tends to put us on the defensive. But I believe it is an excellent question that can help us define our identity and sharpen our sense of mission.What are we offering that isn't being offered elsewhere?
Jesus MCC is part of a denomination -- the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches -- that was founded in 1968 by a group of Gay and Lesbian Christians who wanted to establish a place to worship God without having to hide their sexual orientation. In 1968, there were no affirming straight churches. The only viable solution was to establish our own.
Now, almost thirty years later, some straight churches are willing to accept openly Gay and Lesbian members. With these changes, some argue that we no longer need a "Gay" church -- that we should all return to the affirming straight churches. "Why does there have to be a separate 'Gay' Church?", they ask. "Isn't segregation wrong?"
Some respond to this line of questioning by insisting the we are not a "Gay" church. We are, they say, a Christian church with a special outreach to the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Community. I, for one, am not offended when people refer to us as the "Gay" church. African Americans don't take offense when we refer to the historic "black" church. They are justifiably proud of their religious tradition. We should be too.
Actually, there are striking parallels between our denomination and the African American experience. Many of the historic black denominations were formed when African Americans grew tired of sitting in the balconies and back pews of the sanctuaries in predominantly white churches that refused to accept them as equals. Because these churches were unwilling to grant them equality, African Americans founded churches of their own where they could worship God in freedom, and live out and celebrate their own culture.
Nobody today would seriously argue that the historic black denominations should disband. For starters, the notion that discrimination has disappeared in most "white" churches is false. The same is true of most straight churches that affirm Gays. We are allowed to donate and participate, but still face many spoken and unspoken barriers. Try holding hands with your spouse in a straight church and see how many unapproving stares come your way.
But even if discrimination against African Americans were completely eliminated from the "white" churches, most people would still understand that there are powerful reasons for the historic black denominations to continue. White folk who feel that blacks should return to the white church just because white folk have finally decided to stop discriminating are themselves exhibiting a form of racism. Why shouldn't the flow be reversed? Why shouldn't white folk come to the black churches? Similarly, we might ask, why shouldn't straight folk come to Gay churches instead of expecting us to return to theirs now that they've decided to stop discriminating?
When put this way, the answer seems obvious. Straight folk usually don't want to come to our churches because our churches reflect Gay culture, which differs in important respects from straight culture. Similarly, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered people are not completely at home in straight churches because those churches tend to reflect heterosexual culture. It seems to me, that as long as discrimination is eliminated and churches stand ready to cooperate amongst themselves, there is nothing wrong with having churches that reflect a variety of cultures. It is important that we be able to attend churches that apply Christianity to our own culture and life experiences.
That is the great advantage of both the historic black denominations and the "Gay" church. Both are providing churches where people with common life experiences (such as being black or being Gay) can worship and learn about Jesus Christ in a manner that is deeply relevant to those experiences. This is far more important than straight observers may realize, for they've spent a lifetime in churches that are based on their own life experience. They don't understand how alienating it can be when every sermon illustration is about heterosexuals and when the issues that are emphasized are those that commonly confront heterosexuals.
For a Gay person, there are at least four key reasons for attending a Gay church:
- Although we read and study the same Scriptures as other Christian churches, at Jesus MCC the sermon illustrations and practical applications are put in the context of Gay life experiences. This helps make Christianity deeply relevant to our lives.
- At Jesus MCC, we are free to be who we are. We can hold hands with our spouses during service without people staring
- At Jesus MCC, we provide many opportunities for basic instruction regarding why it's OK to be Gay and Christian. This is an issue that many of our people struggle with, having been raised in discriminatory churches.
- By joining our resources, we can help fulfill our unique mission to share the Good News of God's love for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered people. That's a message our Community needs to hear!
So we should be proud that people sometimes refer to us as the "Gay" church. We are doing for our people what the historic black denominations have done for African Americans. Yes, we should (and do) stand ready to cooperate with other churches. Yes, we should (and do) welcome all. But not all churches have to be alike. God has called us to a special mission -- our mission is to present the teachings of Jesus in a way that is powerfully relevant to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered people. We owe no apologies.
We are pilgrims making history!