My Queer, Communist Friend

I WISHED A HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY RADICAL, LEFT-WING, COMMUNIST, QUEER ACTIVIST, 30-year-old Facebook friend whose nom de plume is Cher Guevara. He would add this to his description: He would add this to his description: “anarcho-syndicalist, gender non-conforming, poet, journalist, performance artist, actor.”

We have had many spirited yet respectful conversations over the past few years. He knows where I stand on the issues and I know where he’s coming from. We have a lot of fun discussing the various social, political and religious topics that make their way onto social media. Even though his viewpoints are always completely off-the-wall and 100% wrong, I’m glad to have him as my friend.

He asked me some questions a while ago about who I am and why I held particular views; here is how I answered him: 

Can an LGBTQ Person Be a Christian?

On July 6, 2016, my wife and I celebrated our 20th anniversary at the Cheesecake Factory in Austin and was waited on by a very gracious and professional server named Trey, who told me that he had good news: that he was getting married soon to his boyfriend. My wife and I said, “Congratulations.”

I wrote a post about the incident and it blew up!  (Read it here.) Though the vast majority of my Christian friends understood what my intent was, there were a few who missed the point entirely. What was my point? To be gracious to a member of the LGBTQ group. Christians for too long have made a big deal of homosexuality as if that was the only sin that mattered and believers have been an absolutely horrible witness in this post-Christian society with their judgmental attitudes, pointy fingers and furrowed brows. I understand that some may not want to say “Congratulations,” but don’t I have that right? That was the point. (By the way, if it should ever happen again, I will probably say, “I wish you well.”)

Flash forward one year. The Facebook app called “On This Day” reminded me of this post from a year ago. Of course, I posted it again. This time though, I tagged a few of my Facebook friends who are LGBTQ. Wow! Not only did I get clobbered by the judgmental Christians again, (no surprise), but also from the community I was trying to be gracious to. They also entirely missed the point, saying I was publicly shaming our server, that I was judgmental, and a few even used some family-unfriendly words and blasphemous memes to make their point.

So much for tolerance and inclusiveness.

I consider myself to be a friend to all. I want Jesus to be reflected in everything I do. Still, I fall short as everyone does, but my over-arching purpose for writing that post and re-posting it, was to demonstrate what I  consider a better way to reach those who disagree with what I believe. I also try to do this with a good dose of humor. I’m not mad at anybody. I hate no one.

The big question, I suppose, is this: Can a person be LGBTQ and a Christian?

Austin Pride Parade Evangelistic Outreach & Training, August 27

If you live near Austin, Texas, or reside in the lesser 49, we want to invite you to our first Austin Pride Outreach and Training on August 27.

austin-pride

There will be a two hour training before the parade at 4:00PM here:

Austin Baptist Association
3811 Harmon Ave, Austin, TX 78751

We will drive/carpool to the parade immediately afterward. It is vital that we get to the parade at least 90 minutes ahead of time to get tracts into the hands of parade-goers before it starts.

For a helpful list of resources in dealing with the gay community, I have blogged over 40 articles/videos that will help educate you on how to be a sensitive communicator. Click here to access them.

We are not going there to condemn, judge, or shake fingers in people’s faces. Our purpose is to communicate the love of Jesus Christ without compromising the message, but, doing so in a tactful and forthright manner.

The best tract to use

Our Gay Waiter’s “Good” News

“REPENT YOU WICKED PASTOR!” This was just one of many Facebook comments I received when I posted an account of what happened at the Cheesecake Factory in Austin on July 6.

My wife and I were celebrating our 20th anniversary when our waiter, Trey, announced that he, too, had some good news: He was getting married! I asked who the lucky girl was and he said it wasn’t a girl.

cheesecake

How would you respond? What would you say to him? What I said to our waiter brought down a storm of fury and fire on social media: “You are WICKED! Yahweh rebuke you! The Lord Jesus Christ rebuke you devils! You are an abomination! He hates with Holy Wrath.” 

The Shepherd of Brokeback Mountain

In light of the Supreme Court’s decision to redefine marriage today, here’s a re-post of an article I wrote back in 2006…. “We’re here! We’re queer! Get used to it!” That was the ominous chant I heard twenty years ago on a news program from a pro-gay group called “Act-Up!” I didn’t think much about