Reconciling faith with gayness

On April 24, New Covenant Church is beginning a new ministry.

It’s for anyone who is gay, lesbian or transgender, especially those who have been alienated and rejected by churches.

And for anyone who is straight and trying to reconcile what Scripture says — verses that condemn homosexuality — with their belief in a compassionate, inclusive God.

“Anyone trying to reconcile their faith with homosexuality,” said pastor Jason Brooks. Faith … and homosexuality. In the American church today, there is a deep tension within many Christians — many honest and kind Christians — who are trying to honor Scripture while also loving and accepting their gay neighbors. For many straight believers in the South, it’s as if you can do one, but not the other.

But what if straight Christians don’t have to choose? What if we could honor the fullness of Scripture while also fully embracing gay, lesbian and transgender people as beloved children of God?

“God reveals himself through creation, people and his word,” said Dr. Joani Jack, a local pediatrician. “And I believe gay people are part of God’s revelation.”

Jack considers herself conservative and evangelical. She memorizes Scripture — 320 verses and counting — and attends a prominent evangelical church in Chattanooga, where she once served as deacon.

And she believes that in the eyes of God, there is neither straight nor gay, heterosexual nor homosexual.

“The transgender person next to me is just as much a creation of God as the elder on the other side of me in the $1,000 suit,” she said.

The American church must find its way out of its identity crisis and into a precious place where the transgender believer is just as welcome as the suited elder. Jack’s story helps show us how.

“Who am I to limit the grace of God?” she said.

Jack, who works at Erlanger, grew up in a conservative home and attended a Baptist college. Reading the Bible had been mostly an act of literalism until she met an Old Testament professor named Don Garner, who taught her how to drill down into the verses, past literal meaning, and into context, culture and dynamic interpretation.

“There were deeper meanings beyond the literal words,” she said.

It was freeing — the Bible came alive in ways it hadn’t before — and also prepared her for what happened next.

In 2013, Jack befriended a colleague at Erlanger, who was gay.

She realized she had never spoken to a gay person before in any meaningful, honest way. One night, she emailed him: I’d like to

hear your story.

They met at Tony’s Pasta Shop. For two hours, Jack listened as the man described a life of closet secrecy, shame and rejection. She listened to the hurt, much of it caused by the church.

“He typically saw evangelical Christians as a threat,” she said. “I have since told that sentence to more pastors than I can count.”

It was a holy moment for Jack. Gayness was no longer vague theory, but a real human being.

“Created by God,” she said.

It set her on a journey of faith. She read as much as she could, even called up her former professor and spent hours learning more about certain verses and their meanings. She talked with gay Christians who had been kicked out of church. She began an online conversation with a community of parents — from west coast to the east — whose children were gay.

“To a person, they had all been rejected by their church,” she said.

She’d listen to their pain and depression. She’d hear stories about children who had committed suicide. As a parent, she ached. As a Christian, she ached even more.

“These are human beings killing themselves because of the pain of rejection of the church,” she said.

With breathtaking clarity, Jack realized gay people weren’t the ones who needed changing or converting. It was straight Christians. “This is our litmus test,” she said.

Her own personal ministry emerged — a conservative speaking to other believers about a conservative theology that is also gay-affirming and gay-loving. An evangelical to other evangelicals.

Several months ago, she was invited to Oregon to speak at the Gay Christian Network annual conference. Doing so deepened her conviction that the church must begin to speak out in defense of the gay community, and emerge as a prophetic voice of love supported by Scripture.

There is a way to do both.

“These people are amazing and gifted creations of God,” she said. “When we fail to see that, we’re not just failing to be compassionate. We’re failing to recognize the gifts of God.”