Many SSA/LGBT+ people struggle to find inclusion in the church — a safe place at least, and a nurturing place at best. This episode, we bring a very special guest onto the show. His name is Matt, who among other claims to fame (which we waste little time diving into), also pastors at Ryan’s church and oversees Ryan’s ministry to non-straight people, Intersect. We dive into their ministry relationship and overarching friendship, also discussing with Dean issues of sexuality, singleness, safety, and nurture of sexual minorities in the church.
And we also laugh a lot about Matt’s #WeirdJesus voice. It’s a big episode. You can listen to plenty of bonus content and bloopers from this episode on the upcoming episode of our second (secret) podcast, The YOBaLOGUE!
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Enjoy our CHURCH INCLUSION episode! And don’t forget to comment below: how has the church included (or not included) you? What do you want/need from the church, and what do you have to offer the church?
LINKS FROM THE SHOW
- Tom’s posts
- Ryan’s posts
- Dean’s posts
- The “Vintage Jesus” videos:
About the Author
Thanks for all the work on this video! I have listened to part of it…and will listen to more as time permits. Right now, my mom is sick and I am trying to take care of her. Plus, I had to have an invasive medical procedure that most will have to have in life…my insurance company required it and I dreaded it knowing the risks, but everything went well, thank the Lord.
This has always been a topic of great interest to me, and I have read at least hundreds of stories…
Can I give is slightly unique perspective. Working at a Christian Service organization I was in the Placement Department for a while…we were responsible for processing applications, finding a place of service around the world etc. We bent over backwards to give those who applied a chance…even when their profile was “red flagged.” The application form itself was quite rigorous and the process to becoming accepted was lengthy. However, we had to be very careful about being intrusive regarding private matters like one’s sexuality lest we open ourselves up to legal action. So, we didn’t go that route. One thing that would disqualify a candidate, however, was marital issues. I remember one lady lied on her application form about her marital status, and when her husband called us we had to terminate her application before we proceeded any further with her.
We did end up having a number of people who, after they finished their term of service, come out as gay. Since the organization did not have an official position on this issue, those who were kept it well hidden…I know I felt I could not tell anyone of my own SSA not being sure what would happen. Boy…could I tell some stories, but I’ll stop with that!
I will look forward to listening to the rest of the video. Perhaps my experiences relate to what some have gone through in churches also…
Thanks for listening in part, Dave. I hope your mother heals and recovers soon. Thanks for sharing your perspective with the work you’ve done.
[…] “Church Inclusion” podcast […]
[…] This post is adapted from a presentation I gave at my church about Intersect, our fellowship for non-straight congregants. You can hear more about Intersect in our podcast episode on Church Inclusion. […]
Listening to this episode just makes me want to cry.
Cry from laughter from the Jesus videos.
Cry from sorrow of not having my own group.
Cry from knowing there are groups out there who love me.
Cry from hope to believe that God will give me what you guys talk about.
You have given me so much hope and joy for my future. I’m so excited to see what God is going to do!
Josiah, thanks for chiming in. What a blessing, this comment. I’m excited for you. Cry away, and embrace the hope and joy set out for us. Look forward to connecting more!
[…] this coronavirus pandemic. They also recount Pastor Matt, AKA “Weird Jesus” from a previous YOBcast episode, and how he’s bettering the world during this […]
Oh my gosh these Jesus videos are wild! I am baffled I haven’t seen them before since growing up in the church and having older millennial siblings so this should have been in their time!
Glad you could discover them before it’s too late! I still laugh so hard over them.