gay evangelicals

Evangelical Comic and Gospel Singer Mark Lowry Should Come Out of the Closet

Mark Lowry, 64 is a Southern Gospel singer, Christian comedian (oxymoron), and he’s primarily known for being a former member of the Gaither Vocal Band,

Lowry has attention deficit disorder and he describes himself as the “Poster Boy for Hyperactivity.” Most people who are familiar with the confirmed bachelor’s flamboyant personality, and corny sense of humor think of him as the “Poster Boy for Closeted Evangelicals.”

Lowry graduated from the vehemently anti-gay Liberty Baptist College (now known as Liberty University) and started his career as a gospel singer as part of the college’s evangelistic singing team.

To his credit Lowry has never espoused the homophobic views of Liberty University, on the contrary in recent years he’s expressed tolerance for the LGBT community.

Lowry has always kept his personal life private, but he’s given his fans the false impression that he’s romantically interested in fellow Christian comedian Chonda Pierce.

Lowry would be well-advised to stop using Chonda as his beard, come out of the closet and openly campaign for gay rights. Lowry should dedicate the last chapter of his life, not to his stand-up comedy or Christian singing ministry but as an advocate of gay rights.

There is No Place for Proud & Independent Women in the Evangelical Church

“Evangelical women have long attended church at higher rates than evangelical men. But today that gap is narrowing, not because more men are coming but because more women are leaving. Such women are increasingly likely to ‘deconstruct’ their faith or identify as ‘nones’—a rising population of the religiously disaffiliated.”

ChristianityToday.Com

It’s easy to convince the LGBTQ community that they are not welcome in the evangelical movement. While society at large, and even most conservatives, accept marriage equality and the intrinsic value of gays and lesbians, homophobia still runs rampant in evangelical churches and colleges.

It’s only self-hatred and an irrational fear of damnation that keeps closeted gays in evangelical churches while their pastors demonize homosexuality from the pulpit.

It’s easy to convince the Latino community that they are not welcome in the evangelical churches. The mainline Protestant churches and the Catholic Church have outreaches to immigrants, and they are in the frontline of the battle for racial equality. Racism runs deep in evangelical circles, and most evangelicals believe in the Republican heresy that our country is being invaded by rapists, gang bangers, and other criminals from Mexico and Central America.

It’s only a deep desire to assimilate that makes immigrants remain in evangelical churches where their culture isn’t appreciated or valued.

It’s easy to convince African Americans that they are not welcome in predominantly white evangelical congregations. Trumpism, the new religion of white evangelicals, is synonymous with racism. Evangelicals have demonized the BLM movement and civil rights organizations.

Only Uncle Toms remain in evangelical churches, when they know damn well that most of their brethren hope and pray that heaven will be segregated.

But it’s more difficult to convince women to leave the toxic environment of evangelical churches. The fair sex is welcomed in evangelical churches, as long as they realize that according to the Bible, they should be subservient to men, especially their husbands and religious leaders.

I urge women to join Latinos, African Americans, and the LGBT community in leaving the undemocratic and unchristian evangelical movement.

Evangelicals Should Love, Accept and Support the LGBTQ Members of Their Churches

The Public Religion Research Institute released a study on sexual orientation and religion.

According to this study 80 percent of white evangelicals said they did not have any LGBTQ people in their friendship network.

I’m betting that some of the white evangelicals who claimed not to have any LGBTQ friends are themselves gay or lesbian. When same-sex love in condemned from pulpits as sinful, unbiblical and unnatural, I can understand why gay evangelicals would be afraid to come out to their fellow congregants, family, friends and even anonymous poll takers. The truth is that there are gays and lesbians in the choirs, leadership and membership of evangelical churches.

If closeted evangelicals realized that there are just as many LGBTQ persons in their churches as there are in society at large, maybe they would demand that their ministers stop their homophobic rhetoric.

Even though women and gay men compromise most of the membership of many black evangelical houses of worship, many black pastors condemn homosexuality from the pulpit, when the choir lofts behind them are filled with gay singers and musicians and the church members who are shouting “Hallelujah” the loudest are gay.

Enough with the unbiblical hypocrisy, self-hatred, homophobia and fear mongering. Evangelicals should love and accept the gay members of their churches.