"Gay" vs. "Same-Sex Attracted": A Dialogue

Last month I was invited to have a public conversation with my friend Greg Coles about a very sensitive topic: whether or not someone should call themselves a “gay” or “queer” Christian. As Christians, we of all people know that language is important. Writing for this series helped me clarify my thinking, and I hope by posting the series in one place, it can be a help to you as well.

The conversations was hosted by the Center for Faith, Sexuality and Gender, and the first post is an introduction by the founder of the Center, Preston Sprinkle.

Next, Greg explains why he started calling himself gay, as a man committed both to Jesus and to the traditional biblical sexual ethic.

I responded by explaining why I use the term same-sex attracted to describe my sexuality.

Then we got into the fun stuff. Greg kicked off by sharing three of his concerns with the term same-sex attraction. I responded briefly with some thoughts about his concerns.

After this, I had a chance to share my own three concerns about Christians using LGBT+ language. Greg then took the chance to respond at length to my concerns.

Finally, we ended with a jointly written post about our hopes for the future of the church, especially in light of this important conversation.

My hope is that as you consider this conversation, you would be moved to seek understanding, and even more to seek how you can best love and honor God and your neighbor.