I retired in July of 2019 with a plan to launch a ministry teaching my Gospel Memory Course in churches, first locally and eventually taking it nationwide.
My wife and I mailed out flyers and were beginning to plan our schedule for evening and weekend seminars; then the pandemic hit in January 2020 and churches canceled their plans.
Through 2020 I shifted my ministry focus to launching a YouTube channel where I recorded various Bible lessons for people to enjoy at home while church attendance was canceled in some places and greatly limited in others.
One of my YouTube Bible series is titled “God Loves the LGBTQ+ Community”.
For most of my tenure in pastoral ministry I accepted the general view held by most Christians regarding the LGBTQ+ Community. While I showed love and compassion, I also believed that all same-sex relationships were sin. I have to admit that it isn’t always easy to change one’s life-long beliefs when we consider evidence.
Nevertheless, when the need presented itself to consider the evidence, due to questions that were asked by some in my congregation, I fully expected to show how the texts demonstrated what Christians generally believe about being gay. While my professional training didn’t address the LGBTQ topic, it did provide the biblical research tools and skills to reexamine generally accepted beliefs and to my surprise, I wasn't finding the answers I expected to find there.
The research tools and skills are pretty simple, not requiring a college degree as much as a courageous heart to respond to what the Bible says regardless of what one expects it to say. My YouTube series on LGBTQ uses these simple principles to examine every passage used to address the LGBTQ topic in the generally accepted understanding.
While the view that I present in each passage may greatly alter the accepted view of the passage, it causes no harm to the Christian doctrines of love, grace and righteousness by faith which is the heart and soul of the Christian faith.
Unfortunately, many loving, grace-oriented Christians struggle with the idea of fully accepting and affirming the gay community even after seeing the evidence. To do so not only challenges their own life-long view, but also puts them at odds with most traditional and conservative churches where they attend. Furthermore the topic has become so politically charged that to acknowledge that the Bible isn’t as anti-gay as they once believed, puts many people at odds with their political views.
Suddenly, evidence or no evidence, changing one’s mind regarding what the Bible really says or doesn’t say about the gay community requires more than a simple change in thinking. It requires more than altering one’s understanding of a Bible passage here and a Bible story there. It requires an entire altering of our spiritual, political and social relationships.
Sometimes these alterations in life are not possible unless we witness someone close in our family dealing with the pain and suffering associated with being born different from the majority and being accused of choosing a sinful lifestyle. When that happens, many people are willing to open their eyes to the evidence for the sake of the one they love.
As a straight, cis-gender, heterosexual, white male pastor with all of the privileges afforded to me; I have chosen the road less traveled. I don’t have “a dog in the fight” as they say. I don’t know anyone in my family who is LGBTQ. I am not trying to defend myself or anyone close to me. I am however, committed to defending God’s Word at all cost.
While defending God's Word from the misinterpretations and speaking out against traditional views, I have suffered rejection, criticism, silence and avoidance for my stand for truth. When Paul says “rejoice in suffering” I have discovered how difficult that is when it could be totally avoided by simply following the religious crowd, but so it is! Here I stand! And I cannot do anything else but be true to my calling. All professionals must be willing to take a hard stand when necessary regardless of whether it affects themselves or others. In this case, I rejoice in whatever criticism comes my way if it brings hope and happiness to those suffering from misinterpreted Bible passages.
Watch for my upcoming video that addresses the phrase, “God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve” used by some against the LGBTQ Community.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Chester
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