Journalist and pastor Mark Wingfield describes how the congregation he serves undertook a detailed study of how the church should respond to the inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender members. The study was conducted by a nineteen-member blue-ribbon task force that included wide representation of the church's various constituencies. The author served as a staff liaison, recording secretary, and resource to the study group, keeping meticulous notes of the process and the aftermath of the study.Why Churches Need to Talk about Sexuality is written for clergy and lay leaders in Protestant congregations of all kinds who need a helpful guide to conversations about human sexuality within congregations. The book also has in mind anyone who wants to understand the controversial debates about human sexuality and the Christian church today and who desire to follow a process to discuss the topic and make decisions about how congregations and individuals will respond to matters of ministry and sexuality.This book not only details the process used at Wilshire but also tells the human story of why the study was undertaken and what happened to the lives and faith of real people inside and outside the church. The author's hope is to provide a resource to other clergy and church leaders to understand why this issue must be addressed, how difficult it is to address, and what to expect along the way. As the title indicates, even though this is a difficult conversation to have, churches must have the conversation anyway.
Mark Wingfield is a veteran religious journalist who draws upon his experience as a pastor to write about the intersection of faith and culture, theology and current issues. He is a nationally syndicated columnist and associate pastor of Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas. David P. Gushee is Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics and Director of the Center for Theology and Public Life at Mercer University. He is the author, co-author, editor or co-editor of 22 books and approximately 150 book chapters, journal articles, and reviews, including Righteous Gentiles of the Holocaust, Kingdom Ethics, The Sacredness of Human Life, Evangelical Ethics, A Letter to My Anxious Christian Friends, Still Christian, and the forthcoming Moral Leadership for a Divided Age: Fourteen People Who Dared to Change Our World. He has been President of the American Academy of Religion and the Society of Christian Ethics. He has also been heavily involved in numerous activist efforts for peace, justice, human dignity, and the integrity of God's creation, most notably in addressing torture, climate change, and the continued harm being inflicted on LGBTQ persons by Christian churches and families.
Introduction 1. Our story 2. Process and transparency 3. Getting started 4. The pain of silence 5. Where we've come from 6. Looking for resources 7. "Dear God, I think I might be bi" 8. Study, dialogue and prayer 9. What the Bible says 10. Genetics and sexuality 11. Adolescent sexuality 12. What about the T in LGBT? 13. Laura Beth 14. What about marriage? 15. The study group votes 16. Majority versus minority 17. Reporting to the congregation 18. We Love Wilshire 19. Church conference 20. The vote and the fallout 21. Rebuilding 22. For the joy set before you 23. Appendix A: Common questions and objections 24. Appendix B: Q and A about the study group 25. Appendix C: What does the Bible say about marriage
"The topic of LGBTQ inclusion is among the most debated and, sadly, most divisive religious issues today. Why Churches Need to Talk About Sexuality is a helpful guide to understanding what's at stake, why it matters, and how churches' unwillingness to discuss this topic has harmed countless marginalized people. Mark Wingfield writes with both a reporter's curiosity and a preacher's clarity, and the result is a helpful roadmap for navigating a conversation that Christians can no longer avoid. Readers on both sides of this contentious issue will find space to wrestle in the pages of this book." --Jonathan Merritt, contributing writer for The Atlantic; author of Learning to Speak God from Scratch "Why Churches Need to Talk about Sexuality is the guidebook so many church leaders and congregations have been waiting for. Navigating the conversation about LGBTQ inclusion can be daunting, especially in the face of significant disagreement. The hard-won wisdom Mark Wingfield shares here will be invaluable for all those seeking to help their churches become more inclusive and affirming of LGBTQ Christians." --Matthew Vines, executive director of The Reformation Project; author of God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same-Sex Relationship "Mark Wingfield is a Baptist pastor with a heart for everybody. As a person of faith serving as a senior pastor, a man who happens to be married to a man, I welcome this book as it seeks to inform, engage, and encourage all readers, but most especially persons of faith who sincerely want to learn more about the LGBTQ members of their communities, in an important conversation about the church and sexuality. In this book, Wingfield inspires faith, hope, and love. And, yes, as you will soon read, the greatest of these is love!" --Neil Cazares-Thomas, senior pastor at Cathedral of Hope United Church of Christ in Dallas "How we welcome and love all of God's children is the most vital issue facing the church today, and Mark Wingfield writes about it beautifully, passionately, and thoughtfully. Why Churches Need to Talk about Sexuality is an essential book for anyone hoping to move their church and their faith to what comes next." --Greg Garrett, author of My Church Is Not Dying "This book is the beacon of light that churches all over America need to help them address the topic of LGBTQ inclusion in faith spaces. With transparency, practicality, deep wisdom, and without bias, Wingfield gently teaches how to navigate this inevitable conversation. This long-awaited resource is one I will be recommending often." --Amber Cantorna, national speaker; author of Unashamed and Refocusing My Family "This is our story, our church's journey toward full inclusion of all LGBTQ Christians in the life of our faith community. It's a hard story, but good. Good things are often hard. But the way of Christ leads to a larger table where there is always room for more. Mark Wingfield's book is a testimony and testament to the joy that comes to a people when whosoever will may come really means everybody." --George A. Mason, senior pastor, Wilshire Baptist Church "Why Christians Need to Talk about Sexuality is the honest and compelling story of one church's journey toward greater inclusion for LGBTQ individuals and families. Any mainline church thinking about moving through a process of discernment will be helped by reading about the work of Wilshire Baptist in Dallas, Texas. The church conversations illustrate the challenges and gifts of faithfully wrestling with sexuality, orientation, identity, and gender." --Joretta L. Marshall, professor and director of the Carpenter Initiative in Gender, Sexuality, and Justice, Brite Divinity School
