In a rare show of super-vulnerablity, I’m posting the following on my personal Facebook page because I think it’s important. So if I’m posting it there, I might as well post it here. 🙂

There are many different ways of being human. It’s just plain arrogance that causes some christians to decide what ways are valid and which ways are not. I have friends all over the gender and sexuality spectrum and they have enriched my life in so many ways (that usually have nothing to do with gender and sexuality). As I’ve changed over the years I’ve come to approach this topic from the viewpoint of ‘what if one of my kids aren’t straight or aren’t content in their skin’?

I’ve known people in their teens who came out as adults and I wonder if I ever said anything in my fundi-evangelical days that was damaging. I wonder if I’ve ever been responsible for making someone feel like they wanted to die.

Because I know I used to believe that there were only certain people who had access to Jesus. I know I used to believe I was better than people. More moral than people.

And then of course I discovered those certainties didn’t hold up in the face of reality. And when I questioned them, I ended up on the other side of the judgment.

And I just want to say – the silence of Christians about the Duggar crimes (yes, crimes) screams louder than their vocal judgments and ‘opinions’ heaped upon Caitlyn Jenner.

Churches wonder why their numbers are declining – why people my age and younger don’t want to attend, and this is a large part of the reason why. Many, many, many churches and christians are not safe spaces for people.

But just because church attendance might be declining doesn’t mean the goodness of humanity is declining.

What I really want to say is to anyone who has been abused, victimized, or doesn’t conform to societies hetero-normative standards, and who might be in hiding over it, or who might be wanting to die from it, or who thinks God can’t possibly love them because of it – that’s not true. It’s OK to be you. Fully you. Who you were created to be.

And there are safe spaces for you. There are safe people for you.

And there is great freedom to be found in walking away from the voices who tell you otherwise.