I have been in Denver for 2 months now. May and June 2019 have come and gone, and I’m mostly settled here. I have a homebase, a job, health insurance, a paycheck, a car. However, I’m still looking for 3 things in Denver: deeper friendships, a church family, and a romantic relationship. Of those three, I’ll probably find the church first. Prior to this morning, I had been to six churches in the Denver area:

  • The House for All Saints and Sinners (Evangelical Lutheran)
  • First Mennonite Church
  • Good Shepard Catholic Church
  • St. Andrews Episcopal Church
  • Highlands Church
  • Mile Hi Church

Today I visited my seventh church in Denver, and I had planned to leave early and visit an eighth church today as well. But God would have other plans…

The Heights Church in Denver had drawn me in simply because of their logo. It is a set of three triangles of different shapes and sizes that create an image of a mountain range, complete with peaks and valleys. I had seen it several times over the past 2 months as I ate at the Chipotle restaurant across the street. Beyond that, I knew they were evangelical based on their website; not much else. But what kind of trinitydreamer would I be if I didn’t explore this trinity of triangles? And so, I went to the Heights 10am service today. I sat near the front, in the second row, left of center. A few minutes before the service began, a man introduced himself to me, asked if I was new, and asked why I had come to the Heights. I said I had been drawn because of the logo, but I was interested in finding out their stance on LGBTQ issues. He said we could speak after the service, and I realized as the service started that I had just met one of the pastors, Corbin.

Our conversation

After the service, Corbin was busy speaking with other members of the church, so I struck up a conversation with another of the pastors, Jonathan, who gave the sermon for today. After conversing with Jonathan for several minutes, I had established that the Heights had a traditional view of marriage, meaning they did not agree with gay marriage. It was an open, honest conversation, hitting on biblical interpretation, sexuality, and even author Sam Alberry. I can say that I am familiar with his work thanks to My Recommendation project. One of my friends had recommended it to me and I read it in Australia earlier this year.

I was able to articulate where I felt Mr. Alberry fell short in addressing the issue of being gay. It isn’t just about sex or about having a romantic partner, but truly about finding a suitable companion. Sure, man cannot live without God (as Creator, Sustainer, and in my belief, Redeemer). But, it is also “not good for man to be alone”. Even non-religious academics agree that family and society play an important role in our lives. We are social animals.

Where 2 or 3 are gathered…

Halfway through, Corbin joined the conversation. At this point, all the other members of the church had packed up and left. After listening to what I was saying, Corbin said that when he had first met me before the service began, he believed God had told him to listen to me. Woah! That’s a first! Usually I’m praying to God that they DO listen.

I could let this all go to my head. I’m finally a prophet! I would be the one to change their minds about this issue. Maybe I would do it in time to save a gay kid who was growing up in their church from hearing the wrong message about their God-given sexuality, or knowing that God created them exactly as they are. But most likely, I wouldn’t be. Because who knows what it even means that Corbin was told to listen to me. And how often do we disregard what God tells us to do?

I don’t truly know the effect I had on them, or even if I will ever hear from them again. They said they would love to keep in contact, and I gave them this website address, so they have many ways of getting in touch with me, but it wouldn’t surprise me to find nothing else came from this encounter. But I know the effect that they had on me.

Just a coincidence?

If that’s the case…if I experience no further connection or conversation from this encounter, is it going to have much of an impact? What really happened today? Do we ever really know what the effects our efforts will produce? Ultimately, we put in the effort, we try, and as they say, “results may vary.” Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose…sometimes we have to start completely over.

What I take away from this experience is the coincidences that fill this story. Bear with me, I see a lot of them –

  • I attend a church purely based on the logo that I was drawn to, 3 triangles
  • Corbin meets me before the service, and says he would love to talk to me after the service. He is told by God to listen to me
  • I had originally planned to visit two churches today, but when the pastor said he would meet with me, I decided to trust that this was the church that I should be at today
  • Jonathan preaches on Mark 4 – the Parable of the Sower. It talks about sowing seeds (truth) onto various types of soil. His question to us is what kind of soil are you?
  • My question to him…who is the Sower? I would argue that the Sower is anyone who is communicating God’s truth.
  • I communicate my truth to both Corbin and Johnathan after the service, my experience on Miracle Sunday and the adventure that I’ve been on since, saying God CREATES LGTBQ individuals. And once created, he wants them, just a like ALL his creations, to find SUITABLE COMPANIONSHIP!

Right in the middle

If you have been a reader of my blog for any length of time, then you will know that on Miracle Sunday, I learned that God CREATED me as a homosexual. I also learned that being homosexual doesn’t disqualify me from relationship with God, or romantic relationship with another human being.

For a while now, I’ve recognized I occupy a unique space in the Gay/Christian divide. As I see it, they are at two extremes, with both sides now expressing fear, confusion, anger, or disdain towards the other. But it doesn’t have to be that way. I am convinced that God has a beautiful way forward for all his creation.

Where do I find myself? Firmly planted in the middle ground, a place where those two terms can beautifully co-exist, a place where God wants both sides to be. Who am I amidst all of this? A middle child, an INFJ, passionate about faith, relationships, and sexuality, enneagram 2w3, gay AND Christian. A disciple of Christ who dreams of one day being a husband and father. I know God gave me my story to tell. And so that’s my story…at least for today.

"There's a hope, there's a wish, there's a prayer
And it goes like, Shining, Shining, There's a light
Shining inside of ya" 

Light (ft. RIIVER) - bvd kult & Krosses