You Can be Christian and Gay at the Same Time

I am … and this is how I do it.

I am permanently united with Jesus. He will never leave me; I will never leave him. And I am gay. Let’s see how all of that fits for me.

My Confession

I have committed my life over to Jesus. He is my God, king, rescuer, friend, and husband. Jesus has committed His life over to me, literally dying for me. Thus, I am Jesus’ Follower, friend, and husband.

Additionally, I demonstrate my gratitude to Jesus by providing loving kindness to each person within my sphere of contact. I specifically attempt to love the marginalized, and especially those in the LGBTQ+ community, and most especially gay Brothers.

Finally, I am gay. I am also in a romantic relationship with a fellow gay Brother who is single. I believe God delights in every gay marriage that intends to follow Jesus’ model for marriage: mutual sacrificial service to the spouse, enduring for a lifetime.

“Marginalized people are my neighbors. So are LGBTQ+ individuals. Similarly, my gay friends are my neighbors. I am supposed to provide Jesus’ kind of love to all of these people groups.”

Jesus is Truth and Love

Where do we go to discover the truth? And what does love look like? Jesus gives us Himself as the answer.

Jesus declared Himself to be the truth.

Christians are supposed to be Followers of Jesus. So, where do Christians find the truth?

Evangelical Protestants believe in the principle of “Sola Scriptura.” The Sola Scriptura presumption is that God inspired the bible’s authors to write documents that are inerrant (or infallible). Thus, all writings throughout their sacred book are the only reliable, valid source of truth. According to most evangelicals, truth is whatever their bible plainly states (i.e., simple, literal interpretation). Furthermore, this truth is generally regarded as applicable across cultures and times.

In contrast, mainline Protestants believe that truth can be known through contextual interpretation of the sacred writings (nuanced by the author’s intent, audience, and culture at that location and time in history). Mainline Protestants also believe truth is found through scientific discovery, plus logic and personal experiences.

So which form of Christianity provides the truth?

Evangelicals create their theology through the pronouncements of a prominent person (generally, a white, scholarly, privileged man from Western culture). This esteemed scholar has read the sacred text and then derives a model from various verses. Such a model is called a “doctrine” (or “dogma”). The devotees of the prominent person then prize the doctrine, and a new Protestant denomination is born.

Today, there are tens of thousands of Protestant denominations — all ascribing allegiance to their doctrine. Furthermore, their doctrine is the guiding principle in their seminaries — from which their teaching pastors emerge. Therefore, the denominations’ local church is led by a pastor who graduated from an approved denominational seminary and who teaches their sacred doctrine.

Thus, doctrine become the truth.

And among evangelicals, the “truthful” doctrine is that “homosexuality is a sin.”

For me, I prefer the “Solus Jesus” position espoused in Emily Swan’s and Ken Wilson’s fantastic book by the same name.

To these authors (and me), truth is only found in the person of Jesus. And since Jesus is alive today, His messages are continually being customized within each Follower’s spirit. And the Holy Spirit is Jesus’ advocate who serves as Jesus’ representative in this present era. Thus, the Holy Spirit guides the Follower’s truth from the person’s own: providence, experiences, common sense logic, scientific findings, and (of course) teachings from the sacred text.

Such a panorama approach to truth is what allows me to acknowledge that I am a gay Christian. Also, my gay identity is not a statement of my sexual behavior or political leaning. Rather, it is simply an authentic declaration that I possess predominant and enduring romantic and erotic attractions to men (and not women). Furthermore, my identity in Jesus is primordial: it supersedes my gay identity, my identity as a dad, a granddad, a Fantasy Football fan, and every other personal identity.

Thus, I am in Christ. And I am gay.

Jesus declared Himself to be the embodiment of true love.

Christians are supposed to — above all things — provide love to everyone whom they encounter. Jesus declared that all of the commands in the bible could be replaced by two commands: 1) love God; and 2) love our neighbor in the same way in which we would like to be treated. And Jesus’ type of love is supposed to be humble kindness offered as a priority. And according to Jesus, the ultimate love is to give up your life for a friend.

I am Jesus’ friend. And Jesus gave up His life for me. Jesus is my friend. And I gave up my life for Him.

So who are my “neighbors” that I am required to love?

Marginalized people are my neighbors. So are LGBTQ+ individuals. Similarly, my gay friends are my neighbors. I am supposed to provide Jesus’ kind of love to all of these people groups.

Thus, I attempt to provide love to each gay man who enters my sphere of contact.

My enemies are also my neighbors. Many Christians disagree with my theology. I do not seem to follow their doctrine. Many of these Christians demean me. They tell me I am not really a Christian (because I cannot be both a Christian and gay — let alone be involved in a romantic relationship with a gay Brother).

Conversely, many non-Christian gays degrade me. They say my faith is stupid; they mock Jesus and my bible. And they attempt to “cancel” my reputation because of my former association with evangelicals.

No matter. God endows each enemy with dignity. Jesus loves each enemy. I want to love like Jesus.

Thus, I attempt to provide love to each enemy who enters my sphere of contact.

In conclusion, I will let Jesus speak for Himself.

“I tell you, whoever publicly confesses an allegiance to Me here on earth, I (the ‘Son of Man’) will likewise acknowledge my allegiance to that person in the presence of God’s angels. But whoever publicly denies alignment with Me here on earth, I will deny My association with them in the presence of God’s angels (Luke 12:8–9).”

GAYoda is a publication to uniquely and specifically support gay Christian men. Click here to learn more

Dr. Mike Rosebush is the founder and author of GAYoda. He has a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology, is a retired Licensed Professional Counselor, with 45+ years of mentoring thousands of gay Christian men. Read a short synopsis of his story here.

Read Dr. Rosebush’s complete set of articles here.

Dr. Rosebush provides friendship support to gay Christian men across the U.S. and can be contacted via Facebook or mikerosebush75@gmail.com.