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02-11-2016, 03:12 PM
http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2016-02-09-1455045833-8383877-Justin_Lee_headshot_promo-thumb.jpg (http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2016-02-09-1455045833-8383877-Justin_Lee_headshot_promo.jpg) Justin Lee, a Christian LGBTQIA+ activist, is the founder of the Gay Christian Network and is the author of Torn: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-vs.-Christians Debate. I had the pleasure of interviewing him recently.
On the topic of his faith journey, Lee says, "I grew up as a Southern Baptist and, as a devout evangelical, had really strong beliefs. As such, I held negative views of LGBT people; however, I didn't intend to be unloving towards anyone. I hope my views would have changed eventually regardless, but when I realized that I was gay, it was a catalyst for me to question teachings that I blindly followed. Church role models really let me down--what kept me going though was the life and example of Jesus."
After an arduous period of discernment and questioning what to believe and who to listen to, Lee, with humility, "accepted that it was [my] job not so much to preach but to love, listen, and care -- even outside of [his] comfort zone."
As a kid, Justin saw debating opportunities as a way to demonstrate the strength of his faith; now, he is slow to debate or argue and quick to both listen and understand. When asked about what advice he would give to his younger self, Lee responded with some words of wisdom:
Don't be so quick to think you have all the answers, speak less and listen more, and focus more on quiet compassion and less on trying to prove how right you are.
When Lee founded the Gay Christian Network, he didn't really think he was starting a nonprofit organization and is still "shocked at how big it became." GCN was just supposed to be a "safe place for those who were hurting." Some of the biggest challenges he faced were the operational complexities of running a nonprofit organization. He expected "a lot of Christians would speak badly of our efforts and make life difficult for us," however he was surprised*at the "push-back and level of vitriol" received from the LGBTQIA+ community.
Lee often receives messages from the countless individuals and families GCN has helped over the years. These emails and letters are what helps motivate him in the face of ongoing adversity, "the best is when we get a note from someone on the verge of suicide telling us how something we did or posted or said helped them to save their lives."
While Lee's premier role model is the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, he is also "deeply inspired by the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as a Christian and as a pastor -- preaching against his colleagues who were white and just didn't get it."
http://queer-voices.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Torn_paperback_art_promo-300x300.jpg (http://queer-voices.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Torn_paperback_art_promo.jpg)Lee, no stranger to adversity, expected the publication process for Torn to be quite arduous. However, he was "amazed by how quickly and easily everything fell into place." Lee was often asked to recommend books to help those who sought advice with dealing with reconciling their faith and sexuality -- never one to settle for mediocrity he decided to pen his own book, Torn. Even in this process, Lee offers some surprise: "my favorite part of the process was to record the audio book version."
When I inquired of Lee what he most looked forward to seeing come to fruition of his work in this new year, he stated: "without setting a really specific milestone, I will say that I am in productive conversation right now with many influential church leaders and churches. You will see more and more publicly come out as LGBT-affirming. We have already seen it happening, but there are many more -- including some surprising ones -- in line. It is all happening behind the scenes right now, but there is much to be encouraged by."
Unfortunately, Lee's family and close circle weren't always as supportive as they could have been; however, a lot has changed and "mom was very supportive before she passed away and my dad came to the GCN conference this past year for the first time. It seemed to help him a lot -- he's expected at this next one, too."
Lee really looks forward to the annual GCN conferences -- "which are really growing, last year's attendance doubled from the year prior." Lee seems very happy with the direction and growth of the Gay Christian Network. The initial focus on safe spaces in the early days has been augmented by adding many resources and much effort to the task of responding to the needs of LGBTQIA+ people, primarily in helping offer educational tools and promoting conversation. -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. (http://start.westnet.ca/newstempch.php?article=terms.html/) It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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On the topic of his faith journey, Lee says, "I grew up as a Southern Baptist and, as a devout evangelical, had really strong beliefs. As such, I held negative views of LGBT people; however, I didn't intend to be unloving towards anyone. I hope my views would have changed eventually regardless, but when I realized that I was gay, it was a catalyst for me to question teachings that I blindly followed. Church role models really let me down--what kept me going though was the life and example of Jesus."
After an arduous period of discernment and questioning what to believe and who to listen to, Lee, with humility, "accepted that it was [my] job not so much to preach but to love, listen, and care -- even outside of [his] comfort zone."
As a kid, Justin saw debating opportunities as a way to demonstrate the strength of his faith; now, he is slow to debate or argue and quick to both listen and understand. When asked about what advice he would give to his younger self, Lee responded with some words of wisdom:
Don't be so quick to think you have all the answers, speak less and listen more, and focus more on quiet compassion and less on trying to prove how right you are.
When Lee founded the Gay Christian Network, he didn't really think he was starting a nonprofit organization and is still "shocked at how big it became." GCN was just supposed to be a "safe place for those who were hurting." Some of the biggest challenges he faced were the operational complexities of running a nonprofit organization. He expected "a lot of Christians would speak badly of our efforts and make life difficult for us," however he was surprised*at the "push-back and level of vitriol" received from the LGBTQIA+ community.
Lee often receives messages from the countless individuals and families GCN has helped over the years. These emails and letters are what helps motivate him in the face of ongoing adversity, "the best is when we get a note from someone on the verge of suicide telling us how something we did or posted or said helped them to save their lives."
While Lee's premier role model is the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, he is also "deeply inspired by the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as a Christian and as a pastor -- preaching against his colleagues who were white and just didn't get it."
http://queer-voices.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Torn_paperback_art_promo-300x300.jpg (http://queer-voices.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Torn_paperback_art_promo.jpg)Lee, no stranger to adversity, expected the publication process for Torn to be quite arduous. However, he was "amazed by how quickly and easily everything fell into place." Lee was often asked to recommend books to help those who sought advice with dealing with reconciling their faith and sexuality -- never one to settle for mediocrity he decided to pen his own book, Torn. Even in this process, Lee offers some surprise: "my favorite part of the process was to record the audio book version."
When I inquired of Lee what he most looked forward to seeing come to fruition of his work in this new year, he stated: "without setting a really specific milestone, I will say that I am in productive conversation right now with many influential church leaders and churches. You will see more and more publicly come out as LGBT-affirming. We have already seen it happening, but there are many more -- including some surprising ones -- in line. It is all happening behind the scenes right now, but there is much to be encouraged by."
Unfortunately, Lee's family and close circle weren't always as supportive as they could have been; however, a lot has changed and "mom was very supportive before she passed away and my dad came to the GCN conference this past year for the first time. It seemed to help him a lot -- he's expected at this next one, too."
Lee really looks forward to the annual GCN conferences -- "which are really growing, last year's attendance doubled from the year prior." Lee seems very happy with the direction and growth of the Gay Christian Network. The initial focus on safe spaces in the early days has been augmented by adding many resources and much effort to the task of responding to the needs of LGBTQIA+ people, primarily in helping offer educational tools and promoting conversation. -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. (http://start.westnet.ca/newstempch.php?article=terms.html/) It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/247391165802/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4d84fd53/sc/13/rc/1/rc.img (http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/247391165802/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4d84fd53/sc/13/rc/1/rc.htm)
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