Pride Month: Relentless Pursuit
June is the month set apart worldwide for cultures and societies to celebrate the progress and journey of the LGBTQIA2S+ community and their voices. This means once again, as Christians, we will see and witness and feel this awkward tension the evangelical Church will go through in navigating how to love the sinner well and deeper while refusing to embrace the sin…
At the same time, we have to openly admit and understand an increasing trend within our own families and Christian communities where Christian leaders, authors, family members, and pastors are beginning to show up to the pride parades and directly celebrate the lifestyle of “being you.” Denomination after denomination is approaching a crossroads of having to reaffirm their beliefs on family and sexual orientation or…rewrite it theologically. So, if you are a Christian who believes this is sinful and not in the best interest of a community that you want to learn how to love better without compromising on your conviction, how do you proceed? How do you jump into the balancing act of accepting people for who they are and loving with inclusivity while at the same time calling sin for what it is: an outrageous and gross act against the deity, character, and design of a Holy God?
I don’t have the answer to those questions. Of course, if I did, I would become a best-selling Christian author overnight. Solving that question perfectly would be like having the best answer for the reason of pain. We have the theological answer for why pain and suffering exist. But that tension of our faith will never be fully resolved or understood until Christ wants it to be. Until He comes back for His bride and makes all things right. Here are four things I can say to encourage you, as someone who has friends and family who are a part of the Pride community and also like you, wants to love people well and point people to a redeeming and gracious Savior during this month, and every month that follows.
One: You should see Pride month not as a political or family values issue, but as a people and community to be loved. The moment we view the LGBTQIA2S+ community as a threat or issue for our schools, our Children or our own comfort is the moment we have stopped viewing the world through the lens of Jesus. Christ did not ascend to earth and carry the burden of the cross in order to die on the mountains of politics or family values. Christ died the sinner's death to raise anyone and everyone who accepted His free gift from death into life.
Two: Engage with the Pride community boldly, but strategically. Loving people boldly should look less like boycotting and marching and more like grace-filled one-on-one conversations, thought-provoking questions, and an intentional desire to listen. Every human being has a story that is chock full of suffering, chaos, and often deeply rooted reasons for who and what shaped them into who they are today.
Three: Be consistent on social media. Consider the power of your algorithms. Don’t like the posts of your friends and family who are celebrating pride month. Allow social media to get a quiet but real statement from the evangelical community that we do not celebrate sin.
Four: Examine your heart. As you engage with family members or friends who think or believe differently than you, compare your motives and intentions to the motives and likeness of Christ. Go back and study how Christ engaged sin, culture, and people when He walked the earth in the New Testament. Admit that you possess the constant ability to fall to the carnal sin of pride, confess it to Jesus, and walk in His newness and grace. Without His grace, each one of us is absolutely lost and without hope.
