posted on November 22, 2004 08:02:37 AM newChurch is a haven for gays. Church welcomes gay Christians.
Homosexual congregation is largest in Midwest
INDIANAPOLIS — Standing in the pulpit at Jesus Metropolitan Community Church, Pastor Jeff Miner raises his voice in a challenge for the congregation to share the word of God.
"What Jesus is calling us to do, by our lives, by our actions, by our attitudes, by our behavior, is to be constantly painting a portrait of Christ so compelling that when people see us, they will feel drawn to the beauty of God," he said.
It's a scene common in evangelical churches throughout Central Indiana every Sunday.
But, in this church, it also is different.
Miner is homosexual — as is most of his congregation.
The 13-year-old church, affiliated with the California-based Metropolitan Community Churches, has the largest homosexual congregation in the Midwest, according to the group's headquarters.
Since it was started by four members of a Bible study group in 1991, it has grown to nearly 300 members and offers three Sunday services attracting 400 people a week.
This church, Miner said, is a spiritual oasis for a group of Christians who have felt uncomfortable or been cast out of other congregations.
"There's something here that you don't feel at a lot of churches," said Andrea Platt, 41, of Pittsboro.
Platt and her partner, Jennifer Barnes, 42, have been attending the church for about five years. Like many in the congregation, they were raised in homes where religion played an important role. But as adult homosexuals they struggled to keep their faith.
"We came because of the congregation, but that is not why we stay," Platt said. "We stay because of what we get here. The teaching is so grounded in the Bible."
Added Barnes: "It's like we found the genuine Christian community."
The church's rapid growth in the past seven years is based on an unlikely model — the same high-demand, scripture-driven evangelical approach employed by many churches that oppose homosexuality.
The irony is not lost on Miner. Raised in a fundamentalist Baptist church, the Acton native attended Bob Jones University while struggling with what he believed to be an insurmountable clash between his sexuality and faith.
That conflict initially derailed Miner's dream of going into the ministry, so he earned a law degree from Harvard University and went to work as a corporate lawyer.
But years of prayer and study convinced him homosexuality and Christianity are not mutually exclusive. Now he is helping lead many homosexuals back to God.
"What we are doing is not novel. It is the classic Bob Jones Christian evangelical model translated to a tribe of people untouched by God," said Miner, 46, who joined the church in 1997.
There are few clues that this is a predominantly homosexual congregation.
A nursery bustles with children coloring and playing, and each worship service includes a time when Miner shares Bible stories with members' children gathered at the front of the church.
Projectors beam Scripture verses and the words to hymns onto walls flanking a large cross that is the centerpiece of the sanctuary. Services are interpreted in sign language, and sermons are recorded to post on the church's Web site.
As Miner preaches the Gospel, worshippers caught up in the spirit raise their hands toward heaven and offer "amens." And after services, they mingle over coffee and refreshments or head off to church-organized activities.
"People are looking for something real and encompassing in their lives, and we're building a ministry around that," Miner said.
Some Christians embrace a doctrine that encourages love for those they believe are sinners while opposing the sin, based on biblical passages.
David M. Craig, a professor of religious studies at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, said the view that homosexuality is immoral comes from verses in Leviticus, Romans and the Sodom and Gomorrah stories.
While he does not agree with such interpretations, Craig said they are common in many Catholic and Protestant denominations.
Miner said the Bible includes more than 600 rules — from prohibiting work on the Sabbath to requiring women to cover their heads — that are not followed by most Christians, including many who condemn homosexuals.
"The record we have of Jesus' life illustrates that Jesus always chose compassion for people over strict adherence to biblical rules," he wrote in "The Children Are Free," published by the church in 2002.
Miner sees Jesus Metropolitan playing a role similar to that of black churches, which grew out of discrimination in many white denominations and now speak to life experiences of blacks.
"We can apply the Gospel with great relevance to the life situations of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and the transgendered," he said.
Jesus Metropolitan isn't the only area church that is tolerant of homosexuals. Ten other "open and affirming" congregations are listed on the gayindy.org Web site. But even in some of those congregations, a homosexual might not feel completely welcome, said Nancy McBride, 57, of Indianapolis.
"They say, `We accept everybody,' but then they say, `Don't try to be a minister or don't hold hands or kiss your spouse,'" said McBride, a founding member of Jesus Metropolitan. "We shouldn't have to have a church started by gays, but that is what it took."
Now that it is here, Miner and the congregation have big plans.
"We see ourselves 10 years from now with a congregation of 1,000 to 1,500 that not only focuses on our congregation but is spinning off resources to help other congregations replicate the model in other communities," he said.
Growing visibility and community involvement help increase understanding and acceptance of homosexual Christians, but it also carries some risk, Miner said. Several other Metropolitan Community Churches around the country have been targets of hate crimes, including arson and firebombings. So far, he said, the local congregation has not been targeted.
"If we don't take a stand, there will be at least 100 Hoosier teens over the next decade — and probably more — who will kill themselves out of self-hatred that is fed, in part, by the churches they are growing up in," Miner said.
I think it's great this church if formed so Gay men and women can have a place they feel welcome in, and without the traditional christian bigotry. It's also great they are reaching out to Gay teens.
posted on November 22, 2004 06:02:13 PM new
Boy, by now I thought that someone like linda would have made it clear to me that these people are not in a real church.
Bigots are miserable people. Prevent Bigotry through Education.
Prevent Bigotry through Education.