Dear Steve,

This is such an important question- thank you for asking it. Quite simply, progressive Christians need to be more visible, more vocal, and more radical in how we confront anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment. It’s not enough to fly a rainbow flag or march in your local Pride parade- progressive churches should be leading responses to local incidents of homophobia and transphobia, we should be calling out churches in our area that practice conversion therapy or preach anti-queer messages, we should be asking our local LGBTQ+ Community Centers what they need and be willing to show up and serve whenever we get the chance, even if such service is not visible to the public.

Progressive Christians in general spend a lot of time in our bubbles talking about what is wrong with the world, when we should be out in the world making noise, showing up, and demonstrating to the LGBTQ+ community and the broader community that there is a different kind of Christianity that exists, one that takes seriously the command of Jesus to “love our neighbor as ourselves”. But remember, Jesus’ love was not a sentimental, warm feeling, but a willingness to sacrifice to demonstrate such love. Progressive Christian churches need to be willing to make sacrifices, to be uncomfortable, and to be just as loud, visible, and radical in the ways that we show up for queer people in our communities. I hope this helps!

~ Rev. Brandan Robertson