NALT: A How-To Manual for Your Church

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/francisco-j-tirado/nalt-a-how-to-manual-for-your-church_b_3895920.html

Francisco J. TiradoWriter and blogger

Posted: 09/12/2013 7:11 pm



Last Friday my conservative Christian parents had about 20 members of their church over for dinner. Guests arrived at about 7, and after everyone helped themselves to buffet-style Italian beef, they sat down and talked about -- wait for it -- LGBT people.

I was shocked when I found this out. The congregation of my hometown church is not a hateful one, but they are incredibly conservative Baptists, many of them are over 50, and they are primarily quiet folk. What my parents realized was that even though it's great to be a member of a church that is not overtly bigoted, being silent on these issues isn't going to cut it.

You see, those in my former church who did have LGBT relatives or friends often came to my parents in secret, asking for counsel and advice because, well, everyone knew that they have an estranged, gay son up in New York (cue Barbra, my entrance, and a half-hearted shimmy).

But this confiding-gayness-in-secret thing grew tiresome, so my parents said, basically, "Why don't we hold onto our britches and put it all out on the table? We'll even throw some beef sandwiches in there."

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