Living Out Loud with Darian

"Where two or more of you are gathered in my name, there I will be". I would always hear my grandomther quote this scripture and I never really thought about it's meaning until yesterday.

I managed to get my two best friends Bennie and
Travis to attend service with me, surprisingly there wasn't much resistance on their part seeing as though we were attending a church known for their inclusion of SGL people, aka the "sissy church".

I've heard of churches that are welcoming and affirming of SGL people referred to as such and I still can't understand why so many of my SGL friends refuse to step inside of one of these churches.

I had an SGL friend tell me that" uh uh...I'm not going to that church, they're openly gay there and it's accepted and it's just too much for me". Will somebody please tell me what in the hell he meant by that statement? It sounds as if it's ok to be gay in church as long as you're silent about it and your sexual proclivity which is your "sin" is done in the dark.

This came out of the mouth of an SGL individual. I've said it once and I'll say it again, internalized homophobia is alive and well in the gay community. It pains me to see my brothas and sistas who desire a relationship with Christ return to these homophobic churches only to be spiritually raped Sunday after Sunday while never reaching the goal of spiritual maturity.

Service was spirit filled and exactly what I needed to start my week. There were no men hooking up, passing numbers down the pew, or any of the other nonsense that people warned me about prior to going( most of whom had never been).

I'm at a point spiritually in my life where I want to have a real relationship with God, and I want to establish that in a church free from the Eddie Long's and Bishop Alfred Owens' of the world.

With everything that occured on Sunday with stress of my family ,I opened my inbox to an e-mail from a close friend who exemplifies what it means to be "christ-like". It brought me to tears and touched my heart so deeply I thought everyone should have the opportunity to read it.

The E-mail

I know you think Im a prude. Im really not...just trying to answer the call of God to the best of my ability. I have been really frustrated as of late with how people deal with homosexuality in all facets of life. Im frustrated with the churches that beat down the kids like we were stealing and murdering folks. Im equally frustrated with the churches that tell people that anything goes...as long as you believe in Jesus, eat, drink and be merry. Both are wrong. The bottom line of my whole life is this....I want people to know the God I serve...not know Him on the surface, but know Him intimately. There is no greater love than His love. I have loved lots of people and every single one has hurt me. What I love about God is that He has used these hurts to teach me something about Him. People will debate whether certain things are a sin or not until Jesus comes back. All Im going to do is take every day that I live and try to be a living example of Christs grace, love and peace.

I love you so much, and while we dont agree on somethings it doesnt change the fact that I love you. Be good....



Albert