Living Out Loud with Darian

via Pam's House Blend


The American Family Outing is a nationwide fellowship effort that aims to build bridges between LGBT families and families at American mega-churches. AFO families met with Bishop Jackson and members of his Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, MD, on Saturday, May 24, 2008.This video documents Jackson's closing remarks at that meeting.



Among the sentiments he expressed to Soulforce:

Bishop Harry Jackson: I honor the fact that other people have been threatened, but I think it's unconscionable that I have to work through my feelings about being attacked or accused or threatened, all that kind of stuff, and every day that I live I wake up, look--little Google thing that comes across my desk, I have at least three or four things that are written by openly gay bloggers that have my name on it, and they call me an out and out bigot, and I think that's interesting. They feel like they have the liberty, without knowing me or talking, to defame me, to talk about me, to put me down -- they've never done what you are doing, visited us, never talked to us. There's something hypocritical about that.

Oh really? After his kum-baya speech given to Soulforce where he suppressed his usual vile and offensive remarks regarding the gay community his true colors were shown on CBN three days later.

On the Soulforce meeting:

Bishop Harry Jackson: Well, they had their old spiel. You know, they're out to get civil rights, they're out to change the nature of marriage, and to be included in the Church. Over the years they've been aggressive, and this group has had a reputation of having sit ins, being arrested, holding up placards, and there was a veiled threat that if we didn't talk, they were going to act out. So we said come in, the night before, and we had a little bit of a debate, we shared the Gospel with them, and it was an amazing time, where, I believe we learned a little bit about their strategy.

There's nothing to be afraid of. Ultimately we need to recognize, as the Church, that these folks are sinners, and that the Gospel of Jesus Christ can overcome any kind of sin, from drunkenness to homosexuality. Sometimes we try to make it so deep that we're fighting some kind of foe that we can't defeat. But Wendy, it's important to note, that with the California ruling, the next decade, we're going to deal with things like hate crimes, Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and the gay community has targeted the Church as it's ultimate arch enemy.

Notice how the word "target" is repeatedly used despite the fact members of Soulforce along with Sylvia Rhue from The National Black Justice Coalition came in peace. Get into the video below.



It's because of people like Bishop Harry Jackson that I'm an activist and why I refuse to be quiet and allow bigoted ministers like him to railroad the church and the black community. We all deserve a place at the table and that includes members of the LGBT community.

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