The following message was sent to Rev. Dr. Cindi Love, our executive director, after her talk with Joe Dallas at the National Religious Broadcasters’ Convention. We post it here with the author’s permission.

dear cindi

everything you said about love was just as it was written in scripture. dallas represents a group of believers who think we we still have a relationship to god through regulation as in deut 28. under the new covenant our relationship to god is directly to god, to the spirit that lives in each believer. it is his spirit in us that says not only what the law is, but also what it says. if dallas was as concerned with scripture as he said he was, he would know that according to romans, believers are led by the spirit of god. and that the law is now to make us believers “conscious” of not GODLOVING(love one another as i have loved you) as directed by the 2nd commandment (love neighbor), the love of the 2nd commandment not only being the summation of all new covenant law, but also the standard of the new covenant as well,…………….. and not the interpretation law as dallas attempts to make the case.

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We believe in things unseen.

I don’t remember the first time I thought I might be gay. I don’t remember the first time I heard someone say homosexuality is a sickness and a sin. I don’t remember the first time I heard someone say transgender people are disgusting. My life–and the culture around me–was so fiercely anti-queer that it is hard to isolate individual events.

When I was in middle school and high school, gay marriage was not legal anywhere. I could hardly imagine what my life would look like. I was not sure I would ever tell a soul.

Many of my friends attended the same evangelical Presbyterian church as me. Whenever homosexuality came up in current events, my parents always affirmed the status quo: it was wrong, it was dangerous, it was weird. My youth pastor told us we didnt even need to discuss the issue because it was so clearly sinful. When I eventually could stand secrecy no longer and came out, a good friend sent me 26 Bible verses to read and consider. My parents asked that I see a counselor, he in turn asked if I would consider reparative therapy (I said absolutely not).

There was nothing around me I could look to and say “This is how I might do life.” I had never heard a pastor say it is ok to be gay.

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February 11, 2011

Pastor Lou Engle
International House of Prayer/The Call

Dear Mr. Engle,

We at Soulforce and the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) are saddened and distraught at the plight of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Ugandans. The social climate in Uganda has become so toxic that LGBT people are not safe in their homes or on the street. And, we believe that the untruths and misrepresentations that you and other U.S. based Christian evangelical leaders continue to proclaim regarding the goodness and wholeness of LGBT people is at the root of this climate of fear and violence. These misrepresentations and untruths must stop now.

The safety of LGBT people, as well as their friends and their families, has been put at risk because of the proposed “anti-homosexual bill.” You have claimed to oppose this bill, but you have not taken a clear and public position in Uganda where your opposition could make a difference.  Instead, after fueling the flames of anti-LGBT sentiments in Uganda, you have stood beside the bill’s supporters and referred to their work as righteous. You cannot preach that  “homosexuals have demons” or say to LGBT people, “let the Bible kill you?” and then ignore the results of speaking such words. Words have power.  And, your words create fear and hatred toward LGBT people.  This fear and hatred puts the lives of LGBT people at risk and perpetuates a climate of terror and violence.

The purpose of this letter is to introduce ourselves and let you know that it is our intention to continue to pursue dialog with you until you stop your vitriolic rhetoric against LGBT people.   Read the rest of this entry »

Last week I had the amazing opportunity to attend the Gay and Lesbian Task Force’s annual conference: Creating Change. This conference is a series of workshops, day long institutes, and other educational events designed to empower Queer* activists by strengthening our core values while encouraging growth, gain, and unique networking opportunities. With an expanding emphasis on intersectional justice, comprehensive education on trans identities and even sexual empowerment, Creating Change is an incredible opportunity to be an even better activist.

This was my first Creating Change, and I spent much of my time at the Soulforce table, telling people about the next Equality Ride and the other great things we do. I spoke to hundreds of people throughout the week, handed out tons of flyers and even gave out a bunch of prizes. In addition to the general festivities, there were some activities that reminded me of how important the work is that we do here at Soulforce.

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Over the last couple of years, I’ve been researching off and on a right wing evangelical group that has very successfully kept its cover for the most part. When I first discovered them, even my friend Mel White, who is considered an expert of anti-gay groups wasn’t familiar with them. I recall sending him the information I’d uncovered and asked him if he were familiar with them and he said he wasn’t. The Group is known as “The Family.” Since then, there have been a number of articles written about them, but it always seemed to me that they were much more powerful than anyone suspected.

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