Hillsong's Marty Sampson has shaken up the Pentecostal and Evangelical worlds by declaring on social media his faith is on shaky ground. This is familiar territory for many of us, especially if we are LGBTI from that background. Some years back, I came across an incredibly insightful article 'Stages of Faith - A Map for [...]
Do you know about the recent Hillsong drama? It involved Chris Pratt, a Hillsong-attending award winning actor, famous for his roles in “The Lego Movie,” “Jurassic World,” and “Guardians of the Galaxy” Ellen Page, multi-award winning Canadian actress who is a declared atheist and been an out and proud lesbian since 2014. Pastor Brian Houston, [...]
In an extraordinary week, both the Catholic Church and Hillsong appeared to be making progress re their attitude, if not their beliefs, about LGBT people. It's a dance. Two steps forward one back. Roman Catholic Church Two steps forward At the Vatican, a Shift in Tone Toward Gays and Divorce One step back Pope Francis [...]
Why is it so hard? Resolving the perceived conflict of faith and sexuality is a difficult path for most people from a traditional/conservative Christian culture. LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) people from Pentecostal or Charismatic backgrounds have specific needs to be addressed in order to resolve that internal conflict. LGBT people from Pentecostal and Charismatic [...]
One of the few remaining ex-gay/reparative/conversion therapy organisations in Australia has announced the appointment of a new leader after the resignation of Haydn Sennitt last year. The December newsletter reads: "The Liberty Committee is excited to announce that Allan Starr has been appointed as our new part-time Pastoral Worker. He will begin with us in [...]
Pastor Brian Houston talks about the pink elephant in the room Contrary to popular opinion, homosexuality or the 'gay issue' is not often mentioned from Hillsong pulpits; for or against. On Sunday 18 August 2013, Hillsong's Senior Pastor, Brian Houston, preached a message that was broadcast to all Hillsong congregations around the world in over [...]
Ex-gay and an Ex-ex-gay Anthony Venn Brown and Ron Brookman are two men who at first glance seem to have a lot in common. They are almost the same age, living in the same city, both are fathers and both of them are active in the church. The one major difference between the two is [...]
8/10/11 The introduction of a bill in Queensland parliament to allow gay civil unions has brought to light some deep seated anti-gay views and the belief that homosexuals can change, still existing in the minds of some Australian politicians. It has been revealed that Queensland MP Fiona Simpson, made statements in 2002 that she knows ‘former’ homosexuals [...]
A presentation at the recent conference in Florida "Building Community to End the Harm Caused By Heterosexism & Reparative Therapy" Sponsored by Soulforce, Truth Wins Out, the National Black Justice Coalition, Beyond Ex-Gay, Box Turtle Bulletin, and Equality Florida Background Believing that God would never accept my homosexual orientation, I tried desperately to change through [...]