Amid all the controversies flying about these days over same-sex marriage, Tacoma author Dave Thompson is working to build some brides. A gay, evangelical Christian minister, Thompson is actively inviting other Christian evangelical ministers to dialog with him on these sensitive issues in the hopes of fostering better understanding about “each side’s” point of view and, even better, to change some hearts and minds in conservative religious circles about how to welcome gay people in the church.
Thompson planted the seeds for this mission in 2010, when he published his book “Over Coffee: A Conversation For Gay Partnership & Conservative Faith.” Set in the Old Milwaukee Café in Tacoma, the book is a faith-based conversation between himself and a small town pastor concerning a gay church member who wants to be openly coupled in the church. Page by page, the reader is a “fly on the wall” during this conversation, making “Over Coffee” an educational, engaging and easy read for evangelical leadership and church congregants alike.
Thompson describes the book as being about his journey as a gay man wrestling through the conflicts between his faith and his sexual orientation, which included seeking reparative therapy at 15 years old in the hopes that he could change his sexuality. Later in life he would go on to pursue his calling in faith, attending Harvard Divinity School, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Northwest University (Assemblies of God) and Trinity Bible College (Assemblies of God). He was associate pastor at Kings Circle Assemblies of God in Oregon and interim music pastor at Christian Life Center in Montana, among his other ministry experience. Combined with his same-gender attraction, Thompson decided to address the conflicts he was feeling so that others, including his parents and family, could learn from it. He also found a partner along the way and now the two are engaged.
Thompson said his book is doing exactly what he intended. Since its publication he has met with more than 230 pastors in conservative denominations like Assemblies of God, The Foursquare Church, Nazarene and Southern Baptist, to name a few.
“My position is fairly unique,” Thompson said. “I’m not asking evangelicals to change anything about their biblical interpretation. I simply suggest that evangelicals reposition the gay issue alongside all of the other unchangeable human circumstances that we embrace, such as divorce and remarriage. For gay people whose orientation is unchangeable and who are not gifted for celibacy, the most healthy and virtuous solution for them is to be partnered. This allows them to fulfill the greater moral lesson of God, that 'man' should not be alone.”
By not aiming to persuade church leaders to any specific conclusion, but rather by sharing his thoughts and experiences he’s had with the many churches and pastors he has engaged, Thompson said he’s found success at finding some common ground.
“It’s been really exciting to see pastors moved and changed on this issue,” he said, noting that 80 percent of those he has met with have expressed the willingness to endorse Thompson’s point of view. However, the rub is in changing minds beyond the ministers with whom he has met. “They (the ministers) want to welcome gay people but they’re terrified of the professional and political fallout that could happen.”
A perfect illustration of how this fear is based on reality can be seen in the recent fallout World Vision suffered after announcing last month that the child relief organization would allow employees to be in same-sex marriages. Almost immediately a backlash occurred. World Vision President Richard Stearns estimated that around 5,000 of World Vision’s child sponsors cancelled their sponsorships. A couple of days later World Vision reversed its decision about married gay employees, but this only made matters worse. Not only did World Vision end up alienating a healthy section of its conservative donors; the reversal left a bad taste in the mouths of gay people, their friends, family and supporters whether or not they gave to World Vision.
In response to the reversal, Thompson authored and open letter to World Vision that is as remarkable in its non-combative, understanding approach as it is in its offering of a solution to what may seem to be an impossible dilemma.
“I found this approach to be successful with conservative audiences and pastors because they already see a problem in the church,” Thompson explained, “They see the reality that it isn’t right to turn people away from the church and the national leadership don’t provide any answers.” Read the full letter at http://authordavethompson.blogspot.com/2014/03/an-open-letter-to-world-vision.html.
Continuing in his outreach efforts, Thompson is in the planning stages for a series of community conversations he aims to begin early this summer with conservative evangelicals and others who have expressed opposition to gay marriage like former Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich, who resigned this month following public outcry over his support of California’s Proposition 8, which sought to ban same-sex marriages in that state. Thompson is also eager to invite World Vision’s Sterns to the table.
“I want to give (Sterns) the opportunity to talk about what happened and what led them to make the initial announcement,” Thompson said. “It was pretty brazen for someone so connected to the evangelical world to step out and do that and even more shocking is why didn’t he think this through before he threw the line out there? It’s so much worse of him to have recanted than to not do anything at all.
“This conversation is not going to go away for evangelicals," Thompson continued. "The millennial generation is leaving the church in large numbers. According to the Barna Group, 91 percent of young non-Christians and 80 percent of young churchgoers agree that present-day Christianity is ‘anti-homosexual.’ Despite the common anti-gay perception about evangelicals, the majority wants change. Having spoken personally now with thousands of evangelical pastors, an overwhelming majority have expressed a desire to welcome gay couples as equal members in their congregations.”
Thompson has set late May/early June at the timeframe to begin the community conversations he’s planning. To stay abreast of developments and to learn more about Thompson and his efforts, visit http://www.authordavethompson.com.