I’ve been thinking a lot about how youth workers (especially those of us in conservative, evangelical churches) approach gay, lesbian and bisexual teens in our communities. I’m considering recording some interviews on the topic for upcoming podcast episodes, but I want to share some initial thoughts and questions here.
I think that youth workers have a unique perspective on homosexuality in the church. Here’s what I mean:
1. For us, it’s personal. When someone mentions homosexuality and the church, my first reaction is not theological or political, but personal. I picture the faces of students in my community who struggle with their sexual identities, have been hurt by homophobia in the church or have simply left because they didn’t feel like they belonged. We minister in highly relational contexts that make it nearly impossible for us to remain detached in this discussion.
2. We have unique positions of influence. We minister to teens just as their sexual identities are emerging. The experience that gay, lesbian and bisexual teens have in our ministries will probably largely determine their relationship to the church for the rest of their lives. Additionally, we are modeling behavior for every teen in our community, and the way we respond to gay, lesbian and bisexual teens will not go unnoticed.
3. We often live in tension. We youth workers tend to be younger and more liberal than our communities at large, but we also generally work under the authority of leaders who are older and more conservative. This can lead to a great deal of theological and philosophical tension.
Our experience is unique and important to the conversation at large, and it leads to me a lot of questions. How do we approach gay, lesbian and bisexual teens in our community? How is our approach influenced by our theology? How is our theology influenced by our experiences? How does our responsibility to teach doctrine interact with our to our responsibility to love teens?
If you have thoughts, questions or suggestions for upcoming discussions, please share them in the comments. I’d love to hear your story and perspective in this matter. Additionally, I’d greatly appreciate it if any of you could direct me to writings on homosexuality and youth ministry. I’d like to hear what people smarter than me are saying. If you’d like to influence the direction of upcoming podcasts on this topic, here’s your chance!
