“Gloria”

By Floyd Poenitz

Gay Pride…. I think that many folks have a problem with that term for two reasons. First, the word PRIDE is something that many were cautioned against by parents and educators during the years growing up. Somehow the terms Pride and Proud were two separate concepts. BEING proud was a positive thing. HAVING pride was “almost sinful.” Sort of the Pride Goes Before the Fall syndrome. So the term gay PRIDE is difficult to imagine for many.

Second, so many gay Christians are still buying into the theology that gay is SINFUL or at least SECOND BEST to what God ordained and planned. With that line of thinking that being gay is not quite good enough, or at least inferior to being straight (the “goal” or ideal), then how can anyone really BE PROUD or HAVE PRIDE in themselves and what they are?

Just as too many Christians take the preacher’s word or the Sabbath school teacher’s word for many theological items, too many gay Christians take the word of fellow Kinshippers and gay Christian leaders that the Bible doesn’t really condemn homosexuality. But they themselves don’t have the foundation to know what the Bible really says and what those clobber texts are really about. Many still have that bit of doubt in their minds that they could be wrong and that they really aren’t “good enough” for God and for Heaven.

It isn’t until one has studied and sought the answer for themselves and concluded that they really are 100% (not 99%) normal and OK just the way they are and that there is NO SIN and NO SECOND best about being gay, that they can be truly PROUD of who they are and then they can have GAY PRIDE.

Gay Pride is nothing more than unconditionally accepting yourself and when you do that, you have no need for anyone else to accept you. You have the assurance that God accepts you not because you are gay or straight, good or bad, or any other adjective you can think of, but because Christ’s Blood covers you. PERIOD.

It has been a while since I’ve had the soapbox out to preach my sermons, so that was my sermonette for the day! <g>

Coming out was and is a long and many times difficult process, but on this side of the most troublesome parts of coming out and looking back, I am very happy to be gay and very proud of being gay. I wouldn’t trade being gay for being straight for anything in the world. Being gay is FABULOUS! When it all boils down, being gay really isn’t all that different from being straight, but I know God chose me to be gay in His plan of history and I feel it is an honor to understand that God KNEW I would be strong enough to handle it. I might be an inspiration to someone else struggling with the prejudices of society. I truly believe that, although God loves ALL of His children, He loves His gay children just a bit more because of the extra struggle we have to deal with to stay close to Him in the religious communities we live in.

—November 17, 2003
Floyd Poenitz