The Day I Advocated for LGBTQ at Vineyard — A Peek Behind the Evangelical Closed Door

Ten years ago marks the first and last time a Vineyard USA pastor publicly advocated for gay, lesbian, and transgender inclusion at a national event. This is a behind-the-scenes account of my presentation at the Society of Vineyard Scholars (SVS) on April 19, 2013. Why tell a story I’ve never told before? Isn’t it time for “bygones.” Fair enough, except…

It’s been roughly a decade since many evangelical organizations (like Vineyard, World Vision, InterVarsity, Wheaton College) doubled-down on their anti-LGBTQ policies; an implacable resistance to change remains in force. But in systems like Vineyard, this “don’t-even-think-about-it” opposition is only visible behind closed doors.

And yet, today, a new and larger wave of evangelical pastors and church members are distressed by the harmful policies their churches must enforce to retain good standing. When I ask them, “And you’re staying because…?” they invariably reply, “I hope to be part of the change.”

My heart sinks.

It’s only natural to believe the best about the groups we’ve invested so much in. But sometimes when we ache for a change, we (understandably) latch on to false-positive signals, rather than face the brutal facts — especially when they are not readily available…