How can straight Christians who hold a historic biblical view of sexual ethics provide much-needed support and encouragement for sexual minorities in our churches and communities? In this workshop, we’ll share stories of giving and receiving this type of “allyship.” Together, we’ll reflect on what these stories can teach us about the barriers and opportunities that exist for straight Christians willing to risk entering a difficult arena for the sake of their gay, lesbian, bisexual, and same-sex-attracted sisters and brothers. We’ll grapple with our own experiences, hopes, and fears, and wrestle with the question of how God might call all of us (gay and straight and everything else) into risky, unapologetic love for others.
Gregory Coles is the author of Single, Gay, Christian: A Personal Journey of Faith and Sexual Identity (InterVarsity Press, 2017). He is also a college writing instructor, a worship leader, a freelance writer and editor, a baker, and a newly minted PhD in English from Penn State. His fiction and expository writing have been published by Penguin Random House and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; his academic work has appeared in College English and Rhetorica and is forthcoming in a collection from Cambridge University Press. Greg is a frequent contributor to The Center for Faith, Sexuality & Gender and curates most of his creative activities at gregorycoles.com.
Misty Irons is a graduate of Westminster Seminary California (M.A.). She is the wife of a former pastor (Orthodox Presbyterian Church), and she currently serves at a PCA church in Burbank, CA. She has been a straight ally for 19 years and maintains a blog on faith and sexuality.