Coming Out:
Many think this is the first big challenge in accepting personal
identity. This church is a safe place for people to come
out, to express and celebrate their colors of the rainbow.
This is great, but coming out is not the first big challenge.
Coming To Terms:
This is the true first big challenge in accepting personal
identity. So many have tested the waters inside themselves
by watching various flavors of porn. This can leave people
jaded by focusing only on the body, completely ignoring
dimensions of spiritual and emotional love expressed in physical
affection. With few exceptions, porn treats people as
bodies with no hearts. Is this what we want seekers to
become?
The Church as a Safe Place:
We applaud, as we should, efforts to make our church a safe
place for coming out, rather than expecting LGBTQIP+ individuals to struggle in
secrecy. One thing that defines our church today is being
such a safe place. As risky and scary as coming out is,
there’s a hidden risk many have allowed to remain in
place. Coming to terms by exploring heartless media,
people risk becoming jaded. We need to face facts about
how people are coming to terms, and provide meaningful
alternatives that recognize and celebrate the emotional and
deeply personal aspects of physical intimacy.
Our Book Club:
We’re meeting each week to discuss Steamy Romance Books showing
a variety of different colors of the rainbow. Besides
literary qualities of writing, we discuss how different
scenarios presented in the books make us feel, and whether we
can relate to the emotions of the characters. This is
where true romance shines as opposed to porn. We can
openly and safely connect our emotions to aspects of physical
affection we find ourselves drawn toward considering or at least
imagining. We can also develop empathy for those enjoying
colors besides our own. We can be happy for people in
romances without needing to imitate everything they do.
Price of Admission:
The groups are free. The books we discuss are inexpensive
ebooks. Cost should be no barrier to attending. Just
let us know and we can work things out. Many authors will
grant permission for a certain percentage of free copies within
each discussion group. Talk to the group leader in private
and we’ll get there together. If you’re a group leader,
write to authors for such permission. As struggling artist
types themselves, they can relate. They write romance
because they’re lovers.
How Steamy is it:
Remember, many of us are using these written fantasies to help
come to terms with our own sexuality. You can expect the
books to get totally explicit. As a church we make no
pretense about it…sex is at the center of sexual
orientation. That’s why so many have resorted to
unemotional porn to explore their own desires. We need to
offer just as sexually explicit a venue for exploring
within. You may be encouraged to know, however, that the
action isn’t only physical. Steamy Romance Books are still
romance. The deeply personal and emotional is intimately
connected with the physical affection in the stories, just like
it ought to be. Obviously, this is for adults only.
Click
here for an alternative sheet to recommend the
club to your pastor or announce it to your church.
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,
TransGender, Queer, Intersex,
Polyamorous + any other.