Speaking of Faith: Gay Straight Conversation For Group Study (by Rev Caleb Crainer)
This e-book is well-researched and meant for group study. It contains 10 sessions, each designed to last for one hour, and includes activities, discussion questions, related topics, and resources.
SESSION 1: __________________ Introduction
SESSION 2: __________________ Closet (hiding)
SESSION 3: __________________ Coming Out (expectations, trust, truth)
SESSION 4: __________________ Same Gender Loving (biblical examples)
SESSION 5: __________________ Confronting Hate/Fear (THOSE texts)
SESSION 6: __________________ Being Your Authentic Self (wise folks tell all)
SESSION 7: __________________ Sexual Fulfillment (“Supposed” to be)
SESSION 8: __________________ Community and Change (kingdom of God?)
SESSION 9: __________________ Sexualities (diverse perspectives)
SESSION 10: _________________ Closing and Resources (love etc)
INTRODUCTION
Does the Bible have anything positive to say about gay people? How can Christians be more supportive and inclusive? Why are some people still opposed to equality? These are questions I have repeatedly been asked over the years when leading gender and sexuality discussions in religious settings.
The Purpose of this Bible Study is to offer Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender affirming readings of bible stories; to give a deeper insight into the ways the stories from the Bible help us to tell our own stories of faith.
The Bible has too often been used as a weapon and tool of oppression. The result is that an increasing number of people view the Bible as hateful material, out of touch with modern human experience, and capable of causing great pain. The primary goal of this study is to begin building bridges over the deep chasms in our society around issues of sexuality.
The guiding principle of this study is that the texts are not always prescriptive in the traditional sense. Using the Bible to prove a point about God is a weak response to the need for “evidence” in our science-saturated world. Our experiences influence how we read scripture and how we allow scripture to influence our lives. By utilizing the Bible to help tell LGBT stories, we can discover points of connection between all peoples.
I pray that God will bless your time together,
Caleb Crainer
Please download “Speaking of Faith“.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.