Yesterday evening I had the privilege of taking part in a dialogue forum in Grand Rapids called got inclusion?. Here’s the idea behind the forum:

“Got Inclusion?” is an inspiring two-hour educational opportunity that invites the church to address one of the most controversial questions of our time. Participants will listen to the stories of local gay Christians and engage in dialogue about their place in the Christian community. Should the Church fully include gay members? If so, how can it do so? Everyone is welcome to share in this ecumenical event.

One of the panelist was a gay Catholic man in partnership, another was a former Protestant-turned-Cathoic lesbian who was not dating, then there was a straight lady who made a movement toward acceptance when she stepped into the stories of these”Other”, and the last panelist was a Catholic man who has same-sex attraction, but lives a celibate life because of his beliefs on God’s original design for sexuality and human nature.

I’ve written about this issue a few other times and the only reason I bring it up again is because I was so struck by the beauty of the body of Christ coming together with a marginalized, alienated group to dialogue. What’s more: most of that dialogue was between fellows brothers and sisters WITHIN the Church.

I facilitated a small group for discussion after the panelists shared their stories. In that group were men and women, gay and straight. More stories were shared. Stories of burden and alienation, and also stories of great joy and freedom. For once this issue was humanized, rather than caricatured, and we all benefited from a healthy dose of flesh and blood.

That evening I learned two things (or rather two thing were reinforced): the church needs to learn how to be a place of inclusion where people can share their stories; and once you learn a name, have embraced a body, and heard a story, it’s much more difficult to simply write off any issue (whether this or others) as unclean.

I walked away from last night pleased that a healthy, vibrant dialogue actually took place within the Church about such a hot, contentious issue. There was honesty (all around) and love (all around). And what was great was that in the end we rallied around Jesus and what it means to follow him, rather than agendas and identities. Because in the end, isn’t that what really matters?