Gay Christian Network
Encyclopedia
The Gay Christian Network, popularly called GCN, is a gay
, lesbian
, bisexual, transgender
and straight ally
organization and ecumenical Christian
ministry
founded in 2001 by Justin Lee
and administered from Raleigh, North Carolina
in the United States
.
The organization operates an online community "safe space" for social network
ing and support; hosts an annual Christian conference
each January; organizes local Bible study
groups; and produces resources including GCN Radio, a weekly internet radio program
, and Through My Eyes, a documentary film about young gay Christians. The ministry also maintains a database of welcoming congregations and churches
, and seeks to mobilize community volunteer action through its Action Center.
As of December 2010, the organization claimed on its website to have over 15,000 members around the world, although a post that same month by one of the administrators stated that the number had risen to 17,000.
to provide support to gay Christians. Founder Justin Lee
had struggled for years to reconcile his own Christian faith with his sexuality, so he set up GCN as a way to support others in similar situations.
As the organization grew, its mission expanded. In 2008, GCN officially adopted five "missional directions": promoting spiritual growth, cultivating safe community, supporting family and friends, educating and encouraging the church, and engaging the wider LGBT community and the world.
Lee has said that GCN aims "to change hearts and minds in the church, and to provide support to parents and to pastors as they are wrestling with these issues in their own families and congregations."
, the Gay Christian Network, like most churches, is an Internal Revenue Code
501(c)(3) non-profit organization
that provides resources and support to its members. Like church membership, people participate in the Gay Christian Network ministry without financial cost. Members and supporters can choose to offer financial support for administration and programming through one-time and/or recurring free-will donations. Financial support is also provided by planned giving
opportunities.
from very liberal
to very conservative
.
The organization's "Statement of Faith" is broadly consistent with orthodox Christian beliefs, asserting the existence of one God, the divinity of Christ, salvation by grace through faith, the Bible as the authoritative word of God, and the importance of living holy lives in service to God. (See "GCN Statement of Faith")
Beyond that, the organization does not take public stands on most theological issues; instead, it offers support to individuals in a wide variety of Christian sects and denominations, including but not restricted to Anglican
/Episcopalian
, Baptist
, Catholic
, Disciples of Christ, Eastern Orthodox
, Lutheran
, Methodist, Metropolitan Community Church
, Pentecostal and other Charismatic
churches, Presbyterian
, Quaker, Seventh-day Adventist
, United Church of Christ
, and unaffiliated/nondenominational Christians.
prohibits such behavior and requires chastity
. On the site, these two positions have been nicknamed Side A, i.e., those members who believe that homosexual activity is not sinful, and Side B, i.e., those who believe that God does love gay people but does not accept homosexual activity.
It should be noted that the Side A members are not advocating promiscuity or other casual sexual behaviors; many of them are looking for a monogamous
, marital relationship (e.g. a civil union
). Similarly, the Side B members are not advocating an "ex-gay" position; many of them believe that God is not asking them to change their sexual orientation, but simply that they remain sexually chaste. As the site describes the two sides:
Although both sides have strong contingents on the site, many members have not fully decided which side they belong to. For these members, the site provides a safe place in which to think through these issues and the resources to help people make informed decisions. Another example of the variety of opinions is that many Side A members on the site choose to remain sexually abstinent until they are in a committed relationship and/or legal marriage. These types of beliefs exemplify the conflicts that some gay Christians have encountered with the mainstream gay community.
television program's Gay-to-Straight Debate in 2006 where Lee argued against conversion therapy. Lee debated an ordained priest who was a former prostitute who claimed sexual reorientation therapy works. Lee and the organization's website were also featured in the opening paragraphs of the New York Times front-page article "Gay and Seeking a Place Among Evangelicals"".
The organization's website has become well-known enough that it was recently mentioned as a resource in the syndicated advice column Annie's Mailbox, written by two former editors for Ann Landers. The column lists GCN alongside such denominational gay Christian groups as IntegrityUSA
(Episcopalian
), DignityUSA
(Catholic
), Seventh Day Adventist Kinship International, the GLBT-focused Metropolitan Community Church
denomination, and PFLAG, the nation's largest support network for parents, siblings, children and friends of GLBT individuals.
The ministry has also been mentioned (often alongside or through an interview with Lee) in articles on gay Christians and their fight for inclusion in the church, such as the article "Progressive Christians see hope for gay marriage" and the Associated Press
article "Gays, lesbians join the chastity movement," which interviews members of the site's "Waiting for Marriage" group. The ministry's annual conference was featured as part of an article on the gay Christian rock group Canaan, some of whose members are also regular contributors to the site. GCN members have been featured on the LOGO TV
series Be Real and in OUT Magazine
.
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
, bisexual, transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
and straight ally
Heterosexuality
Heterosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, physical or romantic attractions to persons of the opposite sex";...
organization and ecumenical Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
ministry
Christian ministry
In Christianity, ministry is an activity carried out by Christians to express or spread their faith. 2003's Encyclopedia of Christianity defines it as "carrying forth Christ's mission in the world", indicating that it is "conferred on each Christian in baptism." It is performed by all Christians...
founded in 2001 by Justin Lee
Justin Lee
Justin Lee is the founder of The Gay Christian Network , a 501 nonprofit organization that provides resources and support to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Christians...
and administered from Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The organization operates an online community "safe space" for social network
Social network
A social network is a social structure made up of individuals called "nodes", which are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige.Social...
ing and support; hosts an annual Christian conference
Meeting
In a meeting, two or more people come together to discuss one or more topics, often in a formal setting.- Definitions :An act or process of coming together as an assembly for a common purpose....
each January; organizes local Bible study
Bible study (Christian)
In Christianity, Bible study is the study of the Bible by ordinary people as a personal religious or spiritual practice. Some denominations may call this devotion or devotional acts; however in other denominations devotion has other meanings...
groups; and produces resources including GCN Radio, a weekly internet radio program
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
, and Through My Eyes, a documentary film about young gay Christians. The ministry also maintains a database of welcoming congregations and churches
LGBT-welcoming church programs
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender affirming religious groups are religious groups that welcome LGBT members and do not consider homosexuality to be a sin. They include entire religious denominations, as well as individual churches and synagogues...
, and seeks to mobilize community volunteer action through its Action Center.
As of December 2010, the organization claimed on its website to have over 15,000 members around the world, although a post that same month by one of the administrators stated that the number had risen to 17,000.
History and Purpose
GCN was founded in 2001 as an online communityOnline community
An online community is a virtual community that exists online and whose members enable its existence through taking part in membership ritual. An online community can take the form of an information system where anyone can post content, such as a Bulletin board system or one where only a restricted...
to provide support to gay Christians. Founder Justin Lee
Justin Lee
Justin Lee is the founder of The Gay Christian Network , a 501 nonprofit organization that provides resources and support to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Christians...
had struggled for years to reconcile his own Christian faith with his sexuality, so he set up GCN as a way to support others in similar situations.
As the organization grew, its mission expanded. In 2008, GCN officially adopted five "missional directions": promoting spiritual growth, cultivating safe community, supporting family and friends, educating and encouraging the church, and engaging the wider LGBT community and the world.
Lee has said that GCN aims "to change hearts and minds in the church, and to provide support to parents and to pastors as they are wrestling with these issues in their own families and congregations."
Financial Support
In the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the Gay Christian Network, like most churches, is an Internal Revenue Code
Internal Revenue Code
The Internal Revenue Code is the domestic portion of Federal statutory tax law in the United States, published in various volumes of the United States Statutes at Large, and separately as Title 26 of the United States Code...
501(c)(3) non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
that provides resources and support to its members. Like church membership, people participate in the Gay Christian Network ministry without financial cost. Members and supporters can choose to offer financial support for administration and programming through one-time and/or recurring free-will donations. Financial support is also provided by planned giving
Planned giving
Planned giving is an area of fundraising that refers to several specific gift types that can be funded with cash, equity, or property. These gift vehicles are commonly based on United States tax law, but Canada, the United Kingdom, and other nations are beginning to establish similar laws...
opportunities.
Theology
Members of The Gay Christian Network have a diverse set of theological beliefsTheology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
from very liberal
Liberal Christianity
Liberal Christianity, sometimes called liberal theology, is an umbrella term covering diverse, philosophically and biblically informed religious movements and ideas within Christianity from the late 18th century and onward...
to very conservative
Conservative Christianity
Conservative Christianity is a term applied to a number of groups or movements seen as giving priority to traditional Christian beliefs and practices...
.
The organization's "Statement of Faith" is broadly consistent with orthodox Christian beliefs, asserting the existence of one God, the divinity of Christ, salvation by grace through faith, the Bible as the authoritative word of God, and the importance of living holy lives in service to God. (See "GCN Statement of Faith")
Beyond that, the organization does not take public stands on most theological issues; instead, it offers support to individuals in a wide variety of Christian sects and denominations, including but not restricted to Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
/Episcopalian
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
, Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
, Catholic
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
, Disciples of Christ, Eastern Orthodox
Eastern Christianity
Eastern Christianity comprises the Christian traditions and churches that developed in the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Middle East, Northeastern Africa, India and parts of the Far East over several centuries of religious antiquity. The term is generally used in Western Christianity to...
, Lutheran
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
, Methodist, Metropolitan Community Church
Metropolitan Community Church
The Metropolitan Community Church or The Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches is an international Protestant Christian denomination...
, Pentecostal and other Charismatic
Charismatic Christianity
Charismatic Christianity is a Christian doctrine that maintains that modern-day believers experience miracles, prophecy, speaking in tongues, and other spiritual gifts as described in of the Bible...
churches, Presbyterian
Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism refers to a number of Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, which are organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures,...
, Quaker, Seventh-day Adventist
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
, United Church of Christ
United Church of Christ
The United Church of Christ is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination primarily in the Reformed tradition but also historically influenced by Lutheranism. The Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches united in 1957 to form the UCC...
, and unaffiliated/nondenominational Christians.
Sex and Christianity
Members of the Gay Christian Network have expressed a wide variety of opinions concerning gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender life and how it should be lived from a Christian perspective. For instance, the site is committed to being a safe haven both for members who believe it is okay for gay Christians to enter into healthy, committed relationships (including sex) and for those who believe that the BibleBible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
prohibits such behavior and requires chastity
Chastity
Chastity refers to the sexual behavior of a man or woman acceptable to the moral standards and guidelines of a culture, civilization, or religion....
. On the site, these two positions have been nicknamed Side A, i.e., those members who believe that homosexual activity is not sinful, and Side B, i.e., those who believe that God does love gay people but does not accept homosexual activity.
It should be noted that the Side A members are not advocating promiscuity or other casual sexual behaviors; many of them are looking for a monogamous
Monogamy
Monogamy /Gr. μονός+γάμος - one+marriage/ a form of marriage in which an individual has only one spouse at any one time. In current usage monogamy often refers to having one sexual partner irrespective of marriage or reproduction...
, marital relationship (e.g. a civil union
Civil union
A civil union, also referred to as a civil partnership, is a legally recognized form of partnership similar to marriage. Beginning with Denmark in 1989, civil unions under one name or another have been established by law in many developed countries in order to provide same-sex couples rights,...
). Similarly, the Side B members are not advocating an "ex-gay" position; many of them believe that God is not asking them to change their sexual orientation, but simply that they remain sexually chaste. As the site describes the two sides:
Here at GCN, we have two types of gay Christians. On one side are those who are in gay relationships or hope to be someday. On the other side are those who view their same-sex attractions as a temptation, and strive to live celibate lives. We call these views Side A and Side B, and both are well-represented at GCN.
Although both sides have strong contingents on the site, many members have not fully decided which side they belong to. For these members, the site provides a safe place in which to think through these issues and the resources to help people make informed decisions. Another example of the variety of opinions is that many Side A members on the site choose to remain sexually abstinent until they are in a committed relationship and/or legal marriage. These types of beliefs exemplify the conflicts that some gay Christians have encountered with the mainstream gay community.
Reception in the media
The ministry gained national attention with the founder's appearance on the Dr. PhilDr. Phil (TV series)
Dr. Phil is a reality/talk television show hosted by Phil McGraw. After McGraw's success with his segments on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dr. Phil debuted on September 16, 2002...
television program's Gay-to-Straight Debate in 2006 where Lee argued against conversion therapy. Lee debated an ordained priest who was a former prostitute who claimed sexual reorientation therapy works. Lee and the organization's website were also featured in the opening paragraphs of the New York Times front-page article "Gay and Seeking a Place Among Evangelicals"".
The organization's website has become well-known enough that it was recently mentioned as a resource in the syndicated advice column Annie's Mailbox, written by two former editors for Ann Landers. The column lists GCN alongside such denominational gay Christian groups as IntegrityUSA
IntegrityUSA
IntegrityUSA is a U.S. not-for-profit organization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender members of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America and straight friends. Integrity was founded by Dr...
(Episcopalian
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
), DignityUSA
DignityUSA
DignityUSA is a U.S. organization with headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts that "works for respect and justice" for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons in the Roman Catholic Church and the world through education, advocacy and support...
(Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
), Seventh Day Adventist Kinship International, the GLBT-focused Metropolitan Community Church
Metropolitan Community Church
The Metropolitan Community Church or The Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches is an international Protestant Christian denomination...
denomination, and PFLAG, the nation's largest support network for parents, siblings, children and friends of GLBT individuals.
The ministry has also been mentioned (often alongside or through an interview with Lee) in articles on gay Christians and their fight for inclusion in the church, such as the article "Progressive Christians see hope for gay marriage" and the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
article "Gays, lesbians join the chastity movement," which interviews members of the site's "Waiting for Marriage" group. The ministry's annual conference was featured as part of an article on the gay Christian rock group Canaan, some of whose members are also regular contributors to the site. GCN members have been featured on the LOGO TV
Logo (TV channel)
Logo is an American digital cable television channel owned by Viacom's MTV Networks division. Launched in June 2005, the channel's programs are geared towards the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community...
series Be Real and in OUT Magazine
Out (magazine)
Out is a popular gay and lesbian fashion, entertainment, and lifestyle magazine, with the highest circulation of any gay monthly publication in the United States. It carries itself in a similar editorial manner to Details, Esquire, and GQ. Out was published by PlanetOut Inc...
.
See also
- LGBT-welcoming church programsLGBT-welcoming church programsLesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender affirming religious groups are religious groups that welcome LGBT members and do not consider homosexuality to be a sin. They include entire religious denominations, as well as individual churches and synagogues...
- Religion and homosexuality
- History of Christianity and homosexualityHistory of Christianity and homosexualityThis article focuses on the history of homosexuality and Christianity from the beginnings of the Church through the mid 1900's. For current teachings of Christian Churches on homosexuality see Homosexuality and Christianity....