God, Gays and the Black Church:
Keeping the Faith Within the Black Community

(This is part one of a two-part article.)

Is the black church chasing away some of its most faithful gay and lesbian congregants? Depending on which side of the theological fence you’re standing, the answer is both yes and no.

"Homophobic sermons do indeed cause depression, suicidal tendencies, etc., in SGL [Same-Gender-Loving] people," asserts Dallas-based evangelist Tuan N'Gai, co-founder of OperationRebirth.com, a black gay and lesbian religious Web site.

Controversial Atlanta pastor, D.L. Foster sees things differently. Foster claims to be a formerly gay man and has built a 10-year ministry called Witness!, whose mission is to assist men and women Foster views as trapped in unwanted homosexuality by freeing them through the power of Jesus Christ.

Although Foster admits anti-homosexual sermons may cause severe emotional distress for gays and lesbians, he says, "To call homosexuality sin is not homophobic, but to use the knowledge that homosexuality is sin against someone for the purpose of driving them away from God is sin." Though once an active homosexual, Foster believes homosexuality is a sin and continues to preach against it.

But don't tell that to Kevin Taylor who is black, openly gay and a pastor at Unity Fellowship Church in New Brunswick, N.J. Taylor preaches affirming messages to gay and lesbian congregants each Sunday at his church, which is part of the Unity Fellowship Church Movement, the country's only black gay and lesbian religious denomination. It was founded in 1984 as a response to and a refuge from the mainstream black church.

Traditional mega-church pastor, Dr. Frank M. Reid III of Baltimore's Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church weighs in with the observation that, "The black church at its best has managed to love the sinner without loving the sin."

But what if the "sinner" is the pastor himself or the soloist at the early-morning service? Do the rules against homosexuality somehow change? To date, black church history has shown us that if the rules don't change, then at best they’re severely bent when it comes to gay and lesbian clergy or gospel singers.

From the legendary gospel great James Cleveland to the flamboyant rock-and-roller and gospel crooner Little Richard (and onward to some of today's most successful and respected gospel artists, ministers, and pastors), there have always been whispers, rumors and innuendo concerning alleged private bisexual and homosexual lifestyles of some publicly anointed black church favorites.

Yet there is stunning, if not astonishing, silence around them and a deep resistance to openly reprimanding high-profile church figures for their "homosexual sins," despite vast common knowledge about their sexuality.

According to N'Gai, although there is speculation about "…several well-known gospel music artists and ministers, I don't think any of them are willing to be truthful about who they are with anyone other than their circle. To not be secretive could cost some of them their positions and compromise their livelihoods."

There is at least one "mainstream" gospel artist who has bucked the trend of living in the closet. Donnie McClurkin has written a controversial book 'Eternal Victor, Eternal Victim' (Pneuma Life Publications, 2001) and has also been featured in a candid documentary, 'From Darkness to Light,' in which he openly admits his past homosexuality -- but blames it upon repeated childhood rape, combined with the guilt and shame of being partially responsible for his younger brother's accidental death.

Yet in McClurkin's own words in past interviews and on his Web site, he has repeatedly claimed that religious intervention is the "cure" for the "curse" of homosexuality and that the Christian community is at "war" with the homosexual agenda.

Ironically, McClurkin also admitted in a Charisma Magazine interview, that there are many others within the black church elite leading double sexual lives, stating that they "revealed their secret lifestyles and introduced me to a deceptive underworld in the church..."

No one seems to contest the fact that there are gays and lesbians within black churches (and in no smaller number than elsewhere in society), which certainly begs the question: can a pastor effectively minister to his or her gay and lesbian congregants if he/she genuinely believes that homosexuality is a sin?

Dr. Kenneth L. Samuel, pastor of Victory Church, in Stone Mountain, Ga., one of America’s few black progressive mega-churches, doesn't believe so. "It would be like a racist trying to minister to a black person. Their approach to the person is bound to have some tones of 'let me help you, let me help change you from the way you are,'" says Samuel. He adds, "You will have a tolerance but no real connection."

Foster, however, doesn't see it that way. "Sinners need the church to experience change; they parrot the culture and operate the church as a place of hierarchal sainthood where only the conformists are made to feel welcome," he says. "I personally believe the church of Christ should openly welcome homosexuals (people), but not affirm homosexuality (sin)."

However, it is exactly this stance that has been criticized by gay activists who attribute part of the "down-low" phenomena and rising HIV/AIDS infection rates within the black community to the stigmatization of homosexuality, which to them feels quite natural and completely innate.

In terms of the church's role as a centerpiece of the black community, could it be that the demeaning and negative labeling of perceived sexual sins ranging from pre-marital sex to homosexuality is really part of the problem -- and not the solution -- in the increasingly difficult fight against AIDS in the black community?




Ready for Part Two of God, Gays & the Black Church? Click here!