Today I found myself in the middle of a family struggling with LGBT issues. I had always seen the issue as affecting them, not us. And it was during that conversation that I realized that we, as a people need to talk. There are certain conversations that are not regularly discussed within the confines of the Black family, community, or church. Subjects of sexual orientation, incarcerated family members, and mental illness, though present, have largely remained the 'elephant in the room.' Today as my colleague and I struggled to discuss an important and painful issue with the family, I couldn't help to but to be thankful for the conversations I had had on Monday evening and yesterday. While we had no substantial answers, I had at least thought about the subject. And today we were able to have a calm and respectful conversation with the family and hope that they continue the conversation.
We need to talk. It's time to acknowledge some of the tough issues affecting our families. We need to talk about our faith and our beliefs. We need to know what the Bible says about those tough subjects and speak truth to power. But most of all we need to speak with the love of Jesus Christ and treat others the was Jesus would treat them.
The world is changing all around us and we as baptized believers in the risen Christ cannot afford to remain silent any longer. It's time to have those hard conversations in our homes, communities, and churches. We as Christians always say that we are in the world, but not of the world. If we remain silent, how would anyone be able to tell the difference?