I have gay friends

Over the last few years developing quality gay friendships has weighed heavily on my mind. Conference people organically, like at institution or work, is a thing of the past and much of the interaction that occurs with people of interest happens online or superficially in social settings.

We all know that friendship is a crucial aspect of human life, providing support, camaraderie, and shared experiences. While forming friendships is a universal endeavor, I’ve learned through personal trial that gay men often tackle unique challenges in establishing connections with others in the society. It’s not easy to detect a genuine circle of friends with common interests and that invest the same amount of effort to help move the friendship forward.

The older I receive, the more I realize that there are very few “shoot your shot” moments where you have to put yourself out into the world physically and emotionally to intentionally connect with another person in hopes of developing a quality friendship. I focus specifically on other same-sex attracted men or queer folks here because there is a meaning of understan

How Do I Help My Gay Friend?

by D’Ann Davis

“How do I help my gay friend?”  This is a question we perceive constantly in the Living Hope office, when out speaking at events, or from friends and church members from around the world.  Twenty years ago few Christians asked this question, for few knew any same gender attracted people, or if they did know them, they were ignorant to their friend’s struggles.  Today almost everyone knows of someone who identifies as lgbtq+ or deals with a measure of same gender attractions.  Even if a Christian finds himself in a season of experience where he does not personally know of a same gender attracted (SGA) person in his sphere of influence, this scrutinize is of utmost importance in light of the change of our society and the growing willingness of Christians dealing with SGA to openly communicate about their issues.  So how does one aide a gay-identified friend or SGA friend?

The first response I typically give to this question is actually another question.  “Does your friend know Jesus?”  This is a vital first question any believer must tackle before attem

By Karen Blair, Ph.D., and Trent University Students Laura Orchard and Bre O'Handley

“We fell into each other’s arms because of our similarities in our career and because of our age and because we appreciate the same sort of things.” This quote could quite likely be the beginning of a wonderful romance story, but instead, it is a quote about friendship delivered toThe Huffington Post by Sir Ian McKellen about his decade’s long friendship with Sir Patrick Stewart.

The two men first came to know each other well on the set of the first X-Men clip in , and although the duo played adversaries on the silver screen, offscreen, they were developing a nearby friendship. On the set, the two men had adjoining trailers, where they spent more moment getting to realize each other than in front of the camera. By the end of filming, they had discovered how much they had in common, and to this day, they share one of Hollywood’s most well-known friendships.

Both actors are often photographed together doing mundane things, such as walking a boardwalk while deep in conversation. Perhaps one of the reaso

Should a Christian have queer friends?

Answer



In considering whether a Christian should have lgbtq+ friends, we need to ask ourselves whether Jesus would have gay friends. The New Testament nowhere identifies any specific individuals as homosexuals. So, there are no records of Jesus interacting with a homosexual. We know from the gospels, however, that Jesus loved everyone He encountered. He did not consider one group of people less deserving of the gospel than any other. In fact, He went out of His way to deliver a demon-possessed man (Mark –20) and bring hope to an immoral woman from a despised ethnic background (John 4). He healed lepers (Luke –19), pardoned an adulteress (John –11), and ate with tax collectors (Mark )—all of whom were considered unfit for the company of righteous people. We can assume Jesus would hold spent time with homosexuals as well.

Homosexuality was a sin in Jesus’ time, and it is a sin now. God’s standards of human sexuality contain not changed. However, Jesus came to seek and to save the beaten (Luke ). We acquire from the gentle way H