Book picks similar to
That Undeniable Longing: My Road to and from the Priesthood by Mark Tedesco
spirituality
autobiography-biography
gay-bio
lgbt
Space at the Table: Conversations Between an Evangelical Theologian and His Gay Son
Brad Harper - 2016
Writing to each other with compassion, grit, and humor, Brad and Drew take us on their journey as parent and child from the churches of Middle America to the penthouses of New York's party scenes, through a pastor's-kid childhood and painful conversion therapy to the hard-won victories of their adult relationship.But Space at the Table is more than just a memoir. It is a guide, showing us a way through the roadblocks that threaten to devastate both families and the broader evangelical and LBGTQ communities. Speaking from their own experience, Brad and Drew offer an invitation to join them at a place where love is stronger than the beliefs that divide us.
The Kid: What Happened After My Boyfriend and I Decided to Go Get Pregnant
Dan Savage - 1999
In The Kid, Savage tells a no-holds-barred, high-energy story of an ordinary American couple who wants to have a baby. Except that in this case the couple happens to be Dan and his boyfriend. That fact, in the face of a society enormously uneasy with gay adoption, makes for an edgy, entertaining, and illuminating read. When Dan and his boyfriend are finally presented with an infant badly in need of parenting, they find themselves caught up in a drama that extends well beyond the confines of their immediate world. A story about confronting homophobia, falling in love, getting older, and getting a little bit smarter, The Kid is a book about the very human desire to have a family.
Single, Gay, Christian: A Personal Journey of Faith and Sexual Identity
Gregory Coles - 2017
Let's make a deal, you and me. Let's make promises to each other. I promise to tell you my story. The whole story. I'll tell you about a boy in love with Jesus who, at the fateful onset of puberty, realized his sexual attractions were persistently and exclusively for other guys. I'll tell you how I lay on my bed in the middle of the night and whispered to myself the words I've whispered a thousand times since: I'm gay. I'll show you the world through my eyes. I'll tell you what it's like to belong nowhere. To know that much of my Christian family will forever consider me unnatural, dangerous, because of something that feels as involuntary as my eye color. And to know that much of the LGBTQ community that shares my experience as a sexual minority will disagree with the way I've chosen to interpret the call of Jesus, believing I've bought into a tragic, archaic ritual of self-hatred. But I promise my story won't all be sadness and loneliness and struggle. I'll tell you good things too, hopeful things, funny things, like the time I accidentally came out to my best friend during his bachelor party. I'll tell you what it felt like the first time someone looked me in the eyes and said, You are not a mistake. I'll tell you that joy and sorrow are not opposites, that my life has never been more beautiful than when it was most brokenhearted. If you'll listen, I promise I'll tell you everything, and you can decide for yourself what you want to believe about me.
Soulmates
Jess Stearn - 1984
Is it fantasy or reality? In this extraordinary and fascinating book, bestselling author Jess Stearn reveals that perfect love does exist--that you can find it, experience it . . . and with it, change your life forever. Here are the inspiring stories of many real-life soulmates Stearn has met, the innermost secrets of celebrities like Shirley MacLaine, Susan Strasberg, Howard Hughes, and Joan Hackett, who have sought and found the ultimate love.Now you can share in the drama and ecstasy of fulfilling your deepest and most powerful yearnings and desires. You too can find your own true soulmate.
No More Goodbyes: Circling the Wagons Around Our Gay Loved Ones
Carol Lynn Pearson - 2007
In "No More Goodbyes," Pearson revisits the challenging subject of religious people relating to their gay loved ones who are often condemned by their church and--many believe--by God. Through stories gathered from the microcosm of Mormonism, it becomes clear how this emotional earthquake affects families of all faiths.
She of the Mountains
Vivek Shraya - 2014
There is no she.Two cells make up one cell. This is the mathematics behind creation. One plus one makes one. Life begets life. We are the period to a sentence, the effect to a cause, always belonging to someone. We are never our own.This is why we are so lonely.She of the Mountains is a beautifully rendered illustrated novel by Vivek Shraya, the author of the Lambda Literary Award finalist God Loves Hair. Shraya weaves a passionate, contemporary love story between a man and his body, with a re-imagining of Hindu mythology. Both narratives explore the complexities of embodiment and the damaging effects that policing gender and sexuality can have on the human heart.Illustrations are by Raymond Biesinger, whose work has appeared in such publications as The New Yorker and the New York Times.Vivek Shraya is a multimedia artist, working in the mediums of music, performance, literature, and film. Her most recent film, What I LOVE about Being QUEER, has been expanded to include an online project and book with contributions from around the world. She is also author of God Loves Hairand Even This Page Is White.
Full Exposure: Opening Up to Sexual Creativity and Erotic Expression
Susie Bright - 2000
Bright explores some of the most complex questions about sexuality todaym including:What are the real differences between men's and women's sense of the erotic?Why is it so threatening to conscioulsy address sexual desire?Is there a line to be drawn in erotic creativity-can you go so far?How can articulate erotic expression make us better lovers, more important, better people?
UnClobber
Colby Martin - 2016
Armed with only six passages in the Bible often known as the clobber passages the conservative Christian position has been one that stands against the full inclusion of our LGBT brothers and sisters. Unclobber reexamines each of those frequently quoted passages of Scripture, alternating with author Colby Martin's own story of being fired from an evangelical megachurch when they discovered his stance on sexuality.UnClobber reexamines what the Bible says (and does not say) about homosexuality in such a way that breathes fresh life into outdated and inaccurate assumptions and interpretations.
A Full House of Growing Pains: A Hollywood Mother's Journey.
Barbara Cameron - 2006
As they were growing up, she did all the typical "mom stuff," but her children were anything but typical. They were both television stars on hit sitcoms. Guiding them through the dark and seductive culture of Hollywood, Barbara was successful in keeping them grounded and making sure that God was first in their lives. They grew up to be spectacular adults, free from all the influences that assailed them except one-God's. She gives hope to every parent, along with sage advice on how to protect your children from "the world."
Changing Our Mind: A call from America's leading evangelical ethics scholar for full acceptance of LGBT Christians in the Church
David P. Gushee - 2014
Gushee, “For us, it’s the LGBT issue.” In Changing Our Mind, Gushee takes the reader along his personal and theological journey as he changes his mind about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender inclusion in the Church. With 19 books to his name, Gushee is no stranger to the public arena. He is the author of the “Evangelical Declaration Against Torture” and drafted the “Evangelical Climate Initiative. “For decades now, David Gushee has earned the reputation as America's leading evangelical ethicist. In this book, he admits that he has been wrong on the LGBT issue.” writes Brian D. McLaren, author and theologian. With the support of activists, authors and theologians like Matthew Vines, Phyllis Tickle, James V. Brownson and Mark Achtemeier, Gushee writes clearly and carefully about people dear to him and his study of Scripture. Brian D. McLaren says it best: “Not only is David Gushee's work deep, thoughtful and brilliant; and not only is David philosophically and theologically careful and astute; he is also refreshingly clear and understandable by ‘common people’ who know neither philosophical nor theological mumbo jumbo.”
Torn: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-vs.-Christians Debate
Justin Lee - 2012
Nicknamed "God Boy" by his peers, he knew that he was called to a life in the evangelical Christian ministry. But Lee harbored a secret: He also knew that he was gay. In this groundbreaking book, Lee recalls the events—his coming out to his parents, his experiences with the "ex-gay" movement, and his in-depth study of the Bible—that led him, eventually, to self-acceptance. But more than just a memoir, TORN provides insightful, practical guidance for all committed Christians who wonder how to relate to gay friends or family members—or who struggle with their own sexuality. Convinced that "in a culture that sees gays and Christians as enemies, gay Christians are in a unique position to bring peace," Lee demonstrates that people of faith on both sides of the debate can respect, learn from, and love one another.
Daddy
Madison Young - 2013
From the fraught relationship with her biological father to "leather daddies" of the adult and BDSM communities, Daddy explores Young's interwoven relationships with each of them and the sex positive values that she teaches and lectures on across the country at Yale University, Berkeley University, Good Vibrations, Smitten Kitten, Tool Shed, Kinky Kollege, and Austin Rope Symposium.
Transgender: Christian compassion, convictions and wisdom for today's big questions
Vaughan Roberts - 2016
Same-sex marriage would have been unthinkable 20 or 30 years ago. Now it's almost universally accepted in the Western world. Now suddenly the issue of transgender is the next big social, cultural issue that has dominated the headlines. Vaughan Roberts surveys the Christian worldview and seeks to apply these principles to the many complex questions surrounding gender identity. This short book gives an overview and a starting point for constructive discussion as we seek to live in a world with different values, and love, serve and relate to transgender people. Talking Points is a series of short books designed to help Christians think, talk and relate to others with compassion, conviction and wisdom about today's big issues.
Outside the Lines: How Embracing Queerness Will Transform Your Faith
Mihee Kim-Kort - 2018
So should our love for each other.Mihee Kim-Kort is a wife, a mom, and a Presbyterian minister. And she's queer. As she became aware of her queer sexuality, Mihee wondered what that meant for her spirituality. But instead of pushing her away from God, her queerness has brought her closer to Jesus and taught her how to love better.In Outside the Lines, Mihee shows us how God, in Jesus, is oriented toward us in a queer and radical way. Through the life, work, and witness of Jesus, we see a God who loves us with a queer love. And our faith in that God becomes a queer spirituality--a spirituality that crashes through definitions and moves us outside of the categories of our making. Whenever we love ourselves and our neighbors with the boundary-breaking love of God, we live out this queer spirituality in the world.With a captivating mix of personal story and biblical analysis, Outside the Lines shows us how each of our bodies fits into the body of Christ. Outside the lines and without exceptions.
The Cross in the Closet
Timothy Kurek - 2012
But it wasn’t long before Timothy’s path and the outside world converged when a friend came out as a lesbian, and revealed she had been excommunicated by her family.Distraught and overcome with questions and doubts about his religious upbringing, Timothy decided the only way to empathize and understand her pain was to walk in the shoes of very people he had been taught to shun. He decided to come out as a gay man to everyone in his life, and to see for himself how the label of gay would impact his life.In the tradition of Black Like Me, The Cross in the Closet is a story about people, a story about faith, and about one man’s “abominable” quest to find Jesus in the margins.