Single, Gay, Christian
A Personal Journey of Faith and Sexual Identity
Gregory Coles
- Foreword
- INDIES
- Award
- Finalist
IVP
- Readers'
- Choice
- AwardIn
- an
- age
- where
- neither
- society
- nor
- the
- church
- knows
- what
- to
- do
- with
- gay
- Christians,
- Greg
- Coles
- tells
- his
- own
- story.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.
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