Bridging the gaps

“I knew that my feelings toward males were different from the other boys I knew,” [conference speaker Chad] Thompson said, explaining that he understood where homosexuals are coming from when they say they’ve always felt different, or they can’t remember ever not being attracted to someone of the same gender as themselves.

Calling himself an “ex-gay,” he told the workshop audience he decided to begin living as a heterosexual once he realized that his legitimate need for love and affection from a male was the source of his homosexual struggles.

Thompson went on to tell how he helps others struggling with the same issues via his organization, Inqueery, which operates a website of the same name and addresses homosexuality on high school and college campuses.

Thompson said he’s met many homosexuals who did not feel accepted at all by the church community. He named three roadblocks that stand in the way of ministry to homosexuals: media, politics and research.

“All three of these arenas perpetuate stereotypes of gay people as well as Christian people ... so when someone from the evangelical world meets someone from the gay community, there is this tension because we’ve been lied to about each other,” Thompson said.

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