Love is an Orientation

I just finished reading Andrew Marin's new book Love is an Orientation: Elevating the Conversation with the Gay Community. In the Introduction he writes:

"The dichotomized relationship between evangelicals and the GLBT community has a traumatic history and continues to grow further apart. Each group talks past the other rather than to the other group. The result is that, by and large, evangelicals know gay people only in a narrowly focused, two-dimensional light, and the GLBT community is left to search for God without the body of Christ to assist them, encourage them, and validate their human existence as children of God." This is the challenge that is laid before us in the book. How can we better understand one another and connect relationally in such a way that God is glorified, dialogue can happen, and the Holy Spirit is allowed the space to do what only He can do?

I believe it is a must-read for anyone who is seriously interested in reaching out to the gay community with the love of Christ. He readily concedes that "some of what you are going to read is not going to be easy to hear or grasp ..." so if you're just looking for something to fuel your position, save your money. You may not, and most likely will not, agree with everything that he says, but that's OK if you are truly interested in thinking and learning and discovering a possible new approach that will ease the tension and actually do something productive. Here is an interview with Marin that will give you a sense of his heart.