“Born Again Queer” Book Tour

Saturday, June 20, 2:00pm at Central Lutheran Church

In honor of Pride month, SFBC is collaborating with our neighbors at Central Lutheran Church to host Dr. William Stell, author of the new book Born Again Queer: A History of Evangelical Gay Activism and the Making of Antigay Christianity.

“Evangelicals claim that their opposition to homosexuality is an inherent feature of their faith, rooted in their unchanging beliefs about the Bible. Most scholars, journalists, and observers have accepted this account; in Born Again Queer, William Stell upends it. Arguing that the antigay majority in evangelicalism has been less dominant and more vulnerable than previously thought, Stell describes a network of authors, ministers, and professors—all veterans of major evangelical institutions—who worked in the 1970s and 1980s to persuade Christians that their churches should affirm the relationships and ministries of gay and lesbian members. By the late 1970s, some even thought that these activists might shape the future of evangelicalism.
Of course, that speculation proved mistaken, and the antigay evangelical majority eventually overpowered the gay-affirming minority. Stell’s history of the rise and fall of evangelical gay activism shines a light on this largely forgotten chapter in American evangelicalism. Drawing on extensive archival research and interviews, Stell documents the work of four prominent activists: the founder of a predominantly LGBTQ+ denomination called the Metropolitan Community Churches, the leader of a gay advocacy organization called Evangelicals Concerned, and the evangelical feminist coauthors of the influential book Is the Homosexual My Neighbor? By recovering the successes of evangelical gay activists and the struggles of their opponents, Stell’s account transforms how we think about evangelicalism, how we talk about the culture wars, and how we approach both religion in queer movements and queer activism in religious movements.”

Central Lutheran will host a book talk on Saturday, June 20 at 2:00pm in their Fellowship Hall. Dr. Stell will also preach at SFBC’s Pride Sunday worship service. We look forward to hosting Dr. Stell and hearing some of the previously untold stories of gay and lesbian activists within evangelical church circles, and reckoning with the importance of evangelicalism in shaping religious discourse in the United States today.