Just last month, I met the gregarious and animated Andrew Marin, founder of The Marin Foundation and author of Love Is an Orientation: Elevating the Conversation with the Gay Community. Marin has a fascinating story, which you can read more about in the upcoming issue of Leadership journal.
In summary, this ultra-conservative, self-proclaimed “homophobe” felt God draw him into conversation and ministry with Chicago’s gay and lesbian community. He’s been at it for about six years now, and with great success. His book is a guide for those of us who want to learn from his experience how best to engage the gay community.
One of Marin’s primary goals in Love Is an Orientation is explaining the way the gay community perceives the evangelical community. Among the GLBT community’s most frequently felt questions, Marin says, are: How can I possibly relate to Christians in a church environment? Will Christians always look at me as just gay? Do they think that homosexuality is a special sin? When will I be rejected? And so on.
Marin also delves into the intricacies of identity–how gays and lesbians understand themselves and how the church often talks past them. He also explores what it means to be gay and Christian.
Finally, Marin offers concrete principles for making the interaction between the gay and evangelical communities more constructive and life giving.
Some warnings: Marin avoids easy answers. There are a couple of questions, in fact, that he refuses to answer for readers at conferences (“How many people have you changed?” and “Do you think that being gay is a sin?”), because he feels to do so would close down the conversation altogether. His posture is aggressive; he believes evangelicals should make the first move. For these reasons, his book can be unsettling. But I think it’s unsettling in a good way.
I’ve heard it said that some of Marin’s comments come across in print as a little abrasive. It’s hard to read his writing that way when you’ve met him in person. He’s just so outgoing. In any case, we’ve included a short audio file here from an interview I conducted with him at the National Pastors Convention. I hope meeting him here will help you read him aright.
Or right-click here to download the clip.
UPDATE: Books & Culture‘s review.
