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 ...