"Old Time Religion With a Gay Twist"

Wayne Besen has an interesting column up on his site about a revival meeting in the foothills of western North Carolina led by ex-gay minister Tim Wilkins.

Besen attended the meeting and noticed a surprising dynamic in the audience:

"Most significant, however, was when Wilkens asked the crowd if they knew someone who was gay. A sea of hands rose and the preacher remarked that when he asked this question ten years ago, less than 10 percent of audiences raised their hands. Today, he said, the number can exceed eighty percent of a congregation. Here, in the foothills, it was becoming clear that the gay community had gained a foothold. The crowd was not there to gripe about homosexuals, but searching for ways to grapple with a loved one who had come out."

We can only pray that Wilkins' message didn't do too much harm to the relationships between those folks who raised their hands and the GLBT people that caused them to be in the air.