After much discussion and prayer, we have decided to take this blog in a 100% faith related direction. We've obviously been moving toward that over the last few months, but felt led to take the final step at this time.
We'll still have plenty of LGBT related news available. We've added feeds from several of the top LGBT news sites to our Google Newsreel on the right hand side of every page.
Our total focus now, though, will be on matters of faith in Jesus Christ, continuing to help LGBT people understand they are welcome in the kingdom of God without having to act straight, and to help straight people understand that fact and embrace their LGBT brothers and sisters as equals in every aspect of Christianity and society.
Starting tomorrow and continuing every Sunday, Straight, Not Narrow will be completely focused on bringing you live worship being streamed over the Internet.
We've been limiting our services and churches we link to those who are independent, not affiliated with any particular denomination. We are now undertaking a long-term project to add churches from some of the main denominations that allow recognition and acceptance of LGBT people. Most of those denominations, however, allow individual congregations the option of choosing how they respond to LGBT people, so we will be examining churches on a case-by-case basis.
This examination will also include adherence to what we believe are the non-negotiable basic truths of the Christian faith; that God came to Earth in fully human form as Jesus Christ, was crucified for our sins, rose on the third day, and that acceptance of Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior is the ONLY way to eternal fellowship with Him in heaven. We will do our best to be vigilant in not including any churches whose teachings conflict with these basic truths.
We hope by this exercise to bring you a wider choice of worship styles and doctrinal beliefs so that more people will engage in the services and hopefully be fed by the Holy Spirit and even visit one of the churches we present here at Straight, Not Narrow.
Here is our new schedule for Monday-Saturday. All times are Eastern.
5:30 AM Encouraging Words, formerly labeled as Daily Devotional
8:00 AM LGBT Helping Hands (Monday-Friday) and our LOL cat friends on Saturday
10:30 AM Encouraging Music
1:00 PM Affirming Resource, either an LGBT affirming church or a useful website that teachings LGBT affirming doctrine
3:30 PM Matthew 25 Resource, helping those less fortunate (Monday-Friday) and "From the SNN Library" on Saturday, continuing our book recommendations
6:00 PM Affirming Words, including teachings, essays, and soon Brenda and Jim will resume podcasts that will be included here
We want everyone to have the opportunity to embrace the affirming love of Jesus. If you know of someone who needs that message, please send them a link to our site.
We thank the Lord for the opportunity to serve through the material we post on this website and hope you are blessed as we continue to develop the Straight, Not Narrow ministry.
January 30, 2010
LGBT Helping Hands 1/30/10-CLANGLES, Central Lancashire (England) LGBT Support
Information, Support and Community News for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender People in Central & South Lancashire
Welcome to CLANGLES, (Central LANcashire Gay, LESbian, Bisexual and Transgender community website serving people in Central & South Lancashire.
Whether you are out’n’proud or just beginning to explore your sexuality, you will find some useful information on this website.
Until recently there has not been much going on for LGBT people in this area, so what CLANGLES is trying to do is bring together information about what is out there, how you can get involved and ways to make things happen. We also aim to link in to news of what’s happening further afield.
The site is managed by Project Oscar, an initiative funded by Central Lancashire Primary Care Trust.
Click here to find out more.
Welcome to CLANGLES, (Central LANcashire Gay, LESbian, Bisexual and Transgender community website serving people in Central & South Lancashire.
Whether you are out’n’proud or just beginning to explore your sexuality, you will find some useful information on this website.
Until recently there has not been much going on for LGBT people in this area, so what CLANGLES is trying to do is bring together information about what is out there, how you can get involved and ways to make things happen. We also aim to link in to news of what’s happening further afield.
The site is managed by Project Oscar, an initiative funded by Central Lancashire Primary Care Trust.
Click here to find out more.
Changes at Straight, Not Narrow
Check back tonight for an update on what the next step is for Straight, Not Narrow.
Daily Devotional 1/30/10 Eternity
From: Love Worth Finding
“That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:15
Your soul, made in the image of God, will exist forever.
I think Billy Sunday the evangelist said it this way: “Imagine a little bird taking a grain of sand and flying to a distant planet. It would take him a million years to fly to that distant planet. Then he would drop that grain of sand. Then the little bird would fly back to the earth taking him a million years. He gets another grain of sand and flies back to the distant planet. Back and forth, back and forth it goes. When he will have transplanted every speck of earth to that distant planet, it will only be breakfast time in eternity.”
Your soul will go on, and on, and on.
•Where do you plan on spending eternity?
•Where do your loved ones plan on spending it?
If you don’t know, ask them today and get their salvation on the right side of eternity.
“That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:15
Your soul, made in the image of God, will exist forever.
I think Billy Sunday the evangelist said it this way: “Imagine a little bird taking a grain of sand and flying to a distant planet. It would take him a million years to fly to that distant planet. Then he would drop that grain of sand. Then the little bird would fly back to the earth taking him a million years. He gets another grain of sand and flies back to the distant planet. Back and forth, back and forth it goes. When he will have transplanted every speck of earth to that distant planet, it will only be breakfast time in eternity.”
Your soul will go on, and on, and on.
•Where do you plan on spending eternity?
•Where do your loved ones plan on spending it?
If you don’t know, ask them today and get their salvation on the right side of eternity.
January 29, 2010
Encouraging Words 1/29/10-Homosexuality and the Bible Part 4 and 5 of 5
The fourth part of a five-part series taught by Rev. J. R. Finney of Covenant Community Church in Birmingham, AL.
Don't Ask, Don't Tell is Expensive
From On Top Magazine (hat-tip to PageOneQ):
The US military has spent between $290 million and more than a half a billion dollars implementing its ban on open gay service, a new study released Tuesday found.
The research brief released by the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, a public policy institute that focuses on sexual orientation law, also estimates that 66,000 gay, lesbian and bisexual people are currently serving in the Armed Forces, approximately 2.2% of all military personnel.
“Despite official policy requiring that lesbians, gay men and bisexuals remain silent about their sexual orientation, data from the US Census Bureau suggest that an estimated 66,000 LGB men and women are serving in the US military,” Dr. Gary J. Gates, who authored the study, said in a press release.
Congress approved the ban, also known as “don't ask, don't tell,” in 1993. It prohibits gay and lesbian service members from revealing their sexuality at the risk of losing their jobs.
Click here for the rest of the story.
The US military has spent between $290 million and more than a half a billion dollars implementing its ban on open gay service, a new study released Tuesday found.
The research brief released by the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, a public policy institute that focuses on sexual orientation law, also estimates that 66,000 gay, lesbian and bisexual people are currently serving in the Armed Forces, approximately 2.2% of all military personnel.
“Despite official policy requiring that lesbians, gay men and bisexuals remain silent about their sexual orientation, data from the US Census Bureau suggest that an estimated 66,000 LGB men and women are serving in the US military,” Dr. Gary J. Gates, who authored the study, said in a press release.
Congress approved the ban, also known as “don't ask, don't tell,” in 1993. It prohibits gay and lesbian service members from revealing their sexuality at the risk of losing their jobs.
Click here for the rest of the story.
Daily Devotional 1/29/10 Be An Encourager
From: Love Worth Finding
“Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Somebody has well said that discouragement is a dark room where the negatives of fear and failure are developed. There are some who are encouragers and others who are discouragers.
Have you ever met a discourager? They’re like a drink of water to a drowning person. They can brighten up a room by leaving it. They leave you drained and depressed.
But an encourager leaves you full and refreshed. God has cornered the market on encouragement. All encouragement comes from God.
You’re never more like God than when you’re encouraging people and never more like the devil than when you are discouraging people.
Find a needy person and enrich them; a lonely person and include them; a misunderstood person and affirm them; an undiscovered person and develop them; a failing person and restore them.
“Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Somebody has well said that discouragement is a dark room where the negatives of fear and failure are developed. There are some who are encouragers and others who are discouragers.
Have you ever met a discourager? They’re like a drink of water to a drowning person. They can brighten up a room by leaving it. They leave you drained and depressed.
But an encourager leaves you full and refreshed. God has cornered the market on encouragement. All encouragement comes from God.
You’re never more like God than when you’re encouraging people and never more like the devil than when you are discouraging people.
Find a needy person and enrich them; a lonely person and include them; a misunderstood person and affirm them; an undiscovered person and develop them; a failing person and restore them.
January 28, 2010
Encouraging Words 1/27/10-Homosexuality and the Bible Part 3 of 5
The third part of a five-part series taught by Rev. J. R. Finney of Covenant Community Church in Birmingham, AL.
Matthew 25 Resource 1/28/10-Our House (Monroe, LA)
As a center for youth, Our House, inc. is prevention/intervention oriented and is unique because it accepts client self-referral. The immediate goal is to address the crisis and stabilize the youth and family toward reunification. Our House provides shelter services for males and females age 11 to 17, until the crisis is resolved and he/she can return home, obtain an alternative placement, or become self-sufficient.
Our House strives to provide an effective family setting with shared responsibilities and decision making and a sincere caring for youth. The daily routine is structured, but flexible. The routine delineates boundaries essential for youth in preparing for social interaction up upon their return home. The program will be modified to accommodate the needs of individuals as much as possible, without compromising the mission of the programs to provide an environment of structure and consistency. Staff throughout the program will demonstrate a concern and respect for ethical, spiritual, and moral values of youth and their families.
In its longer term goal to assist runaway and homeless adolescents, as well as youth in crisis and their families, Our House provides intervention, counseling, shelter, referral, and/or advocacy on behalf of the youth in crisis. Often these services and others, such as tutoring, are provided on an ongoing basis as needed by the individual client and /or family. Because of its prevention emphasis, Our House concentrates on non-offending youth, or youth who have committed only minor status offenses. Our House strives to deter juvenile-delinquent activity, such as community violence, vandalism, and self-destruction, by developing helping relationships with at-risk youth. This the only early intervention, 24-hour availability, self-referring program serving youth in northeast Louisiana.
Click here to find out more.
Our House strives to provide an effective family setting with shared responsibilities and decision making and a sincere caring for youth. The daily routine is structured, but flexible. The routine delineates boundaries essential for youth in preparing for social interaction up upon their return home. The program will be modified to accommodate the needs of individuals as much as possible, without compromising the mission of the programs to provide an environment of structure and consistency. Staff throughout the program will demonstrate a concern and respect for ethical, spiritual, and moral values of youth and their families.
In its longer term goal to assist runaway and homeless adolescents, as well as youth in crisis and their families, Our House provides intervention, counseling, shelter, referral, and/or advocacy on behalf of the youth in crisis. Often these services and others, such as tutoring, are provided on an ongoing basis as needed by the individual client and /or family. Because of its prevention emphasis, Our House concentrates on non-offending youth, or youth who have committed only minor status offenses. Our House strives to deter juvenile-delinquent activity, such as community violence, vandalism, and self-destruction, by developing helping relationships with at-risk youth. This the only early intervention, 24-hour availability, self-referring program serving youth in northeast Louisiana.
Click here to find out more.
Safe Schools Bill Introduced
From the DC Agenda:
Polis’ introduction of the legislation is consistent with his past work in public schools in his home state of Colorado. The lawmaker is a former chairman of the Colorado State Board of Education and has founded and served as the superintendent of charter schools serving at-risk student populations, according to a statement from his office.
ACLU has endorsed the bill. In a statement Wednesday, Christopher Anders, ACLU’s senior legislative counsel, called the legislation “long overdue.”
“Many LGBT students face harassment, discrimination and sometimes violence in our schools,” he said. “Our public schools should not be places of exclusion, but places where students feel safe and free from discrimination. The Student Non-Discrimination Act will go a long way toward protecting LGBT students and will help promote a better learning environment.”
Check back on DC Agenda’s website later for a more detailed look at the legislation. Download a copy of the Student Non-Discrimination Act here.
Click here to read the rest of the story.
Daily Devotional 1/28/10 Random Acts of Kindness
From: Love Worth Finding
“But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great.” Luke 6:35
I’ve seen bumper stickers that exhort us to “show random acts of kindness.” I think that’s a good thing. And what is kindness? It’s love in the little things.
A woman came down the aisle of a church to give her heart to Christ, and the preacher wanted to know what had impacted her life for Christ. She said, “You did.”
The pastor said, “Well, I’d be interested to know what it was that I said that brought you to Christ.”
She said, “It was nothing you said. It was something you did. I was standing nearby when somebody criticized you very unfairly. I saw the kindness with which you responded, and I knew that your faith was real.”
What random act of kindness can you do today that will demonstrate that your faith is real?
“But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great.” Luke 6:35
I’ve seen bumper stickers that exhort us to “show random acts of kindness.” I think that’s a good thing. And what is kindness? It’s love in the little things.
A woman came down the aisle of a church to give her heart to Christ, and the preacher wanted to know what had impacted her life for Christ. She said, “You did.”
The pastor said, “Well, I’d be interested to know what it was that I said that brought you to Christ.”
She said, “It was nothing you said. It was something you did. I was standing nearby when somebody criticized you very unfairly. I saw the kindness with which you responded, and I knew that your faith was real.”
What random act of kindness can you do today that will demonstrate that your faith is real?
January 27, 2010
Same-Sex Marriage Is Not The New Abortion
Jennifer Vasco writes in the Dallas Voice:
Gay marriage is not like abortion. This might seem obvious: One is about keeping a life from starting, the other is about joining two lives together. But in fact, gay marriage is compared to abortion a lot.
People lump gay marriage in the same polarizing issue category as abortion and gun control all the time. It’s one of the issues, it seems, that defines someone as a liberal or conservative, from a red state or a blue one. For example, the Washington Post said in a headline in 2004 that gay marriage is “the new abortion.”
And often, legal experts or other talking heads will predict the outcome of a Supreme Court gay marriage battle by looking at Roe v. Wade.
That decision was a disaster, they say, because the court’s opinion protecting the right to an abortion was far ahead of public opinion. The country was heading toward making abortion legal anyway, the theory goes, until the court made a big deal about it and caused a backlash that we’re still suffering from.
But gay marriage is not abortion.
In a New Yorker article on the Proposition 8 trial Perry v. Schwarzenegger, which is currently being argued, Margaret Talbot writes that researchers who “have studied public opinion on gay rights, believe that in five years a majority of Americans will favor same-sex marriage — the result of generational replacement and what [one researcher] calls ‘attitude adjustment.
Click here to read the rest of the story.
Gay marriage is not like abortion. This might seem obvious: One is about keeping a life from starting, the other is about joining two lives together. But in fact, gay marriage is compared to abortion a lot.
People lump gay marriage in the same polarizing issue category as abortion and gun control all the time. It’s one of the issues, it seems, that defines someone as a liberal or conservative, from a red state or a blue one. For example, the Washington Post said in a headline in 2004 that gay marriage is “the new abortion.”
And often, legal experts or other talking heads will predict the outcome of a Supreme Court gay marriage battle by looking at Roe v. Wade.
That decision was a disaster, they say, because the court’s opinion protecting the right to an abortion was far ahead of public opinion. The country was heading toward making abortion legal anyway, the theory goes, until the court made a big deal about it and caused a backlash that we’re still suffering from.
But gay marriage is not abortion.
In a New Yorker article on the Proposition 8 trial Perry v. Schwarzenegger, which is currently being argued, Margaret Talbot writes that researchers who “have studied public opinion on gay rights, believe that in five years a majority of Americans will favor same-sex marriage — the result of generational replacement and what [one researcher] calls ‘attitude adjustment.
Click here to read the rest of the story.
Encouraging Words 1/27/10-Homosexuality and the Bible, Part 2 of 5
The second part of a five-part series taught by Rev. J. R. Finney of Covenant Community Church in Birmingham, AL.
LGBT Helping Hands 1/27/10-Fenway Health (Boston, MA)
The mission of Fenway Health is to enhance the physical and mental health of its community, which includes those who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender (LGBT), the people who live and work in our neighborhood, and beyond. Fenway provides high quality, comprehensive health care in a welcoming environment and seeks to improve the overall health of the larger community, locally and nationally, through education and training, policy and advocacy, and research and evaluation.
The Fenway Institute operates the nation's first community-based HIV research program, which has been conducting long-term epidemiological research since 1985. Fenway is one of eight sites in the US that was selected by the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases to recruit participants for the first clinical trials of an HIV vaccine. In 2007, The Fenway Institute was awarded a federal population center grant from the National Institutes of Health, representing the first time a community-based organization has been selected for this type of work. Working with the American College of Physicians, they also published the nation's first medical textbook focused on LGBT people The Fenway Guide to LGBT Health.
Click here to find out more.
The Fenway Institute operates the nation's first community-based HIV research program, which has been conducting long-term epidemiological research since 1985. Fenway is one of eight sites in the US that was selected by the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases to recruit participants for the first clinical trials of an HIV vaccine. In 2007, The Fenway Institute was awarded a federal population center grant from the National Institutes of Health, representing the first time a community-based organization has been selected for this type of work. Working with the American College of Physicians, they also published the nation's first medical textbook focused on LGBT people The Fenway Guide to LGBT Health.
Click here to find out more.
"What About The Rest of Us"
That's the question Sean Kosofsky asks at The Bilerico Project, with us being LGBT people not living on either coast:
Right now our movement is caught up in the daily drama of the very important federal lawsuit to strike down Prop 8 in California. Don't get me wrong, this case is of utmost importance. There is a lot at stake, to be sure, but my concern lies in the fact that the LGBT movement seems obsessed with all things coastal. California, New York, D.C.... All important places.
Dozens of states have endured divisive and destructive ballot measures that have left the local community devastated, hurt and angry. But no other state experienced the outpouring of LGBT community and media attention as California. This isn't just about California's size - this has to do with the queer center of gravity being on the coast. Bigger is better. Bigger is sexier. This story has it all, stars, victims, a celebrity governor and rival attorneys coming together to take on an evil policy.
It has always been that leaders, organizations, celebrities and causes that have some link to the coast will gobble up the valuable real estate of our community's consciousness.
The plight of LGBT people in Michigan, Iowa, Ohio and Missouri and other states is just as important as those in California. But because their stories and brave local leaders don't get any recognition or attention, our movement is being defined by people whose lifestyles, values and personalities are representative of a particular location and segment of our community. This is not to devalue or dismiss anyone in California. But, dammit there is more to this movement than California.
Regardless of what happens in California (and I hope we win) we must stop the love affair with one geographic slice of our country. We must widen our lens and see further than we have been seeing. The problem with fixating on any one strategy or any one region is that such short sightedness will fail us. Our movement must be more versatile and nimble and unless we can weave a larger narrative of where we live and where we are facing discrimination and violence, the queer "problem" or "issue" will always be "over there" and not "right here."
Problem is...we all live "right here."
What do you think? Are LGBT people in middle America geting the short end of the deal, or is it just that resources being invested in the regions where success is most likely?
Right now our movement is caught up in the daily drama of the very important federal lawsuit to strike down Prop 8 in California. Don't get me wrong, this case is of utmost importance. There is a lot at stake, to be sure, but my concern lies in the fact that the LGBT movement seems obsessed with all things coastal. California, New York, D.C.... All important places.
Dozens of states have endured divisive and destructive ballot measures that have left the local community devastated, hurt and angry. But no other state experienced the outpouring of LGBT community and media attention as California. This isn't just about California's size - this has to do with the queer center of gravity being on the coast. Bigger is better. Bigger is sexier. This story has it all, stars, victims, a celebrity governor and rival attorneys coming together to take on an evil policy.
It has always been that leaders, organizations, celebrities and causes that have some link to the coast will gobble up the valuable real estate of our community's consciousness.
The plight of LGBT people in Michigan, Iowa, Ohio and Missouri and other states is just as important as those in California. But because their stories and brave local leaders don't get any recognition or attention, our movement is being defined by people whose lifestyles, values and personalities are representative of a particular location and segment of our community. This is not to devalue or dismiss anyone in California. But, dammit there is more to this movement than California.
Regardless of what happens in California (and I hope we win) we must stop the love affair with one geographic slice of our country. We must widen our lens and see further than we have been seeing. The problem with fixating on any one strategy or any one region is that such short sightedness will fail us. Our movement must be more versatile and nimble and unless we can weave a larger narrative of where we live and where we are facing discrimination and violence, the queer "problem" or "issue" will always be "over there" and not "right here."
Problem is...we all live "right here."
What do you think? Are LGBT people in middle America geting the short end of the deal, or is it just that resources being invested in the regions where success is most likely?
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