Are you fed up with debating over and over and over again about whether it’s “ok to be gay”? I am.

And at the same time, I remember when that was the conversation that I wanted to have over and over and over again. I needed an answer, an explanation, just the right… something… that would tell me that it’s OK to be gay, that I’m OK.

I don’t think I ever found that answer.

This is what I did do though: watch porn, give up watching porn, come out, doubt my decision to come out, date guys, get crushes on girls, find a new church, give up on God, and get born again.

At some point, I stopped asking “Is it a sin to be gay?” I didn’t need to ask anymore, I knew the answer: of course not!

When was the turning point? I honestly don’t know. When I joined the Equality Ride in 2007, I was out, I was sure that God loved me, and I was preeeety sure that being gay wasn’t a sin. But I wasn’t positive. Or, at least I didn’t have the language to describe.

I dove in anyway. And that made all the difference.

Surrounding myself with fellow LGBTQ people: some atheists, some Southern Baptists, a few Presbyterians… some who believed that God’s love was for everyone, some who believed you’ll go to hell unless you accept Jesus (but being gay is OK), and some who didn’t believe in God.

It was the doing of theology–of talking about God–that led me to a place of self-acceptance. It was discovering and sharing my own story and listening to the stories of other LGBTQ people that utterly convinced me of the rightness of our cause.

Which, brings me today. My friend Shay and I want to create that opportunity for others–for you. So we created Queer Theology’s first course: Reading Queerly. Reading Queerly is a six-week online course which guides you through the process of approaching faith from a queer perspective, and to find fresh ways to find yourself in the story of faith. The course will look primarily at the Christian scriptures — though, you by no means need to be Christian or LGBTQ to participate!

Last week, Shay and I squirreled ourselves away in a monastery to finish the course content. We’ve been putting the finishing touches on it and are excited to be able to share it with you. So, if you want to learn more and get your spot in the class, you can do that right here.