2009 Gay Pride Parade Video 11 of 11

Here is my final reflection from walking in the 2009 Chicago Gay Pride Parade and interviewing a variety of people who were all a part of that day as well.

Much love.

www.themarinfoundation.org

2009 Gay Pride Parade Video 10 of 11

Short and to the point—this is officially the worst evangelism tool ever found on the face of the earth.

Sadness strikes me in great amounts hearing this gay man’s response.

Much love.www.themarinfoundation.org

2009 Gay Pride Parade Video 9 of 11

In this video I get yelled at and told I’m going to hell. The protestors thought I was gay. When I told them I wasn’t gay and went to a conservative seminary, I was still told I’m going to hell.

One thing to notice about half way through the video, the guy with the megaphone kept yelling:

“Sick, Sick, Sick”

Does that really work? Maybe it’s just me, but that does absolutely no good—for anyone.

Much love.
http://www.themarinfoundation.org/

2009 Gay Pride Parade Video 8 of 11

So. Many. People. In this video I offer a little prayer for bridge builders amidst the opportunity to be involved.

Much love.

www.themarinfoundation.org

2009 Gay Pride Parade Video 7 of 11

In this clip I interview Nathan, a straight man who is walking in the Parade. And funny enough, he goes to an evangelical seminary in Chicago as well! One of the things that Nathan says is that he sometimes feels as though he is more loved by the GLBT community than he is by his seminary community. It’s strange for me that others have had the same experience as myself. As I say in my book:

"I have never met a more loving community in my life than the GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender) community. Obviously, there are exceptions in any community, but in general I've found that GLBT people don't care if you're skinny, hairy, fat, pimpled, a millionaire or dead broke; there is room for everyone."

Take out the GLBT part of that quote and you have the ideal definition of Christianity. Let this be a bold challenge.

Much love.
www.themarinfoundation.org

2009 Gay Pride Parade Video 6 of 11

Welcome to my neighborhood during it’s most famous hour. At the end of the clip I pray that I know the Lord loves this neighborhood. And he does. Many look upon Boystown and think God hates it in anger and judgment. I believe he loves it in broken compassion, yearning for those 1.2 million people and beyond at that Parade to come to know his love and transcending characteristics as the Creator he is; and all that is entailed with that relationship.

Much love.
www.themarinfoundation.org

2009 Gay Pride Parade Video 5 of 11

Many people (gay and straight) are confused by transgenders. Here’s our opportunity to learn from, and listen to a transgender female [defined as male to female] talk about her experiences growing up in the Catholic church. Towards the end she says something that I think we all need to hear:

I asked her if she thought the Church could have helped her out with her “demons” (as she put it), and her response was “no.” Experiences prove potent—especially with religion and personal demons. We’re losing thousands to the secular world because we’re not quite sure how to respond to a variety of topics.

So instead of trying to figure out how to respond, let’s figure out how to love—and the responses will be a natural outplay of our commitment to another.

Much love.
www.themarinfoundation.org

2009 Gay Pride Parade Video 4 of 11

In this video I interview a Mom and her son who are both walking in the Parade. I think the Mom says two very profound things:

1. Although she would group her own theological beliefs in a more liberal category, she said that she totally believes that someone can hold onto a conservative theological belief and still love in tangible ways that make a difference in GLBT peoples lives.

and

2. She thinks the problem in the culture war is not a theology “thing,” it’s a people “thing.”

My belief is that people’s actions are an outplay of their theology. In agreement with what the Mom said, no matter what the belief, the culture war can easily end because of what people do, not by convincing others of what they believe.

Much love.
www.themarinfoundation.org

2009 Gay Pride Parade Video 3 of 11

Here’s the back-story to this video:

This man was involved in a church and when he decided to tell leadership of his same-sex attractions they put him into therapy (not forcefully because he agreed to do so) and they put his works in the church on “probation” until he didn’t have same-sex attractions anymore. After trying and trying with no change in the attractions, he gladly left the church and now will not go anywhere unless the church, as he said, “are not concerned who he sleeps with.”

Another casualty we created because we didn’t know how to build Christ’s bridges in the right way.

His life now is on our heads for causing his current state. Why? Because he started with a traditional interpretation of Scripture and look where he’s at now because he “couldn’t succeed vs. his struggles”. Listen closely here for a second: if there is something we need to take from this interview, it’s that the Church needs to reorient its understanding of what a successful outcome looks like. If the only metric of success is to “be straight” then we’re not going to ever really be able to make a difference because what constitutes straight? Marriage? Children? What if the person is still gay and just wants an outside facade to blend in? Is that success then? Is success no more attractions to the same-sex, ever? What about unwanted fantasies that can't be overcome? What about gay Christians? What about celibacy? What about the replacement for intimacy if celibate? Where does that come from?

Too many questions and too few answers because many of us have never invested the time, effort and relationships into figuring it out because the majority Church is just concerned with one label: S-T-R-A-I-G-H-T.

Think about this, if not success, then the only other option is failure. And if success/fail are the only two options we offer (all the while not clearly defining the different shades of one’s journey along the way), we’re not caring enough to authentically enter into someone’s life story with them, now are we? It seems that the Church thinks the ends (being straight) justify the means (don’t care how you get there, just get there—and get there quick. And if it takes too long or done in the fashion deemed appropriate then you’re a failure). When my understanding of what it is to build a Christlike bridge with the GLBT community is the exact opposite (see Love is an Orientation, specifically pages 146-160).

His life is another unfortunate example of us keeping the GLBT community at arm’s length in the most horrific way:

Telling them we love them and want to be there with them throughout everything, and in deception setting up a structure of success and failure that the majority of the time equates to failure. What happens when someone fails, then?! Do we just let them go and not give a second thought because they weren’t successful enough???—well, we did with him and the majority is ok with that.

But it’s not ok with me and I hope it's not ok with you either.

Much love.
www.themarinfoundation.org

2009 Gay Pride Parade Video 2 of 11

This is the first interview I conducted at the Parade. As soon as I got there I saw a group of people wearing purple shirts with the transgender logo on them (you’ll see the logo in the video). None of the people in the shirts “looked” transgender, so I went up to them and asked what they were walking for. It turns out that they were parents who have transgender kids. Two of these parents were more than happy to be interviewed on camera, and here are their thoughts on two questions:

1. What would you like to say to the Church as a parent of a transgender kid

and

2. What can the Church do to tangibly serve your transgender kid?

Notice that when the dad is talking, he’s eyes are welling up because he’s fighting back some major tears. In talking to him off camera he got very emotional as this was his first parade—he’s just trying to learn to live and love amidst everything going on in his, and his child’s life.

Much love.
www.themarinfoundation.org

2009 Gay Pride Parade Video 1 of 11

I recorded this video from my condo after the parade, as a real-time summary of what you are going to see, feel and hear over the next two weeks as I post the remaining ten videos from my participation in the 2009 Gay Pride Parade in Chicago.

As I said in the video, this is a time to reflect as we take everyone’s words during the interviews as a legitimate expression of what each person’s experience has been, and where they are currently. My favorite slogan—right from the gate you can’t relate—and this is a huge step forward as we are able to place the GLBT community’s metric upon ourselves to know the boundaries of what it is to make significant things happen for the Kingdom.

Much love.
http://www.themarinfoundation.org/

Andrew Marin on theooze.tv Part 2

Here is Part 2 of my interview with Spencer Burke and theooze.tv. Instead of commenting here, go to this link and rate the interview and join in on the conversation - there are some polarizing views already posted. Let's show some folks what peaceful and productive bridge building conversations look like.

Much love.

www.themarinfoundation.org

Andrew Marin on theooze.tv

Enjoy this interview (Part 1) with author and creator of The Ooze and theooze.tv, Spencer Burke. Watching it back I forgot I got a little excited at the end. And if you know me, you know what I mean by excited!

Do you agree or disagree with anything I said?

Much love.

http://www.themarinfoundation.org/

Andrew Marin Interviews Chris Heuertz (Part 2)

Here is Part 2 of my interview with Chris Heuertz, author and International Director of Word Made Flesh. In this segment I ask Chris two questions:

What would you tell the Church about building bridges with the gay and lesbian community

and

What would you tell the gay and lesbian community about the Church

His answers are moving.

You can also check out Word Made Flesh, Chris' book and other videos of Christ speaking here.

Much love.

www.themarinfoundation.org

Andrew Marin Interviews Chris Heuertz (Part 1)

While I was in Omaha, NE last week I had the opportunity to hang out with a man that I respect with all of my heart and soul, Chris Heuertz, the International Director of Word Made Flesh - a non profit organization that incarnationally serves the poorest of the poor all over the world. Chris is the most humble man I know, and he is one of those people in this lifetime that you just feel privileged to sit at his feet and learn from his amazing life and experiences.

This first part of the interview I talk to Chris about Word Made Flesh, which you can link to here. I also talk to Chris about his book, Simple Spirituality, which you can buy here or here. And you can check out some other talks by Chris here.

PS - as I watched it back I realized I talked waaaay too much. I'm learning how to get used to being the interviewer instead of the interviewee. Sorry about that. :)

But seriously, I truly do love Chris and the Word Made Flesh team:

Word Made Flesh

Simple Spirituality

Much love.

http://www.themarinfoundation.org/

[Addendum on June 16, 2009: Do you ever find yourself being labled into a socially constructed group because someone on the outside doesn't understand you? I tackle this question in my own life after the last two conservative evangelical radio interviews have called me Emergent for no other reason than I live within, and loves me some GLBT folks.]

Am I Emergent? I tackle this question in 4 minutes and 33 seconds after I have been called Emergent by two of the last three conservative evangelical radio hosts I have been on with. This clip is not me speaking against Emergent, but rather about the indictment of evangelicalism surrounding homosexuality and the life I live.

What are your thoughts on Emergent? Conservativism? None of the above? Love to hear you thoughts on this whole thing.

Much love.

http://www.themarinfoundation.org/

New Flip Camera Experiment

As you can see by my 'mug' looking at you in this video, I just bought a Flip Camera to start recording short bites of my life within this unique bridge building experience that the Lord has laid before us. I hope you enjoy this new way of interacting along side my written posts as well!

Tell me, what types of things would you all love to see through these videos as I move forward in this fun experiment?

Much love.

http://www.themarinfoundation.org/

Picking Up My Books—Part 2

These are 3 short videos of me on Monday March 30th at InterVarsity Press’ distribution center, as I complete orders for Love is an Orientation that were ordered through IVP. The first video is me filling out the shipping order. The second video is me packing and sealing the envelopes. The third video is me and my father-in-law packing the boxes of my book into a van to transport back to The Marin Foundation. Who knows, maybe I packed and shipped your order? Enjoy the experience!







Much love.
www.themarinfoundation.org

Here it is!

Remember my sermon from Capitol Hill the night before the Inauguration—the same sermon that is in the process of being archived in the Smithsonian? Well, here it is! I hope you enjoy it.

Much love.
http://www.themarinfoundation.org/

The Marin Foundation Informational Video

This video is from the "extra" footage from the Promo Video to my book, Love Is An Orientation, which you can buy here from Borders or here from InterVarsity Press or here from Amazon.

Much love.

http://www.themarinfoundation.org/