An Open Letter to Those New to or Interested in BMCC

Hello! We are students of BMCC’s discipleship training programme, and on behalf of the church we welcome you. BMCC is a Christian church founded in 1992 — a place that openly accepts people of every background and identity, whether LGBTQ+, ethnic minority, or persons with disabilities — providing a safe space for them to worship God.

Most of us in this cohort came to BMCC already as Christians — perhaps having grown up in Christian families, attended Christian schools, been members of traditional churches, or even served as deacons. Faith once gave our lives direction and hope, but it also brought difficulty, confusion, even suffering. Each of us has carried questions about faith — especially those of us who are LGBTQ+ and have been excluded and condemned in our former churches. We have wondered: Is homosexuality a sin? Does God love LGBTQ+ people? If I join a church that openly accepts LGBTQ+ Christians, am I entering heresy and straying further from God? Many of us came to BMCC carrying these very questions.

Over the past six months, we have met together to discuss our beliefs and theological thinking, and to reflect on our values. In this time, what we have been able to study is only the tip of the iceberg. Honestly, the questions in our minds at this moment may outnumber the answers we have found. But if you are curious and patient, we hope in this open letter to share some of the thoughts we have arrived at so far.

Is Homosexuality a Sin?

To discuss whether homosexuality is a sin, we must first ask: what is “sin”? What is our response to sin? What is the purpose of discussing sin? The word “sin” is often heard, but if you ask about its meaning, every church and every pastor may give a different answer.

If a believer’s framework is “to break the law is sin” (1 John 3:4), then their primary goal on the path of faith is to obey God’s commandments to the utmost and despise any breach. Scripture becomes a book of laws. Several texts clearly condemn male same-sex sexual acts — Leviticus, “you shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination”; Romans, “men committed shameful acts with men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.” In these texts, male same-sex acts are condemned, while purely male homosexual love, lesbian love and acts, and transgender identity are not directly named. But conservative churches also draw on Genesis: God created woman as man’s partner; a man shall leave his parents and cling to his wife, and the two shall become one. So they argue that any pattern of love or sexual relationship outside of lifelong, monogamous, heterosexual marriage deviates from God’s “original design” and is sinful and shameful.

Some contemporary scholars suggest that certain popular translations of the relevant biblical passages may be incorrect — that the Bible does not condemn purely homosexual acts. For example, the word in 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy 1:9 — ἀρσενοκοῖται (arsenokoitai) — is a compound of “male” and “bed” (with sexual undertone). It is a word that appears uniquely in Scripture and does not appear in other contemporary sources. Because the word is rare and its meaning unclear, translations across languages have varied widely. Early English translations rendered it “sexual perverts” (RSV, 1611) or “abusers of themselves with mankind” (KJV, 1611); early German (1534) rendered it “knabenschander” (roughly: child abuser). It was only around 1973 that English translations began to render it as “men who engage in sexual activity with men.” So some scholars ask: if earlier translations did not clearly target consensual sexual acts between two adult men, on what new evidence did newer translations make such a change?

Even granting these translation questions, more importantly the wider biblical witness invites us to consider that God’s central concern in Scripture is justice, love, and mercy. Jesus repeatedly broke through the boundaries of his society — eating with sinners, healing on the Sabbath, welcoming children, blessing the poor, lifting up the Samaritan. The central question is not whether your love fits a particular ancient configuration, but whether your love bears the marks of justice, dignity, and faithfulness.

Does God Love LGBTQ+ People?

We believe the answer is yes — and we believe it on the same basis we believe God loves anyone: creation in the image of God, the witness of Christ’s life, and the lived experience of God’s presence and grace in our own lives. Many of us have known God most clearly in the moments we feared most that God would reject us. The God we have met in those moments has been a God of welcome, not condemnation.

Is BMCC a Heresy?

We do not think so. BMCC subscribes to historic Christian creeds, celebrates the sacraments of baptism and Holy Communion, preaches the gospel of grace through Christ. What is different about us is that we refuse to exclude on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. That difference, in our reading of Scripture, places us in line with the Jesus who refused to exclude.

Closing

If you have questions about faith, sexuality, or identity, you are welcome to bring them to BMCC. You do not need to be sure of the answers in order to come. We are still learning, too. The doors are open.

In Christ,
The Students of BMCC’s 301 Discipleship Class