Chapter 3: Can We Get Coffee?
Navigating Caffeinated Requests to Discuss My Sexuality
As I mentioned in my last post, several factors complicate my church search. Not everything I share will apply to everyone, but I share as honestly as I can in hopes of encouraging our community. I highly recommend you read the posts in order!
“Can we get coffee?”
I love coffee and good conversation. I’ve been known to loiter in my share of coffee shops, ordering a new drink every 90 minutes as a sort of coworking space rental, so you would think this request would always fill me with joy. You’d be mistaken. But “Can we get coffee?” is a question held with some infamy in the circles of LGBTQ+/SSA Christians I know.
In my last entry, I wrote about the questions I ask of a church before visiting. I don’t pretend my email is revolutionary in any way. It’s really just a short, direct request for what I think should be standard information. In my pre-visit email, I want to understand a church’s beliefs about sexuality and marriage and their engagement with LGBTQ+/SSA folks. I want to know if a celibate gay man like me, who follows a historic sexual ethic, can expect to become a member, serve in ministry, and generally be treated with the same dignity as any other attendee.
Yet, instead of a straightforward answer to these direct questions, I’m often offered an intermediary step: coffee with the pastor who’s responding to me (usually so they can “hear my story” and “share more about the heart of [their] church.”)
Kindness Or Clarity?
Before I go any further, let me just say that some of the kindest, most loving pastors I know would respond to my email with "Can we get coffee?" This response is particularly common among churches with a certain kind of growth model. In fact, it's gotten to a point where I can look at a church's website and pretty accurately predict that they'll be a can-we-get-coffee church. I'm not interested in shaming these pastors- many of whom are my friends or colleagues. I think there are some really great intentions behind the desire for further conversation before offering clarity:
People and their stories matter. When we discuss a church's beliefs about the LGBTQ+/SSA experience, we discuss the real lives of people made in God's image. We're not debating a theory or a fun hypothetical. Short responses can feel invalidating to the beautifully complex stories of the LGBTQ+/SSA folks around us.
The historic Christian sexual ethic is, too often, weaponized. So, many pastors who desire to see God's work in the lives of LGBTQ+/SSA Christians are aware that simple belief statements (and not-so-simple ones) have been a source of pain in our community. They don't want to inadvertently trade "The Adhoc Email Statement" for someone they'd really love to connect with.
Face-to-face conversation beats email communication. As someone who puts his foot in his mouth on the daily, I totally understand that a face-to-face conversation is more easily understood. Compassion can be better communicated, and nuance can be more readily engaged over a cup of coffee than over a keyboard.