Misconceptions

My experiences so far have shown me that there are a lot of misconceptions floating around, both in the gay community and the church community.  I only bring this up as a preface to my own misconceptions that I'll discuss in sec.

The church is full of truly loving and caring people, and a common misconception is that people within the church are automatically judgemental.  This can be true at times, especially on "corporate" level, meaning within the masses.  The church does give off a vibe that you must be a certain way when you come.  This is not anything new.  But I will maintain, that on an individual level, people from within the church are simply not as judgemental as the gay community has made them out to be.  Ignorant about the gay community?  Sure.  Weirded out?  Sometimes.  Is the church exclusive?  Yes.  But so is any sociological group, including the gay community. 

The gay community also receives its own set of misconceptions.  News flash: gay people really don't want to sleep with everyone they come in contact with.  Even if a gay person finds another person physically attractive, it doesn't mean that he wants to "go there." 

Gay people are also accused of having a political agenda.  I'm still deciding on how I feel on this issue.  There are those that do, for sure.  Just as there are those in the church that have a political agenda as well.  We simply cannot lump everyone together.  Is a political agenda bad?  There is a place for equal rights, but when either side seeks its own validation by political means, it can bring more damage then good.  In a perfect world, God would honestly be the only source of validation that matters anyway. 

I am guilty of my own misconceptions.  I have made the mistake of automatically assuming that everyone within the church will look at me differently.  There are those that have I'm sure.  But not everyone.  The majority of people have been very good to me in fact.  I've also been guilty of being afraid that when a gay guy wants to hang out that it's because he wants something that I'm not willing to give.  This is a difficult confession actually.  I've come to a place now that I honestly don't care.  If a gay dude wants to hang, awesome.  I won't assume that he wants something.  Its a part of myself that I've gotten over.  Granted there could be those that may have an agenda, but will miss out on a friend when they give up after a while.

There is hope that the two worlds can connect when we cognitively choose to put down our misconceptions.  In the words of a song written by a couple of friends of mine:

"I'm not gonna let

 this ever get

 in between you and I." 

Thanks for reading...

Unresolved