Pastor Danny Cortez on the aftermath of becoming LGBT affirming and being dismissed by the SBC - See

Eliel Cruz

When I met Pastor Danny Cortez at last year’s Gay Christian Network Conference, I knew he was going to make an impact. Out of the 700 attendees somehow Danny and I were able to connect at a workshop put on by Wendy Gritter of New Directions. I came up to Danny after his comments on his experience interacting with LGBT members of his church and with his newly out gay son—comments which brought nearly everyone in the room to tears.

He told us a story of a lesbian woman who came out to him and the arguments they had over theology. “Her most powerful apologetic was her love and grace for us. She left the church and she challenged me to wrestle with to my faith,” he said the regret and pain evident in his face. He said he was planning to tell his church his theology had changed.

Since our encounter, my friend Danny Cortez has come out as theologically affirming of same-sex relationships, his church adopted a Third Way Theology to the LGBT community, and as a result, the Southern Baptist Church officially dismissed them.

- See more at: http://elielcruz.religionnews.com/2014/11/13/pastor-danny-cortez-aftermath-becoming-lgbt-affirming-dismissed-sbc/#sthash.5pOAX1Yk.dpuf