A UK-based pastor and author took to Twitter on Monday to share his reflections on the LGBTQ's celebration of June as Pride month and how Christians should respond to it.
King's Church Hastings and Bexhill Pastor Andrew Bunt said that he annually finds himself reflecting on what should be the best Christian response to Pride. Bunt said he was challenged on the matter by Confronting Christianity's Rebecca McLaughlin. The challenge was a tweet McLaughlin posted on June 1 on the probability of humility as a Christian's countercultural response to Pride Month.
"My observation is that humility is often not the instinctive response of Christians to Pride month. Frustration, indignation and even disgust seem to be more common responses. For some of these responses, there may be some justification," Bunt said.
The Gospel & Pride Month
The author of the 2021 Grovesbook-published "P166 People Not Pronouns: Reflections on Transgender Experience" acknowledged that Christians are frustrated in the celebration of Pride Month because it encourages a way of living contrary to the good plan of God for man.
Bunt noted that the ideas promoted by Pride Month do not honor God nor are good for man's flourishing. He acknowledged that these are indeed elements Christians should be concerned about in the celebration of Pride Month.
"But I also believe there is a place for a response of humility. In fact, I think any Christian response or reaction to Pride must be rooted in and shaped by gospel humility," Bunt emphasized.
The pastor then identified three ways Christians can respond humbly to Pride month: "humility about our treatment of LGBTQ+ people," "humility about our own brokenness and sin," and "humility about our salvation."
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Bunt, who also authored the book, "Who in Heaven's Name Do You Think You Are?', raised that Pride Month is an offshoot of the brave members of the LGBTQ+ community who stood out against the brutal mistreatment on them.
Pride Month Then & Now
The National Today explained that Pride Month was a tribute to the Stonewall Riots, which took place on June 28, 1969. The New York Police raided Greenwich Village's Stonewall Inn, which is renowned as a gay bar. The club's patrons and neighbors rioted on Christopher Street through the leadership of Marsha P. Johnson, a Black, bisexual woman. Their intent was for Stonewall Inn to allow the LGBTQ+ people freely and openly to go there without being arrested.
However, Bunt stressed that society no longer exists because LGBTQ+ members are already widely-accepted nowadays. He said that Christians should get fully rid of "unacceptable attitudes and attitudes" of hatred and mistreatment of LGBTQ+ members. He acknowledged that Christians should have been at the forefront then of pushing against such mistreatment.
Pride month, Bunt pointed out, becomes a time for Christians to acknowledge that mistake and to reflect on ways they continue to do wrong. The pastor stressed the truth that all people are created in the image of God, which gives each one an inherent dignity and value.
In addition, Bunt underscored that no one can claim that sin does not impact their experience of sexuality. He stressed that everyone is sexually broken, with sexual desires that draw one away from God. He cleared that everyone has sinned sexually and will do so in the future due to man's fallen nature. He then reminded that, in the light of one's salvation, a Christian can not claim to be better than anyone including the members of the LGBTQ+ community.
ChurchLeaders said that issues in the LGBTQ+ community are one of the conversations pastors and their congregation need to have, especially during this Pride month.
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