Rainbow in the Word: LGBTQ Christians' Biblical Memoirs

LGBTQ Christians read love scrutinize become absorbed with and find deep spiritual meaning in the Bible. As these testimonies show lesbian gay bisexual transgender and other queer Christians are inaugurating a fresh exciting new era in biblical interpretation. It is they whose rare insights into particular Bible stories and characters told with poignancy and clarity reveal a gay-friendly Bible and a gay-friendly God who cherishes and needs them just as they are. It is they who are running to the Bible with a longing for the Holy Spirit that far surpasses that of too many straight Christians. If given free rein these inventive challenging and profoundly engaged evangelists may be the ones we have been waiting for to rescue biblical interpretation from those who too often are not only hurtful but dismal and boring. Thank God for them! In the dialogue and debate about the place of LGBTQ persons in Christian churches too often only the voices of straight white usually male scholars and theologians are heard. Rainbow in the Word introduces us to the beautiful voices of LGBTQ persons themselves people who against all odds have kept the faith and who can speak for themselves. No conversation about these courageous and articulate Christians should take place without their own voices being heard. Highly recommended! --Brian D. McLaren author of The Great Spiritual Migration Life stories can remake todays theology James Wm. McClendon Jr. once said and in this movingly penned intellectually diverse and spiritually transformative volume of story-theology Ellin Jimmerson and her contributors show us how. Rainbow in the Word offers earthbound models of Christian desire for transcendent meaning which is no small accomplishment. This books wisdom has been forged on lifes tough anvil yet each tale in it will endure branded by the ability to take theology in some unexpectedly new directions. One amazing read! --Darren J. N. Middleton Texas Christian University When so many conversations around LGBTQ people in the church centers around debating our legitimacy Rainbow In The Word reminds us that our sexual identity is not a liability to be defended but an essential contribution to the Churchs understanding of Scripture and of God. This unique book invites us into richer hues and brighter colors as we encounter the Creator whose divine image is reflected in us all. -- Jamie Arpin-Ricci author of The Cost of Community An entire reformation was birthed when the Bible was given to the common worshiper. Its amazing what the Spirit will do when she is not withheld from those who need her most. In Rainbow in the Word Ellen Jimmerson invites a dying Church to free itself from the constraints of its long-held homophobia and exposes it to the biblical insights of todays most marginalized voices. New life will emerge on the other side of this. --John C. Dorhauer General Minister and President United Church of Christ God always invites the uninvited welcomes the unwelcome includes the excluded and loves the unloved. Even when we dont. These beautiful stories by LGBTQ Christians will draw you closer to God and Gods inviting welcoming inclusive love. --Nathan Hamm Social Media Theologian Ellin Sterne Jimmerson holds a PhD in US cultural and intellectual history from the University of Houston and a masters in theological studies from Vanderbilt University. Her specialization is the intersection of Christianity and politics. An ordained Baptist minister and activist she is most well known for having officiated at the first same-sex wedding in Alabama (2015) and for having written and directed the documentary The Second Cooler narrated by Martin Sheen (2013).