Love Is an Orientation Bible Study Participant's Guide: Practical Ways to Build Bridges with the Gay Community

By Andrew Marin and Ginny Olson

In this six-session small group Bible study (DVD/digital video sold separately), Andrew Marin leads you in peaceful and productive ways to engage the theological, political and social disconnects between the Christian community and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities.

Today’s culture often defines ‘bridge building’ and reconciliation as a one-way street that leads to full theological, political and social agreement. Yet Christ demonstrated a different path of religious and cultural engagement to establish his kingdom here on earth.

In light of such countercultural principles, the Christian community needs a new view on the issues that divide conservative believers and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities.

Andrew Marin uses practical applications he’s learned over the last decade of living and working in the LGBT neighborhood of Chicago (Boystown), as well as his international speaking and consulting ministry, to offer a variety of practical teaching, insights, and life-lessons on reaching the LGBT community.

Rather than avoiding the topic of homosexuality, Love Is an Orientation aims to equip the Christian community to bridge the gap between LGBT and religious communities. Instead of discussing how to “fix” gay people, this small group Bible study is all about getting to know them, engage them, and love them like Jesus does. After this study, you, your small group and your church will know what it means to peacefully and productively build bridges with the LGBT community.

This Participant Guide is filled with insights, questions for discussion, and applications that will equip you with tools to reach out to the LGBT community in love and understanding.

Sessions include:

1. Love Is Our Orientation
2. Building Bridges
3. Theology of Bridge Builders
4. Answering Tough Questions
5. Adolescents and Sexuality
6. Living in the Tension

Designed for use with the Love Is an Orientation Video Study (sold separately). 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Zondervan
• Release date: May 29, 2013
• ISBN: 9780310692232

Andrew Marin

Andrew Marin is president and founder of The Marin Foundation, a nonprofit organization that seeks to build bridges between the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender (GLBT) and religious communities.  He is the author of Love Is an Orientation.

Book preview

Participant’s Guide

Love Is an Orientation

Practical Ways to

Build Bridges with

the Gay Community

SIX SESSIONS

Andrew Marin

with Ginny Olson

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Introduction

How to Use This Study

Glossary

SESSION 1 Love Is Our Orientation

SESSION 2 Building Bridges

SESSION 3 Theology of Bridge Builders

SESSION 4 Answering Tough Questions

SESSION 5 Adolescents and Sexuality

SESSION 6 Living in the Tension

Appendix A: Website Resources

Appendix B: Living in the Tension Guide

Appendix C: Leader Tips

Follow-Up

About the Author

Copyright

About the Publisher

Introduction

Welcome to the participant’s guide for the Love Is an Orientation video curriculum. Learning to be a bridge builder, by seeking productive dialogue through relationship and reconciliation between two separated communities, will be one of the most difficult commitments of your life. It’s so hard because in many situations it’s just not satisfying. Your time might be filled with discomfort, pressure, confusion, and heavy burdens you don’t know how you’ll carry; and yet, you will simultaneously know the ultimate joy of what it means to invest into a kingdom that the Lord so longs to bring to our world here and now.

Rooted at or near the center of the constant social unrest and political culture wars that cover our landscape today seems to be the disconnect between the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, evangelicals, and conservatives in general. Each group has become subhuman to the other; a mere voting bloc that is preyed on and pressured by extreme activism tearing the fabric of our churches and government apart. It’s our time, right now, to step up and lead our culture forward by practicing what it means to build bridges among division, letting our surrounding world know that impact and authority are earned through those who know what it means to have love as their orientation.

I humbly pray that as you engage this curriculum, the Spirit of the Lord might permeate each session and discussion time; that you might feel empowered to do what so many others will never have the courage to do—intentionally immerse yourself in the most theologically and politically divisive topic in our culture today and be known by your love.

Andrew Marin

Boystown, Chicago

September 2011

How to Use This Study

Homosexuality is one of the most divisive issues in the global church today and people usually are firmly planted on one side of the rift or the other. The result is two diverse communities, often at odds. The Love Is an Orientation video curriculum is designed to assist churches, universities, seminaries, nonprofits, government agencies, and discussion groups discover how to build bridges across this rift with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. Increasing numbers have expressed a desire to understand and love their LGBT neighbors, but have lacked either the knowledge or the experience to engage in the bridge-building process.

Love Is an Orientation is based on Andrew Marin’s award-winning book of the same name (InterVarsity Press, 2009), as well as the work of The Marin Foundation, a nonprofit organization that since 2005 has sought to build bridges between the LGBT community and the church through scientific research, biblical and social education, and diverse community gatherings (www.themarinfoundation.org).

As a participant in this curriculum, there may be times when you will be challenged to go beyond your comfort level and other times when you may or may not agree with everything said on the video. The hope is that you will continue to move through places of discomfort and become a bridge builder for the sake of Christ.

Format of the Love Is an Orientation Curriculum

The curriculum is divided into six hour-long sessions. Each session includes:

Starter Question

The starter question is intended to orient your thinking toward the session topic. You may decide to answer the question as a group at the beginning of the discussion time or you may wish to reflect on the question prior to the group gathering.

Video Teaching