A Letter from Susan

 

Hi!

 

Welcome to FreedHearts.

 

If you are in the evangelical church, or if you are in the LGBTQI community, you know that the church today is fractured. Parents love their children to the ends of the earth—God created them that way—but their trusted leaders tell them to distance themselves from their LGBTQ children. This shreds a parent’s heart—if you’re a parent who has been there, you understand.

 

Or perhaps you are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, or intersex, and you have been called unspeakable names and told God condemns you. If you are in that community, you likely know exactly what I’m talking about.

 

Or you may simply be a Christian who is heavy-hearted that the church’s treatment of the LGBTQI community is so, so far from the heart of Christ, as they push people away from God instead of drawing them in.

 

I started FreedHearts for these exact reasons. When our oldest daughter first came out, our family began a journey of discovery—to find out what the Bible really says and does not say, to listen for God’s heart for us and our daughter. God kept moving us forward—toward love, toward freedom, toward peace. Then our youngest daughter came out as well—for two children out of five! My husband Rob and I were grateful we had embraced this path and heard God’s voice through all of it.

 

Here’s the short list of what we discovered:

 

• The conservative church needs help to learn to love in the world. LGBTQI people have been bullied, shamed, abandoned and rejected from the teachings the conservative church considers “loving,” and they need to learn a better way.

• The conservative church doesn’t know how to love parents well who have LGBTQI children, and they don’t know how to embrace LGBTQ people without a “secret” hope for change.

• Theology is not nearly as “clear cut” as many Christians believe. As we studied, we were shocked at what we discovered.

• We all need to listen for God’s voice and trust God’s ability to speak to us.

 

So I began the blog and that grew into what is now FreedHearts, a fulltime 501c3 nonprofit organization. I believed that if I could begin to address the issues theologically as well as from the heart of God’s love, I could help change the conversation. I did not know how gaping the need was out there and how much of an impact I would make. I only followed where God led me.

 

And I have fallen more in love—with God, my husband, my children, and people in general—than ever before.

 

Now, I have become a prominent voice for faith parents of LGBTQ children, I connect every day with parents and LGBTQI people alike, telling me that my posts or talks or books saved their lives. It is at once humbling and thrilling.

 

I invite you to check out the FreedHearts resources: the FreedHearts Online school, my top blog posts, my books, and our other events and resources—all created to help you find your way. Be sure to subscribe below so you don’t miss anything as we continue to bring you quality content and new offerings to help you on your journey.

 

Contact me here, and let me know if I can help you.

 

With love,

Susan