Well, here we are, here we are….8 months into this thing called Operation: REBIRTH. It amazes me how time flies. It also amazes me how many sermons I hear about, or have heard. The funny thing is….I've wanted so desperately to not have to confront ignorance in the people that I've admired for so long. Yet again, this month, I must do just that.

Before I go into confrontation mode, I must say that Dr. Frank Madison Reid, III is, in my humble opinion, one of the greatest preachers of our time. He's the ONLY preacher I've heard who can deal with scripture from a political, economic, social, racial and spiritual standpoint…ALL IN ONE SERMON! He's inspirational, enthusiastic, and I love to hear the man speak. So, when I heard that he preached "The Homosexual Spirit vs. the The Holy Spirit" as part of a series called "Who Determines Your Sexual Identity?" I was sorely disappointed that a man so learned and anointed would actually stoop so low as to say things as stupid what he says in this sermon . When I finally received the tape, as BADLY as I didn't want to listen to it (because I've heard this kinda stuff all my life), I had to listen to see if he'd at least said something that hadn't been said before. Unfortunately he didn't. Same old stuff, different sermon. I can't totally ditch the sermon though. He did make some good points that can help some people. But the homophobic rhetoric described as "speaking the truth in love" could totally mislead and hurt someone who doesn't know how to "chew the meat and spit out the bones" when listening to sermons like this.

First, he calls "homosexuality and lesbianism" a lifestyle. And this is something to which I take great exception. So, let me break this down, and let it henceforth forever be BROKE to the N'th degree of BROKE-TIVITY (I just love making up words). Being a same gender loving person IS NOT a lifestyle! Why? Because there is NOTHING same gender loving people do that "so-called" straight people don't. Do straight people not drink or do drugs? Do straight people not party (sometimes excessively)? Are straight people not promiscuous? Do they not participate in orgies? Do straight people not cheat on their spouses? See, THOSE LIFESTYLES ARE CHOICES! Straight and sgl people participate in them just the same. The ONLY difference is, one group of people loves the same gender, and the other…the opposite. Everybody (sgl or non) doesn't live that way. So, let's get over the ignorant notion that all of the negative or irresponsible behaviors that are seen in our society are exclusive to the sgl community. Lifestyle is a choice…how you are born isn't.

Next, he calls "homosexuality and lesbianism" a spirit (an evil one) that cannot be dealt with in any other way, but in the Spirit. And to try to do so is a struggle in futility. Lawd, I'mma hafta break this one too! Where did these pseudo-spiritual people get that EVERYTHING is a spirit? This lie is SO widespread that it's sickening. Basically what it says is all sgl people are possessed by a demon and cannot be saved or go to heaven unless they are delivered. Christians thought cholera was a spirit until a doctor told people to start boiling the water before drinking it. Christians thought people who have seizures were possessed by demons until doctors revealed a medical condition called epilepsy. And sadly, some so-called "anointed and spirit-filled" Christians still see autism as a demonic spirit, and it recently resulted in a little boy's death in Milwaukee. Doesn't this tell Christians that GOD MADE SCIENCE? And those who have become experts from YEARS of study may actually know something that Christians don't? As it relates to human sexuality, a national organization of psychologists and psychiatrists have said definitively, "trying to force someone to change their sexual identity causes irreparable emotional damage". Why would they say that? Maybe because they have STUDIED the human brain, human sexuality, biology, and the human emotional make-up, and they know that it's NOT a demonic possession, but a matter of how people are born. Some scientific studies have even proven that sgl people are "wired" than way in their mother's womb. So WHY is the black church trying to cause irreparable emotional damage for an entire community? OOH, OOH, MR. COTTER I KNOW!!! They are POSSESSED!!! Possessed with spirits of arrogance, ignorance and pride that won't allow them to admit that they DON'T know everything ABOUT everything that is the human experience. Sounds like the church needs some deliverance.

Dr. Reid then suggests that "homosexuality and lesbianism" is an unethical system by which people are "turned out" or "made" gay or lesbian by being exposed to people who are sgl. He refers to the Bible's instructions on "sexual ethics" in Leviticus 18, Romans 1, and I Corinthians 6 to make his case. Now, is it me? Or is it strange how educated people who call themselves "Doctors" can say things so…what's the word I'm looking for? STUPID! I mean come on!!! Gays are MADE? Do these people THINK before they say this stuff? He actually inferred that being raised in a single parent home can make one homosexual. He even suggested that exposing a child to "a gay hairdresser" can make your child gay! The sad thing is…on the tape, THE CONGREGATION WENT WILD WHEN HE SAID IT! This is SO borderline lunacy that I can't even comment further on it.

As I said before, I couldn't totally ditch this sermon. One thing Dr. Reid DID say that struck a chord with me. He said, "if you are in a prison, the door of your cell was opened 2003 years ago! Don't be deceived into staying there. You can just walk out in victory!" That statement right there confirmed to me that the pain of biblical abuse, rejection, and the depression I left behind in the prisons (or churches) that I no longer attend or support was the right thing to do. When I walked out of the prison cell, I took what was being used to destroy me and asked God to help me. That's when I found out what loving God and being loved by God really feels like. Don't be fooled. Jesus came to set you free. And if you are bound by ANYTHING….your freedom was bought and paid for by Jesus when He died and rose again for YOU! Walk out of the things that have you bound…EVEN IF IT'S A BIG CHURCH. If they are not preaching that you are accepted and loved by God, it's a prison. If they are not showing you the love of God with their words and actions, IT'S A PRISON! If they use the Bible to abuse you, IT'S A PRISON! The door is open. Walk out and experience the victory and love God has for you. There is a place you can go to enjoy the freedom and love that God has provided for you.