This took a lot of guts:
The pastor of a megachurch in Conyers, Ga., told his congregation last week that he’s gay, saying that while he knows his announcement might ruin his career, the recent rash of suicides pushed him to speak out.
Jim Swilley, 52, founded Rockdale County’s Church in the Now 25 years ago. His wife, Debye, was the associate pastor, and together they had four children.
Swilley says he’s known that he’s gay since he was a boy, and his wife knew when they got married. Jim and Debye are now divorced, but they kept his secret for more than 21 years. Earlier this year, Swilley says, Debye told him she thought it was time he stop living a lie.
Swilley said that he was inspired to risk his career and come out by the spate of gay teen suicides in the news recently. It’s a principled move, on his part, and though his church may be losing its mind right now, there are doubtless kids in that congregation who feel a little less alone today.
we interviewed him last week and I wrote a blog piece trying to give insight to my fellow straight folks. Some of them do not want to hear that people are actually born gay. THIS is the crux of the issue. http://canyonwalkerconnections.com/?p=1535
Crazy as it seems, this is what predicts how people feel about equality. UGH!!!!
To me, this guy seems sincere; I watched his video when he spoke to his congregation; obviously a gutsy guy; he was quick to remind his audience that he has NOT slammed gays from his pulpit over the years.
Now if only some of the other clergy from the mega churches would come out!
I certainly am no christian, but I have some admiration for him!
Jim Swilley’s video is a must watch! Over 1 hour long heart-felt talk in front of his congregation. There’s no controversy or scandal going on, he’s coming out and it’s clean. Many times people give standing ovation as support. His ex-wife speaks also. They both claim their 21 year marriage was monogamous (perhaps long periods of celebacy) and now have teenage children. Jim reflects on many modern day gay issues, his gay neighbors, one gay couple where one died in a hospital that prevented them from being together to which Jim intervened. Jim claims to have known his orientation back to age 4, but hid it and wrapped it into his evangelism. Jim could really prove to be an asset to the LGBT Community, just give him some time to focus direction.
[...] Because envy resents virtue, it celebrates weakness over strength, depravity over integrity, degeneracy over decency, lies over truth, cowardice over courage, the abnormal over the normal, and the crooked over the straight. In light of this, it came as no surprise that the envious celebrated the recent downfall of a Georgia megachurch pastor, which one envier hypocritically praised as “taking guts.” (source: http://www.truthwinsout.org/blog/2010/11/12424/) [...]