Susan Cottrell's Blog, page 6
April 17, 2023
What Would Jesus Do About Transgender People?
Transgender people face increasing discrimination and marginalization with new laws being proposed and passed. They are subject to harassment, violence, and exclusion. However, many in society are waking up and becoming more inclusive; beginning to recognize the need to support and stand up for the rights of transgender people. For those who claim Christianity as […]
March 21, 2023
10 Reasons NOT to “Feel Sorry” for Parents of LGBTQ+ Children
“I sometimes wonder just how many people know about my son but think we (my husband and I) don’t know. I sometimes wonder if they pity us. I wonder if they say, ‘Oh no, here come Jack and Debbie. You know their son is gay? I feel so sorry for them.” My friend Debbie messaged […]
March 2, 2023
“The Church is Killing Its Gay Children” – The Deadly Results of Shame
Shame says, “There is something fundamentally wrong with you.” It is the lie at the very root of our identity. If I did something wrong, I can apologize and make amends. But if I am fundamentally wrong, what hope do I have? Our greatest need is to be loved, to belong, to be accepted as […]
June 9, 2022
How a Parent’s Journey Can Help Us Be More Inclusive
I’m the Parent of an LGBTQ Child… Two of Them! Our lives changed the day our child Annie called from college (at 20) to say they were bisexual. We lost family, friends, and community. A year later, our youngest came out as well! Our children took a great risk to come out and live their […]
December 9, 2021
How the Duggar Sh*t Show Reveals a Dangerous System
What are we to learn – and teach – from the Duggar family? A federal jury in Arkansas has convicted former reality TV star Josh Duggar of downloading and possessing child pornography. Josh admits to repeatedly molesting, assaulting and sexually abusing his younger sisters, and another unnamed minor, as well as cheating on his wife. […]
May 9, 2021
Moms, you are NOT a disappointment.
Moms, would you sit with me here for a minute? Mother’s Day came and went. You went to brunch with family, got a call from the kids, maybe opened a card or a present. Or not. If you got a card, it is quite likely that reading those words of appreciation brought simultaneous joy and guilt! Seems to be the nature […]
February 25, 2021
We Have A Secret Weapon Hidden in the Non-Affirming Church!
Shhhhh. We have a secret weapon fighting for equality. Powerful. Effective. Ready to change the world. And it is hidden right in the middle of the nonaffirming conservative, evangelical church. There is a wall, erected by Christian leaders who are nonaffirming, between the church and people who just so happen to be LGBTQI+. Their teachings […]
February 1, 2021
The Truth Will Set Us Free!
We are seeing the blatant hypocrisy from the nonaffirming religious community as they scramble to save face—actually, to save power. People like Franklin Graham have flung their hateful and incendiary remarks for years (see my blog post here), and now that it’s a full-blown dumpster fire, they want to back away, as they desperately pretend […]
November 20, 2020
7 Deadly Sins Parents Commit Against Transgender Kids – In Memory of Leelah Alcorn
Leelah’s story is one you have probably heard. The transgender girl who committed suicide in 2014 by stepping in front of an oncoming tractor-trailer, citing her “Christian” parents’ rejection of her as the reason. Deep, sad sigh. Heartache. Anger. A life destroyed because of people’s ignorance and cruelty. On the Transgender Day of Remembrance we […]
November 17, 2020
Christians, It’s Time to Admit the Truth and Let Go of Your Aversion to LGBTQ!
You have seen the news: The president of a ultra-conservative Christian university resigns because of a torrid voyeur threesome relationship with his wife and another man; the Christian Texas lawmaker who argued against allowing two women, together for thirty years, to marry, while in the midst of his own 5th marriage. I could go on. […]
