Three months ago, Philip and Brooke moved with their ten-year old son, Andre, from their predominantly black neighborhood on the south side of Atlanta to a white suburb on the north side. Andre just started at his new school and is playing on a local football team. Although fictional, this story is inspired by true […]
Grey Matters: Should gay conversion therapy be provided to minors?
Miles is 17 years old and wants to be a Southern Baptist preacher, the same as his father and grandfather. But Miles has a problem. He struggles with same-sex attractions. For the past year, he’s been dating Tracy, a girl who goes to his church. But Tracy has a brother named Scott, and Miles is more attracted to the brother than his own girlfriend. Tracy’s family has a pool, and Miles spent all summer over there, trying not to look (but failing) at Scott. Miles just wants to have normal feelings like everyone else. He wants to look at Tracy and notice her for what she has to offer. But he can’t stop thinking about the fact that her brother has the same emerald green eyes and red hair, and that if he squints hard enough, he can pretend that he is kissing Scott.
Grey Matters: Why connection starts by focusing on our similarities and not our differences.
Jake was born in South Korea. Adopted by a lesbian couple when he was ten months old, he has lived in North Carolina ever since. He is gay, right-handed, a baseball player, and eighteen-years old. He just started college at Stonewall Jackson University, a small liberal arts college in South Carolina. General Stonewall Jackson was […]
Grey Matters: Why those who attack micro-aggressions are fighting the wrong war
Jake was born in South Korea. He was adopted by a lesbian couple when he was ten months old and has lived in North Carolina ever since. Gay, right-handed, a baseball player, and eighteen-years old, he just started college at Stonewall Jackson University, a small liberal arts college in South Carolina. General Stonewall Jackson was […]
Grey Matters: Is it ever ok for a gay couple hide their relationship from their family and friends?
ISSUE: Couples often face family disapproval. This could be because someone has married outside of their race or religion or nationality, and in many cultures, parents would never want their children to marry a same-sex partner. One option is to just not ever tell the parents about the wedding. But this is challenging and could […]
Grey Matters: Should a doctor be forced to choose between her faith and her profession?
ISSUE: This week in Grey Matters, we look at the First Amendment and the free exercise of religion, and how far should this be protected. In particular, should a doctor be forced to choose between following her faith and practicing medicine. Let’s examine this topic with a fictional story about Dr. Evelyn Wright, a pediatrician in […]
Grey Matters: When is it ok to share your faith in the workplace?
ISSUE: More than half of Americans say that faith is important to them, but it’s not something that many people talk about. In this week’s Grey Matters, we look at the issue of sharing your faith at work. Specifically, should Gayle be able to invite her co-worker Amanda to a church event or does her […]
Grey Matters: In the new “sharing economy,” is it ok for people to pick with whom they choose to share?
ISSUE: This week in Grey Matters, we look at discrimination and the sharing economy. Specifically, should a person have the right to refuse to rent a room in her home to a gay couple? Let’s examine this topic with a fictional story about Dot and Austin, lifelong residents of Nashville, TN. BACKGROUND: For more than […]
Grey Matters* – Should the CEO of Big Bass Sports come out of the closet?
The characters and events in Grey Matters are fictitious. ISSUE: This week in Grey Matters – We look at the issue of “coming out” relative to the consequences. Specifically, does the CEO of a company have the right to publicly announce that he is gay even if it might affect his employees, corporate earnings and […]
Mississippi decides that being gay is a “super sin”
This is the first blog in my “All the Words in Red” series where we take a look at what Jesus said and apply that to 21st century problems. When I was a kid growing up in rural South Carolina, we had a saying, “Thank God for Mississippi.” The reason we said this: even […]