As Christian Nationalism Rises, Progressive North Texas Flocks Fight to Keep the Faith
While driving one day, a vision came to the pastor: She would start a support group for LGBTQ teens in Collin County, a conservative enclave that desperately needed such a group. She didn’t yet know the details, let alone how to navigate the politics of North Texas, but she trusted the vision. It was, in her words, “something worth doing.” She called a friend to ask for help with the group.Lucas says it’s her calling to help other people “figure out how they can serve God’s kingdom.
“Young people see no place for themselves in what they've been told God blesses,” says Pepa Paniagua, the founding pastor and executive director of kin•dom community. “If they are not white and they are not cisgender and they are not upper-middle class or affluent, if they're not the things American Christianity has lifted up and said are blessed, then where do they find hope?”
Their work is also still evolving. The first camp happened this past summer, and in the future, Paniagua says she may include a queer Bible study — a conversation wherein she and her campers redefine “parts of the Bible that have been used for harm.” This is a common theme espoused by the Texas faith leaders interviewed for this story. The way the Bible has been taught has been a significant instrument of harm, they say, so to undo that harm, they must go to the source.
"I do worry about losing ground,” says Josh Esparza, a pastor who recently moved from a Dallas church to one in Allen. “I'm not sure the church as it exists today is going to exist 20 or 30 years from now."Fox News and QAnon have a 24/7 hold on many churchgoers, while most pastors see their flock only for a couple hours once a week.
This decrease in strong opposition has fueled a growing divide among progressive faith leaders: Some people want to leave the church as we knew it in the past, and others still believe the church can be a source of good. Often, faith leaders like Josh Esparza are caught in the middle, with likeminded liberals on one side and more conservative parishioners on the other. And the middle can be a lonely place."It does definitely feel like an island out here,” he tells the.
“He replied and said I’m ‘just trying to make it political, and that it wasn’t race-motivated,’” Esparza says. “So, I spent the afternoon citing articles and podcasts and Chinese news sources, and I attached resources about the model minority idea.” That's why “underground work” has to happen, Liptoi says, including anonymous groups for queer youth. Yet, for some, there’s an uncomfortable reason the work is happening with a veil of privacy or secrecy.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Gov. Greg Abbott sends more migrants by bus to VP Kamala Harris residence in D.C.Gov. Greg Abbott isn’t flinching amid Democratic criticism of his busing program that has now sent about 12,000 migrants who have crossed the border in Texas north to cities run by Democratic mayors.
Read more »
Florida Schools Are Asking Student-Athletes to Report Their Menstrual Histories“I think we’re all on edge right now,” one Florida doctor said, adding that he had “little faith” the students' information would be kept private.
Read more »
Longest-serving pastor in Paterson, 91, honored with key to the cityThe longest-serving pastor in Paterson, who is 91 years old, said her community is what keeps her going.
Read more »
Pat Green says he's got the songwriting bug again: 'I'm sick with it now'Texas music star made 'Miles and Miles of You' to get out of the house and keep his band...
Read more »