David Bennett is a self-described “celibate gay Christian”, but goodness… he is so much more than that! He’s an author, a theologian in residence, with a PhD from none other than Oxford, and he’s a fierce lover of (and follower of) Jesus.
And yet, he’s a controversial character. In large part, this is because of his online presence (which some might construe as “activism”) on behalf of what is often shorthanded as “side-B Christianity”. I hesitate to offer any sort of in-depth definition of that community of belief here (largely because I’m not an expert in it), and yet I also hesitate to let you loose onto the internet to Google it, since… well, there’s no shortage of inflammatory press about it. What’s even more exciting? Those negative reviews tend to come from both the conservative Christian right and the progressive liberal left. It is for this very reason that I wanted to have a conversation with David.
As I hope will be clear throughout the conversation, I am not engaging as an antagonist, but nor am I wholeheartedly agreeing with all of his stances. In my limited experience, the kinds of considerations that David and others like him are bringing forward are important for the church. Of course, as I’ll mention in the audio which is the preamble to our conversation, my opinions are only that: opinions. Though I wear multiple hats, I have no intention of allowing any of those hats to trump my responsibility to teach & uphold the views of the denomination I’m happy & blessed to serve (that is, of course, unless the unthinkable day comes where that denomination comes into conflict with Kingdom values). As such, if you’re interested in knowing a little more about The Wesleyan Church’s interpretation of scripture and how it applies to questions of human sexuality, this little document does a masterful job exploring that.
If this conversation stirs up challenging or uncomfortable thoughts in you, it is my hope that those impulses drive you to conversation, not argument. Primarily, I’m hopeful that our first conversation partner will be God (in Christ, through the Spirit, and in the light of the traditions of the Church), and yet not in a way that we become deaf to the conversations happening around us.
Conversation with David Bennett