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Hi. I am Ray McKinnon in Charlotte, NC. I am an ordained minister, a lover of Jesus
and married to my wife, Kelly or eight years. I have been a Christian since I was a kid.
I went to church almost every time the doors were open—like many folks here in the south.
I grew up attending a Baptist church in Greensboro. I honestly can't say that I ever remember
my pastor ever preaching against homosexuality at St. Paul. The thing I remember most about
that church is the tag line that the Reverend used each week. He'd say, "Welcome to St.
Paul Baptist Church, where everybody is somebody." All these years later that sticks with me.
In those words, Reverend Fogle declared that everybody--no matter who you are, who you
love nor how you look—matters and has worth. I wish I could say that I remembered this
truth always; I didn't. I was a typical "sold-out" Christian teenager. I have always loved god
and people. When I was in high school, I—along with some other "sold out" friends—started
this Christian club on campus at my high school called Panthers for Christ (we were the Dudley
Panthers). There is an incident from that club that sticks out to me and haunts me to
this day. There was a guy who came to the meeting one day who everyone said was gay.
Who knows if the dude was or was not. It's stupid to judge folks based one tired stereotypes
anyway (one of my HS friends told me a few years ago that the whole time we were friends
her mom thought I was gay so...there ya go—stereotypes.). Anyway, long story short, I basically told
this dude that if he didn't change his ways that he was going to hell. I don't think I
could have been any older than 15 or 16 at the time. There is no doubt that I believed
everything that I said to him that day. But it haunts me now, all these years later, because
I was flat out wrong and instead of reminding him that he was somebody and that he was loved,
I hurt him. Instead of saying to him that he had the same access to God as me or anyone
else, I erected a barrier when I should have built a bridge. Let me say clearly to you:
being a homosexual is not a sin. A homosexual in a monogamous and committed relationship
is no more a sin as a heterosexual in a monogamous and committed relationship. Hear me today,
friend, you are loved. You are lovely. You are loveable. Don't let any of my colleagues,
or any other people convince you of anything else. Please don't hear folks who want for
you to think that God hates you; God loves you. I love you. God Bless! We are not all
like that.