Gay, bisexual, and transgender people are in your congregation — or they were, before they left. The theological questions are real, the pastoral stakes are high, and the standard talking points aren't adequate to either. The Reformation Project offers a serious, Scripture-grounded place to go deeper.
The Reformation Project is an affirming organization. We believe orthodox Christian faith and the full affirmation of monogamous, covenantal same-sex relationships are compatible.
But we also know that many pastors are in a gray area on this topic: carefully studying Scripture, weighing the pastoral implications, and trying to lead their congregations with both faithfulness and wisdom.
This page exists to support that work. Regardless of your beliefs, we're happy to be a resource for you.
Pastors of non-affirming churches — many of whom have gay congregants, are watching families fracture, or are working through the theological questions with fresh eyes and high pastoral stakes.
Only that you want to help your congregation become more welcoming and inclusive. You don't need to be fully affirming in your theology to participate.
Participants engage the theological material alongside other pastors in similar positions. Like any professional pastoral gathering, what's shared in the room stays there.
Most pastors don't arrive at this question theoretically. Something specific brings them here. These are the most common starting points.
You love this person. You've watched them grow up in your church, or they've trusted you with something deeply personal. And now the theological stakes of what you teach feel different than they did before. You're trying to figure out whether what you've always taught is the most faithful understanding of Scripture's teachings.
You've encountered something — a book, an article, a podcast or video — that didn't land the way you expected. You have unanswered questions about an affirming theological position, and you want to engage the best affirming arguments, not straw-man versions of them.
Some of your congregation is more conservative than you. Some are more progressive. You're trying to shepherd people through a conversation that feels like it has no safe middle ground, and you need more than platitudes to do it well.
The Reformation Project's Biblical Case examines ten theological arguments. These two are the most relevant starting points for someone approaching this question with a pastor's frame of reference — a concern for congregants and a serious commitment to the text.
In Matthew 7, Jesus teaches that good trees bear good fruit and bad trees bear bad fruit. That principle is relevant when it comes to discerning the soundness of our interpretation of Scripture — and the fruit of non-affirming theology has been profoundly harmful for gay Christians. This argument asks whether the outcomes you're watching in your congregation are consistent with the principle Jesus taught in Matthew 7.
Read the argumentIn the ancient world, same-sex behavior was understood as a vice of excess that might tempt anyone — not as the permanent sexual orientation of a minority of people. That concept did not exist. The claim that affirming theology overturns centuries of Christian tradition assumes a tradition on the specific questions of sexual orientation and gay Christians that wasn't there. This argument engages the historical and exegetical case directly.
Read the argumentThe full Biblical Case covers ten arguments. All of them are available now, written for readers who take Scripture seriously and want to engage the arguments rather than the talking points.
Explore all ten argumentsPastors in Process is an ongoing program from The Reformation Project — a structured gathering for pastors of non-affirming churches who want to move the conversation on inclusion forward in their congregations.
You'll hear from pastors who have led their churches through this process. You'll learn about the theological, relational, and institutional dynamics involved — the real complexity that makes this work genuinely demanding. And you'll connect with other pastors navigating similar terrain.
As with any professional pastoral gathering, participant information is held in confidence. Attendees from non-affirming churches participate without concern — this is a professional norm, not a workaround.
If you have a theological question, a pastoral situation you're navigating, or you just want to understand what The Reformation Project does and how it works — reach out. We'll respond and connect you with someone who can help.
Your contact information is used only to reply to your message and is not shared or published.
This free seven-week email series — based on Matthew Vines' God and the Gay Christian — walks through the biblical case from the very beginning, written for people who take Scripture seriously.
Many pastors find it a useful way to engage the full argument carefully before deciding what to do next. It's available at no cost, delivered to your inbox on your own schedule.
We don't share your information. Unsubscribe at any time.