Chris Pratt Got One Thing Right

Actor Chris Pratt was widely ridiculed this week by progressive Christians for coming to the defense of Hillsong for what many believe are anti-LGBTQ+ policies. I don’t question this ridicule, there are many gaps of inclusion at Hillsong and, dare I say, most evangelical mega-churches. This is hardly breaking news and I praise everyone working to bring a close to these policies everywhere they are found.

There was another line in Pratt’s statement that didn’t get much attention. He said, “My faith is important to me but no church defines me or my life...”

That line has stood out to me this week with my United Methodist siblings meeting in Saint Louis to determine their own way forward on polity matters related to the LGBTQ+ community. Without more clarity from Pratt, I can’t be completely sure as to what he meant, but I hope he meant something like this …

It is time for LGBTQ+ people to stop asking permission to be included in whatever religious space they want. Not literally stop, we still must reform the institutions we love. But figuratively stop … assume the sale as we would say in my professional world of fundraising and marketing. If you like Hillsong, go. If, like me, you prefer loud and poundy organ music, go. If you have the emotional capacity to do so, show up wherever you please. Kiss your boyfriend before the service. Hold hands as you leave. Endure the mean stares and look for the awed looks of affirmation that will surely be there too.

I love going to Chick-Fil-A for the same reason. Sure, I could boycott. But isn’t it a stronger message to see a gay dad enjoying an experience with his kids the same way a straight dad would? I think so.

Being present in these difficult spaces may just be what gives the 12-year old struggling with his sexuality the hope that things will be okay, that things really do get better. Maybe you’ll remind an elderly couple of the vibrant way they used to worship God. It will be impactful, difficult as it may be to not see instant results.

Being present, if not harmful to your own emotional well being, isn’t complicity - it is “defecting-in-place” as Sister Miriam Therese Winter puts it. Being present serves as a loud, non-violent reminder that the outcome of this debate has already been decided. LGBTQ+ people, like all of creation, are beloved children of God. Jesus makes that clear. No convention gathering and no pile of church bylaws or marketing plans can say otherwise, despite the way it may look and feel sometimes. Welcome yourself into whatever space you feel comfortable in and be proud of who you are. I think that is what Christ would have done.