“You can be a lot of things in the Black church, but Lord, do not be gay.” — Iyanla Vanzant
LOS ANGELES — Truer words were never spoken by talk show host and self-help guru Iyanla Vanzant: “You can be a lot of things in the Black church, but Lord, do not be gay.” Although society is becoming more accepting of gay people, gay rights and even gay marriage, there still lingers the stigma of being gay in the Black church. And it’s because of homophobia in the faith community that many African Americans in the LGBT community suppress their truth and hide in the closet for fear of religious shaming and rejection.
Because of the homophobia in the Black community, gay pastor Mitchell Jones of Richmond, Va. launches a new LGBT advice column, called “Ask Pastor Jones” on his Facebook fan page. Using the tools of social media – that is, Facebook, Twitter and Periscope – Pastor Jones will address questions about faith and sexuality as well as other LGBTQ-related question from friends and followers on social media platforms through videos and written responses. The “Ask Pastor Jones” advice column was born out of the need for Pastor Jones to address the thousands of friend requests and questions after his appearance on the OWN network award-winning show, “Iyanla: Fix My Life.” “I hope the ‘Ask Pastor Jones’ advice column will be a resource for those struggling with their faith and sexuality,” said Pastor Jones. “I hope I can ‘fix’ a few lives with affirming and inspirational messages for people who need guidance in coming out, and dealing with family, friends and the church. This is my way of paying it forward.” For now, questions can be submitted to Pastor Jones through Facebook and Twitter.
On September 19th, OWN kicked off the season of its award-winning show, “Iyanla: Fix My Life” with an emotional, three-part episode, focusing on the coming-out stories of two gay pastors. With Iyanla’s help, Pastor Jones took bold steps toward confronting and confessing his truth after years of keeping secrets and infidelities from his now ex-wife.
“I want to thank Iyanla for having me on the show, and tackling the touchy issue of homosexuality in the Black church,” said Pastor Jones. “Even though I’m a faith leader, I am also a flawed human being who’s had to come to terms with past transgressions, and ask for forgiveness from loved ones that I’ve hurt. The emotional cleanse has been a cathartic release for renewed steps toward leading an authentic life.”
