USS Clueless: Earth to Timi

He doesn't just want me to address the issue of AIDS & The Black Church. He wants me to dig into the meat of the issue, which is Homosexuality. A very controversial issue. Now I'm no stranger controversy, nor am I a stranger to this subject. A few years ago, I wrote an article about James Cleveland that was not recieved quite well by everyone. It's no secret that James Cleveland, a highly regarded gospel artist, was gay. Neither is it a secret that he succumed to AIDS. So, I was merely writing about the hypocrisy of Mr. Cleveland and some of the factors that possibly kept him "in the closet". Since that article, I've been really cautious about the topics that I choose to write about.

The idea spurs from a conversation that my friend and I had a few weeks ago. We were discussing the death of a local gospel artist. There were a number of rumors as to the cause of death to this artist. When I first inquired about the man's death, I was told that he died of a blood clot. My red flag was raised immediately because I knew of this man. I knew there were rumors surrounding this man that would've suggested that he was gay. So, I wasn't buying the whole blood clot deal. I was talking to my friend, and he told me that he heard the guy died of kidney failure. Yet another red flag was raised.

Finally, both my friend & I heard the rumors that this artist died of AIDS. These rumors outnumbered the blood clot and kidney failure stories. I didn't want to jump on the rumor mill claiming that this man died of AIDS, but the possibility of AIDS as the cause of his death greatly disturbed me.

Why?

1. If in fact AIDS is the cause of death, then people are lying about it and that's not helping the situation.
2. There is an EPIDEMIC in this country, and it's not going away anytime soon. Delaware alone is 5th in the nation with cases of HIV/AIDS...with most of these cases stemming from same sex interaction.

How does this effect the church?

1. The church is ignoring the issue of AIDS, much like it is ignoring the issue of homosexuality within the church.
2. Now is not the time to consider homosexuality taboo in the black church (or any church of that matter) because we know that it exists within the walls of our sanctuaries & it's an issue that folks are steering away from.
3. Now is not the time to steer away. The problem needs to be addressed. The issue here has transcended homosexuality. The issue now is a disease that is removing people from this world very quickly. While, the church is being silent about this issue, these men are sleeping with each, and the disease is spreading.
4. There are a number of gospel artists (some well known and some not so well know) that have been gay and have died of AIDS. I don't need to start name dropping because that's not necessary. However, the lies that surrounded the artist mentioned above are just a few of the numerous tales that have followed the deaths of some of these gay artists. Which again begs the question, why does one need to lie? If he died of AIDS, then he died of AIDS. It's not beneficial to anyone to say that "Joe" died of an abscess on his big toe when everybody knows that he died of AIDS. It's a little too late for political correctness. And it's just downright decieving to make up tales for the sake of hiding the fact that homosexuality exists within your church.
5. With "exposure" comes deliverance, and I believe that there is healing in deliverance. Not the healing of AIDS per se, but the lightening of burdens that are on the shoulders of many who are silently screaming for help.

This is quite an intriguiging topic, but I must admit that I have reservations about pursuing the subject. I know where my passion is as it pertains to this issue. I don't want just any words that are going to fill the pages of someone's magazine. I want to write to help bring effective dialogue and action about an issue that has been ignored for too long.

I know what my motivation is. I'm not that certain about my friend's motivation. As I described above, he is seeking to publish an "in your face" type magazine. I'm unable to discern if he is doing this for the benefit of the Christian community or as a way of exposing fakes & hypocrites in the church. If it is the latter, then I'm not ready nor am I willing to open up that can of worms. I don't want to be percieved as someone who is bashing or singling out gays. Instead, I want to be seen as someone who is shedding light on an issue that not only involves homosexuals, but the neglect of an entire community.

It's interesting because previously I'd pondered the idea of writing such an article, but I had no means of publishing. Now there is someone willing to publish, but I'm weary of the idea. I'll most certainly be praying for guidance in this situation. I'm hoping that God would lead me in the direction that He chooses and not that of someone else.