
Last night, I was driving through town a little after 8 pm, and suddenly I saw a commotion up ahead. As I got closer to the stop light, I pulled into the right lane, preparing to turn right, and turned my attention to what was going on at the intersection. There were people walking in the crosswalks, basically blocking traffic, and suddenly this sports car came out of nowhere and began spinning donuts in the intersection. Around and around and around he went, tires screeching, engine roaring.
My son was with me, and we pondered over what was going on. We learned the next day that this was the end of a very long day of protests by Mexican Americans who were protesting Trump’s immigration orders. 1 Most of the day had been more or less peaceful, slowing and blocking traffic, sure, but nothing as bad as blocking an intersection and spinning around in the middle of it with a sports car.
All this has made me think about what it means to protest something that one thinks is wrong.

Perhaps the best example we have of protesting done well is of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights protests of the 60s. He staged peaceful protests, insisting on non-violence, and encouraging the protesters to break only unjust laws. King believed that there were two kinds of laws: Just laws and unjust laws; and the former should be obeyed while the latter should be broken. 2 He wrote,
In no sense do I advocate evading or defying the law as the rabid segregationist would do. This would lead to anarchy. One who breaks an unjust law must do it openly, lovingly . . . and with a willingness to accept the penalty. I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and willingly accepts the penalty by staying in jail to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the very highest respect for the law. 3
The protests on Saturday started as relatively peaceful protests with people standing on sidewalks, waving flags and holding up picket signs. But especially after dark, they began breaking just laws, such as basic traffic laws, in an effort to gain attention for their cause.
Although the issue of immigration is close to my heart—I’m the granddaughter of an immigrant from Mexico, and having married an immigrant as well—it is not my passion. I care about immigrants, and I am deeply disturbed by how they are often mistreated, especially by the law. I have a lot of opinions about how mass deportations will affect our economy. But the focus of this blog is neither immigration nor the economy. It is a place where I discuss the intersection of the Bible, psychology, and the LGBTQ community.
The protests inspired me to ponder how people in the LGBTQ community, and their allies, should stand up against oppression. King said that unjust laws should be broken, and I believe him. Protests against unjust laws should not break just laws, like the local protesters did, but they should break the unjust ones, according to Dr. King.
Many churches welcome LGBTQ people as long as they are single and celibate and don’t talk about their sexual identity. Basically, as long as they stay more or less in the closet. They may refuse membership to anyone in the LGBTQ community, or only to those who are sexually active outside of a heterosexual marriage. Some churches will disfellowship a person who comes out, regardless of whether they are celibate or not. Gay Christian Justin Lee, in his book Torn, 4 tells a story that speaks to this problem. At one point in his life, he was craving Christian connection. It was a struggle, because people in the LGBTQ community didn’t like that he was still a Christian, and Christians didn’t like that he was gay. He found a Christian community online where he could just be part of a community without people knowing his sexual identity, and for a while he enjoyed engaging there. But then one day one of the moderators private messaged him and asked point blank if he was gay. Too honest to lie, Justin said yes. He was told that gay people were not allowed to be part of the community, and no amount of protest or cajoling could convince the moderator to allow him to stay. He was banned. Even though he had never said anything about being gay, or advocated for the LGBTQ community in the group. It didn’t matter that he was and always had been celibate. He was simply banned because he was gay, and for no other reason.
This kind of prejudice against the LGBTQ community is hurtful at best and harmful at worst. Marginalizing a person simply because of their identity can have negative impacts on their self-perception. As one writer put it,
Denominations and congregations, religiously affiliated organizations and Christian universities have struggled for decades with the question of LGBTQ+ inclusion.
As a result, our LGBTQ+ Christian kin have felt the sting of judgement and exclusion, too many times internalizing the stigma and rejection that then turns into self-hate and suicidal ideation. 5
Let me say that again. Rejection by Christians is a form of dehumanization that leads many LGBTQ Christians to experience rejection of self and clinical depression, which causes self-hatred and suicidal ideation. These defense mechanisms make sense, especially in children, where hating their caregiver is a threat to their survival. This tragedy, and the trauma it causes, cannot be overstated. Yet the example of Jesus in reaching out to the marginalized, to the other—whether it was the Samaritan woman, or the Syrophoenician woman, or to the blind or the leper—shows us that He cares about those that other people would discriminate against. And He is our example. The parable of the sheep and the goats makes it clear that Jesus is on the side of the marginalized, the disempowered, the excluded—the other.
This begs the question: What can those in the LGBTQ community who are strong in their faith and identity do to support their fellow LGBTQ Christians who maybe aren’t as ready to expose themselves to the biases and prejudice of church members? And what about their allies, like me? What can we do to support them?

Last fall I was at a local Pride event, and a group of Reformed Baptists showed up with their picket signs. They hung around for a couple of hours. Because they were peacefully protesting, they could not be removed. I don’t agree with their position, but they were within their constitutional right to peacefully protest in a public park. Unfortunately, the vitriol that they spewed had no positive influence on anyone, and really only served to further discredit Christianity in the eyes of those in attendance.
With this in mind, I believe that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gives us a blueprint that we can apply to the LGBTQ community in our efforts to make changes. Here are several ideas, all of which I would be willing to participate in personally, and that anyone, LGBTQ or ally, could do:
- Holding a prayer vigil at or outside of churches or denominational headquarters that oppose LGBTQ inclusion.
- A group, with rainbow clothing or other paraphernalia, having a sit-in at church or conference, much like the Civil Rights protesters would sit in at a restaurant or on a bus.
- Writing letters to organizations that support conversion therapy and/or exclusion of LGBTQ people from their membership.
- Sharing their stories, whether in person or online. Personal testimonies are far more likely to have an impact on people than any exposition of the Bible ever could.
- Financially support and attend churches and organizations that are affirming of the LGBTQ community, while financially boycotting those that don’t.
- Organize meetings and/or meals with LGBTQ people and open-minded yet non-affirming Christians to foster dialogue between them. 6
- Connect LGBTQ friends with supportive communities, or create such a community if there isn’t one locally.
- Peacefully protest church policies that harm LGBTQ people.
- Encourage affirming churches to take a public stand in supporting the LGBTQ community with inclusive policies, much like many Christian leaders supported the Civil Rights’ movement.
There are a number of ministries already in existence that one could support or get ideas from. Here are three:
- The Reformation Project is an organization that specifically works to promote LGBTQ inclusion within the Christian community.
- Q Christian Fellowship works to cultivate belonging among LGBTQ people within their families and the church.
- SDA Kinship, an organization that caters specifically to members of my own denomination (the Seventh-day Adventist Church) is an affirming community for current and former members of this church.
When I came out as an ally, I jumped in with both feet and began sharing what I have learned. I very much want to be a safe place for anyone who needs it. As a life coach who focuses on mental health, I want to support Christian LGBTQ people who are struggling with their identity, or struggling with coming out, trying to navigate the emotions they feel with their current reality. I want to help families and friends who are trying to come to grips with how they can reconcile what they used to think about the LGBTQ community with their love for the family member who just came out to them. I will also continue to celebrate these precious people as I advocate for them both in person and on social media. 7
What can you do to support those in the LGBTQ community? What will you do?
- https://www.statesmanjournal.com/picture-gallery/news/local/2025/02/01/photos-rally-mexican-immigrants-salem-oregon/78132913007/ ↩︎
- https://www.jfklibrary.org/sites/default/files/2020-04/Birmingham%20Letter%20Excerpts%20for%20Activity.pdf ↩︎
- https://www.jfklibrary.org/sites/default/files/2020-04/Birmingham%20Letter%20Excerpts%20for%20Activity.pdf ↩︎
- https://amzn.to/4aHuSOS (affiliate link) ↩︎
- https://communityconnection.web.baylor.edu/news/story/2021/lgbtq-christians-continue-feel-sting-judgment-exclusion ↩︎
- Examples: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E71SInHFSCg and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5i9bbwKwSUw&t=2444s ↩︎
- You can find me on Facebook, Instagram, Blue Sky, X, LinkedIn, and YouTube ↩︎
Lisa Reynoso is a mental health coach who helps people through one-on-one coaching. If this post brought up a lot of feelings, or as you were reading, you thought, “I would love to talk to someone about this,” please use the “Schedule Now” link at the top of this page to schedule a free session.