By Lloyd Mackey

FOUR DOZEN or more bloggers will be "synchronized" next Wednesday, June 24, in the interests of opening online discussions between Christians and their gay neighbours.

Spearheaded by New Direction Ministry (NDM), the "synchro-blog" will be known as 'Bridging the Gap: Christians and Gay Neighbours.'

NDM executive director Wendy Gritter said the organizers' prayer for the blog is that it "would model an opportunity for multiple conversations from multiple perspectives, with a commitment to hear one another with grace, humility and respect.

"We need other Christ-followers to share the heart of the gospel in the midst of the (Christian-gay) conflict," she added. "We need those beyond the walls of the church to share their thoughts on how the church can reach across the divide and build bridges."

The discussion is drawing support from a fair range of mainstream and emerging evangelical church leadership, including such as Bruxy Cavey of The Meeting House, Greg Paul of Sanctuary, Lorna Dueck of ListenUp and Mark Petersen of Bridgeway Foundation.

In a video supporting the effort, Petersen speaks of the need to get "beyond our polarities", and suggests it is time to advance past "the (non-productive) generation of culture wars."

Petersen's involvement in the blog grew out of Bridgeway's support for an interactive DVD developed by NDM, said Gritter. The foundation contributed seed funding of $35,000 for the project, entitled Bridging the Gap: Conversations on Befriending our Gay Neighbours. The total budget, in cash and kind, was over $100,000.

Some of the June 24 bloggers will be doing reviews of the DVD.

At press time, a total of 51 bloggers were registered. Gritter said she is hopeful that 100 or so might be available by June 24.

People unfamiliar with Christian-gay discussion terminology will note references to 'straight,' 'side a' and 'side b.' These refer to the points of view from which individuals view their own sexuality and lifestyle practices.

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People find themselves at various spots along the sexuality continuum from straight to gay, as well as in terms of how they build lifestyle and spiritual decisions around their perspectives, said Gritter.

She allowed that NDM is taking a bit of flack from religious conservatives and liberals alike. The former suggest that the BTG project is going too far in acceptance of gay perspectives, while theological and social liberals maintain that it does not go far enough.

Gritter stoutly avoided the assumption that "Christian" and "gay" are mutually exclusive spheres. But she noted that, in developing this project, she has steered clear of inviting or featuring major gay Christian leaders, such as Brent Hawkes of the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto.

Part of that motivation is to keep the channels of communication open to ordinary people, and to avoid the polarity that comes from the advocating of one view or another.

On June 24, blogs that cross a line into abusive or propositional communication will be delinked, she suggested, maintaining that she fully expects most of the conversation will be constructive and friendly.

Gritter said she hopes the "clobber texts" -- the several biblical texts that gay rights activists often use to provide evidence that Christians and their Bible "clobber" gays -- will not be a corrosive part of the discussion.

Greg Paul of Sanctuary, an inner city Toronto church that has spun from the progressive wing of the Plymouth Brethren movement, said "trying to bring together two groups of people who really don't want to like each other isn't easy.

"Try to imagine building a bridge across a turbulent river, in the midst of a raging battle -- with both sides shooting at you . . . Such radical reconciliation efforts come only at a cost, but so does the gospel itself.

"New Direction, many years ago, was one of those Christian organizations that gay, lesbian and transgendered people loved to hate. In the intervening years, it has become one of the few true bridge builders between evangelical Christians an the gay community."

Gritter noted that the divisive rhetoric could heighten as Toronto's Gay Pride Week kicks off June 19.

"Our goal, conversely, will be to focus hearts and to open up relationally," she said. "We want to ensure that there is a safe place for these discussions."

June 18/2009