Good evening!Last night with Rayne I watched a film called “Boy Erased” which is about a young gay guy coming to terms with his sexuality. To step it up a bit, his dad was a pastor and he was an only child.A good watch based on a true story and available on Netflix.Yesterday a book also arrived here in London for me from another ‘boy erased’, Anthony Venn-Brown who was a successful preacher with a shameful secret until it all erupted.Both the film and what I’ve read so far of the book have startling similarities with themes of depression, shame, sexual experimentation, secrecy, confusion and healing.Both also have happy endings in that they both accepted that they were gay and realised that God loved them that way.”For us to be friends, one of us is going to have to change and that is you” said the boy to his pastor dad after surviving a gay conversion camp that nearly killed him.Mum who was played by Nicole Kidman made a profound statement:”I love God and I love my son, for me it’s that simple”Followed by”For your dad it’s a little more complicated”.Once again it highlights that those who have studied the word of God find themselves bound to the letter of the law rather than the spirit of the law.Mum who just instinctively knew they she must love her son found herself far more free and available than Dad who was caught up in rules and religiosity.How easy indeed it is to put head knowledge before love and think one is defending God when actually they are fighting Him.”Why are you persecuting me?” asked Jesus to Saint Paul who believed that he was doing the work of God be killing and imprisoning these dangerous christians!Perhaps Jesus is asking many people in the church today the same question in relation to the LGBT community.“Why are you persecuting me?”And so this Sunday as we pray for unity and an end to things like racism and injustice, let us spare a thought and a prayer for all the LGBT people suffering because of injustices and intolerances in both the church and world so that one day every mother and father can say:”I love God and I love my son, for me it’s that simple”Thanks for reading!Michael