Progressive Christians Reject Gay Rights Ad

The progressive Christian organization Sojourners refused to run a video ad on its website that calls for churches to welcome LGBT Christians.

TheHuffington Post reports on the conflict between the New York-based Intersections International, which advocates for LGBT rights, and the D.C.-based Sojourners, a Christian organization and magazine that identifies as progressive and social-justice oriented.

"On Mother's Day, Intersections International launched a campaign to encourage churches to actively welcome gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Christians to worship," reports HuffPo. "As part of the effort, the group created a video that shows a young boy with two moms walking into church. Nervous, the moms and their son get unfriendly stares from those in the pews, but they are welcomed by the pastor, who says that 'everyone' can come to his church. The video ends with a call to church leaders to 'believe out loud.'"

Sojourners refused to run the ad when campaign organizers sought to purchase space for it on the website. The Rev. Robert Chase, director of Intersections International, criticized the move in a column on Saturday.

According to HuffPo, "After fielding calls from Chase, Sojourners posted a response Monday afternoon on its website. The organization, wrote spokesman Tim King, wants to 'engage first and foremost in dialogue on difficult issues' but does not accept ads on such issues. The post showed Intersections Internationals' video -- embedded for free -- to 'promote a positive dialogue among Christians who might disagree theologically.'"

Sojourners president, the Rev. Jim Wallis, echoed the point of "dialogue" in a website column Monday evening, saying that his group's members are "not of one mind on all of these issues."