5) Thinking Like Missionaries | LGBT+ Culture
18m
While understanding LGBT+ Culture (music, movies, art, restaurants, community trends) is important, there is no one culture that defines LGBT+ people. They experience a spectrum of interests and hobbies that can look similar to your life and mine. What they routinely share in common, however, is the experience of growing up in this world as sexual and/or gender minorities. Early experiences of feeling different and being treated differently can wire trauma into their brain chemistry. We're not talking about "causation" (why someone is gay or trans), we're talking about compassion. In this segment, you will learn why many LGBT+ young adults are hurt, depressed, suicidal and sometimes angry. Remember that our missional goals are to enhance inclusion, increase family acceptance, protect against victimization, and nourish faith identity. Many Christians rush to evangelism in order to reach LGBT+ people with salvation in Christ, yet LGBT+ people are often angry at and fearful (or suspicious) of people like us. They have already experienced many Christians "rushing" to tell them all kinds of doctrinal truths while being uninvested and uninterested in hearing their story. Every missionary understands that we cannot reach people if we don't understand what people have been through in their life. We must slow down, sincerely invest in learning, and gain the missional skills it will take to earn trust with LGBT+ people. This is one of the most important segments of Posture Shift.