Pastor jim swilley biography

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You have to love them.

Debye: What people might not understand is that Jim carried this fear of rejection with him that is so deep that it would come out in the way that he would minister. Please, feel free to take it.” I can honestly say that if God had knowledge, and Jeremiah says that God knew me before He ever made me, then I have to believe that God knew who I was going to be and how I would be and that I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Romans 9:20-21, talking about the potter, says, “can the thing formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me thus?’ – I can’t second guess God’s creation.

He did it beautifully. As a white man, I could never say to a person of color, “I know your struggle. If they see my dad and know that he has influence, they think that he will influence others to be gay.

It has to. Of course that’s not true.

Why would a man like me, who has nothing to gain and everything to lose, stand up one day and say “Hey, I want to tell everyone that I’m gay” if it weren’t true? For they know not what they do.”

What I would to say to the gay community is that Proverbs says that life is in the power of the tongue and the only thing that I know to do is to continue to communicate.

But, I knew the telling of it was right. As much as I love the black community, as a white man, I will never know what it’s like to be black. A lot of people will have the false idea that you can influence someone in their sexual orientation. Gay people can’t marry. I know how to tell you to think about being black.” There’s no way I could possibly empathize with them.

It’s about love. I can’t believe that people think that they know what’s going on when they have no concept, no empathy whatsoever of what you’ve been through. It’s not a curse. Hopefully, God’s still pleased with us.

Well, if God is for you, who can be against you?

Jim: Absolutely!

Top photo: For Church in the Now’s Bishop Jim Swilley and Debye Swilley, the decision to divorce so Jim could live openly as a gay man is ‘a real love story.’ (courtesy CITN)