the Empathy List #108: Gay & Excommunicated

Steve Slagg tells the story of how he was excommunicated from his evangelical church.

Hello friend, Liz here.

I had a different plan for this newsletter this week, and then a dear friend, Steve Slagg, sent me an essay he’d written for an organization called ACNAtoo¹ about a church we’d both attended.

Turns out, this church where I’d skimmed over the top during my college years, only minimally involved, had spiritually abused him. His story affected me so much that I couldn’t not share it.

Steve went through (thinly-veiled) gay conversion therapy, survived, and still believes.

He was also excommunicated from his evangelical church for dating a man.

Image archived in the University of Glasgow library.

Though the church had never before taught “reparative therapy” (“gay fixing”) from the pulpit—the idea having fallen out of vogue decades before—behind the scenes, its teachings rang the same bells. Especially in their intensive discipleship program, called Redeemed Lives. The nine-month program billed itself as a sort of recovery program for all church members. However, the cu…