In the book Us Versus Us by Andrew Marin, Marin gives a detailed discussion about how the LGBTQ+ movement is not simply a movement outside of the church, but how members of our churches right now are wrestling with this issue in their own lives, particularly high school students in youth groups.

The book is based upon a research study done by the Marin Foundation, and the book is broken up into six chapters, each one based on a striking statistic found from the survey. Two chapters include statistics like: “86% of LGBTQ+s were raised in a faith community from ages 0-18,” and “76% of LGBTQ+ people are open to returning to their religious communities and its practices.” The 2006 study was done with over 1,712 usable surveys of people all across the United States, and it contains multiple open-ended questions to allow for full responses. Most important to this survey, the responses were all anonymous, allowing for honesty without reprimand. Marin discusses each of the six main chapter statistics in great detail, including which particular denominations have the largest number of LGBTQ+ members and how 96% of LGBTQ+ have prayed to God to stop their homosexual desires.

Due to the many thoughtful responses collected from the survey, I conclude that this book should be required reading for high school students and anyone older who is truly interested in listening to their LGBTQ+ peers and wanting to influence others in a way that reflects Christ’s love. This topic will not go away any time soon in our culture, and this book fills an important void in the church about how to better love those who battle homosexuality.

– Andrew D, CEF Emerging Leader 2017-18