"I'm Sorry"

by Chris Bodenner

Evangelical Andrew Marin moved to Chicago's Boystown neighborhood and employed a unique approach to proselytizing to gays:

"I grew up the biggest Bible-banging homophobic kid you ever met," he explained. "I grew up in a very white, very conservative upper middle class suburb of Chicago." Marin explained when his turning point came. "The summer after my freshman year in college, my three best friends all came out to me in three consecutive months" he said. "And it just ripped my world apart. I had no idea what to do."...

Such an approach has helped to give him credibility with the gay community, said author and researcher Dr. Mark Yarhouse of Regent University. "I think Marin is beginning with a posture of 'I'm Sorry,' we've made mistakes as a Christian community. I'm sorry for the ways you've been hurt by the church'", Yarhouse noted "and that position is one that's disarming."

(Image from Marin's site)