The “e3” Conference is for parents who love a child who experiences same-sex attraction, to provide resources for equipping, encouraging, and empowering them to love their children unconditionally. Most importantly, these parents will have opportunities to make a whole lot of friends who understand.
And they’ll go home feeling less alone.
One of the sessions we’re most excited about is a live podcast of “Stay Calm – Don’t Panic!” – a podcast designed to help youth workers in schools and churches. Hosts of the podcast will interview a family with three children, one of whom is a teen who identifies as gay, and opened up about his feelings of same-sex attraction to his parents at quite a young age. This family’s perspective and experience in loving God, their children, their faith community will bless us.
Here’s what the father of this family shared on his blog about why it’s important for all of us to be at “e3” –
I am excited about this conference for many reasons. As a Christian and student of the Bible, I truly am seeking to increase my knowledge in areas of interpretation and application. I have questions that I thought I always knew the answer to, and maybe I did. But I mostly just accepted what was said to me without genuine, honest searching.As a recovering alcoholic, I have experienced many preconceived ideas about addiction and recovery—many of them negative. Through conversations and spending time with people, I have been able to teach people that the experience of an alcoholic in recovery is not what they thought. This same lesson has applied to me as I have had the opportunity to talk to Christians who are attracted to members the same sex or who do not identify with their gender the same way I do. I have learned that many of my preconceived ideas were wrong—and often negative. I have learned to love and have conversations; with the purpose of that dialogue being to learn and become shaped more in the image of Christ.
As a parent, I have wrestled with what it means to have a child acknowledge his own same sex attraction. I have learned the blessing of having people with whom to hold conversations. I have had a lot of questions. I was blessed to have people and resources close by. I know that many parents either do not have or are not aware of the resources available to them.The e3 Conference can be a great step in the journey for parents, siblings, children, or friends who love someone who experiences same sex attraction or has questions about their gender identity.If you have questions about the intersection of faith and sexuality, this is the conference you need to attend. Come and find conversation partners. Come and ask questions. Come and learn about resources.Come and be surrounded by the love and peace of Jesus.
Do you know a family who needs to be encouraged, surrounded by other families with similar experiences? Please tell them about “e3.”
Even better, get in the car and come with them.
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