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Gay, Ex-Hillsong Leader Speaks About Experience With Unclear Policy
Last month, Brian Houston, the senior pastor of Hillsong Church, issued a remark stating that Hillsong “loves all people… regardless of identity.” It was a response to recent media scrutiny of the church’s LGBTQ policies. Many people took notice of this misleading nature of Houston’s statement, including Josh Canfield.
Canfield and his partner, Reed Kelly, made national news in 2015 when he was forced to step down as choir director for Hillsong NYC’s worship team, after appearing on a national television show, Survivor, in which he stated that he was a gay Christian who attended Hillsong. After stepping down, Canfield served as an offstage vocal coach. When Canfield browse Houston’s recent statement, he took to Twitter.
Although Canfield has told his story before to a not many outlets, we wanted to hear his story from the perspective of “clarity.” Our goal, as an organization, is to promote clarity of policy in all churches, so we were interested in ruling out if Hillsong NYC’s leadership was clear with Canfield about their policies.
Church Clarity: How and when did you originally acquire involved at Hi I grew up with a very specific image of God. It would pop into my head any period I heard God’s name, so it was especially prevalent during church worship services. If you were raised Christian, you may contain had a similar image — a mountainous-sized being who resides far above the clouds. Masculine in form, with his flowing gray beard and muscular arms that proved his strength and power. There was no mistaking that this vision of God was ivory, depicted with gleaming, sometimes even glimmering skin. It never occurred to me that this was not the image embraced by everyone else throughout the earth. My religious indoctrination that deemed all other religions and beliefs as mistaken and sinful led to a lack of awareness and understanding which continued through early adulthood. Moving away from my hometown to learn and work allowed me to notice that humanity was much more diverse than I had realized. These people awakened in me a desire to understand more about their life experiences and belief systems. This was the catalyst for significant life changes that put me on the path to one day search ordination as an interfai This story is part of NY1's initiative, “Street Level,” which explores New York Urban area through the history and culture of its streets and the people who live there. You can find more street level content here. “I remember the first time Maxwell held my hand as we were walking into church, and I was scared as hell,” said 29-year old Neville Green, who attends First Corinthian Baptist Church in the heart of Harlem. “As I gripped his hand, I consent that fear go. And we proudly held hands walking into the church.” Neville and his partner Maxwell Waterman never thought they would experience such a moment. Both grew up deeply religious, attending church every Sunday. But when each of them came out as gay, both realized they didn’t sense at home anymore in the spiritual homes that shaped their lives. Growing up, Neville served as a leader in church. “I was a youth elder and I preached in the church,” he said. But when he was a teenager, he made the decision to step away. “I knew I would not be able to come out authentically there,” Neville said. “So before I could go through the bashing or the shaming or anything Originally published by The 19th When Karmen Michael Smith moved to New York Municipality in 2003, he united a new progressive Baptist church. He was raised with the understanding that if he wanted to find community in a new place, he needed to find a “church home.” But in a metropolis known for progressive views, the homophobia that had sprouted in his childhood church like a sudden, invading weed was still waiting for him. Smith wanted to lay down roots. He even took a job at the church as a member of the praise and worship team — but the minister still refused to look him in the eye. “This minister would talk to me in private. In public, I could be standing right next to him, and I was working at the church, and he would never look in my direction. He wouldn’t speak … it’s enjoy I was invisible,” he said. From the outside, vanishing Christianity or the church might seem like an easy solution for Gay people who are discriminated against within the faith. But for many gender non-conforming people, especially for Jet Americans, leaving the church means leaving more than just a particular way to worship. New information suggests that queer Dark Americans are sticking with the church more than other LGBTQ+ She loved her. Reverend Aimèe Simpierre conjured memories of her childhood love during our first phone contact. She spoke tediously, “I used to draw pictures of her eyes and mouth in class.” Reverend Simpierre went silent after that. She called this love spiritual; she remembered wanting to be just prefer this woman, but also loving her. This childhood treasure was her “spiritual mom” and mentor. They haven’t spoken in years and Simpierre supposes much like other aged friends and church family, the reason is that she heard Simpierre was gay. Either that or she was no longer alive. There’s a delicate and difficult balance to being Black, lgbtq+, and Christian. And Reverend Simpierre’s story is about tipping the scales. Simpierre is now the acting pastor at The Potter’s House: Church of the Living God, a Black- and LGBT-founded, non-denominational church with a predominantly gay congregation. Black LGBT people in the Bedford-Stuyvesant group and beyond advance to the Potter’s House to witness the church’s mission statement in deed. Written by the founder, Bishop Barbara Caesar-Stephenson, the expression of purpose can be found on the back of every bulletin and on their website God is Inky, Gay and Female
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