The Cross in the closet

There aren’t many books which I have read more than once, but Tim Kurek’s “The Cross in the closet” is one of the exceptions to the rule.

To summarise, Tim, a straight, evangelical Christian spent a year living in the guise of a gay man to see what reaction he would get from his family, friends and church, and to see how his understanding of the gay community – and his faith – would be affected as a result.

I won’t say too much about what happened to him - you can read that for yourselves – but there were ways in which I could relate to what he discovered.

There were times when I found myself laughing out loud – not the best thing to do if you happen to be travelling in the quiet zone of a train at the time! In the early chapters, when he begins to try and see what sort of a world gay man live in, the stories he recalls from experiences in the gay bars would make a brilliant stand-up comedy routine.

Not that the book is a laugh-a-minute. There are times when I felt angry towards some self-righteous people who get a mention, and the last chapter always has me in tears

One of the things which Tim discovered is that you cannot change your sexual orientation by adopting the lifestyle of someone of the opposite orientation. Living as a gay man did not make him gay. Trying to act straight does not make one straight either.

Throughout this year, Tim was on a pilgrimage. He was walking a year in a gay man’s shoes, and perhaps more significantly, in a gay Christian’s shoes. That is particularly brave, as it can easily attract opposition from both communities. In doing so, he met Christ in some unexpected places and had some incredible conversations as a result.

Read this book if you are gay. Red this book if you are a Christian. May it form part of our pilgrimage, and help us understand where people who hold different viewpoints to us are coming from.