Joel Hollier is a pastor, chaplain, and writer living in Sydney, Australia. He has degrees in social work and theology and is completing a PhD examining the experiences of LGBT people of faith in the church. He spent over a decade as a church leader advocating for a traditional view of sexuality before his mind was slowly changed over years of prayerfully studying the Bible.
"Joel Hollier's A Place at His Table is an important new resource
in the Christian discussion about LGBT inclusion, especially in
conservative Protestant contexts. Hollier brings a unique and
invaluable background to this book--he was a closeted big-church
pastor who has now come out and can speak both from the pastoral
perspective and the perspective of the church's closeted, suffering
gender and sexual minorities. The resulting book follows what is
becoming a classic evangelical paradigm: the bulk of attention in
the book goes to offering fresh readings of what I have called the
'big six' and others call the 'clobber' passages. These exegetical
chapters are bracketed on the front end by a contextualizing of the
current discussion and on the back end by suggestions for how the
church, and LGBT Christians, might move forward. An especially
innovative appendix offers deeply thoughtful and heartfelt open
letters: to Christian parents of young LGBT people, to pastors and
church leaders, to allies, and to LGBT brothers and sisters. The
tone throughout is devout, serious about Scripture, and respectful
to all sides. This book should take its place in the discussion of
LGBT/Christian intersections, not just in Australia but around the
world."
--David P. Gushee, Distinguished University Professor of Christian
Ethics, Director, Center for Theology & Public Life, Mercer
University, and Past President, American Academy of Religion &
Society of Christian Ethics
"What I so appreciate about Joel Hollier's contribution on this
controversial topic is its high regard for Scripture and faithful
Christian practice. With humility and grace, Hollier
cross-culturally translates common affirming arguments on same-sex
relationships for an evangelical audience. A book worthy of our
consideration."
--Karen R. Keen, educator and author of Scripture, Ethics, and the
Possibility of Same-Sex Relationships
"Joel Hollier's book is a fresh and winsome exploration of the
issues surrounding the Bible and LGBTQ people. Joel does a
particularly nice job at integrating a rich personal experience on
these issues with more detailed and exegetical questions. He has
changed his mind on critical questions. Persons exploring whether
they wish to change their minds, along with those seeking to change
the minds of others will be particularly helped by his study."
--James Brownson, James and Jean Cook Professor of New Testament at
Western Theological Seminary, author of Bible, Gender, Sexuality
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