Re: Why?

I guess, considering the comment made about the church accepting bls, I should clarify some things. First of all I am the only one that knows who they are. The reason that I know this is they have, at one point or another, requested to work with the youth group in some way. The church has an "application", for lack of a better term, that anyone wanting to work with the youth must fill out. Part of the application has questions on sexual orientation. One of the questions is simply: "Are you a bl or gl?" If they do not know what that means, I am willing to explain it to them. If they do know what it means, I talk to them about it to find out more information, such as if they currently have a yf, of if they are looking for one? What are their reasons for wanting to work with the youth? What ages are they attracted to the most? The information on the applications is kept in confidence. If they feel they have the self control to be around the kids and not give in to any temptations, then I will give them a chance. They are not held to a higher standard than any other sponsors are. They are expected to follow the rules that are set up for all the sponsors, and I find they do a much better job at it. Why? I don’t really know. Maybe because they care so much more for the kids they work with that they want to set a better example. Maybe because they want to prove that my trust in them is not misplaced. Maybe because they want to follow rules to be an example to the other sponsors. The same applies to non bl/gl applicants. There have been a few that have made comments about kids needing a harsh hand of discipline that I do not feel I can have working with the kids. Some of the kids we have come from abused homes and the attitude of this kind of person would do more harm then good. I have found that the bl/gl sponsors are much kinder and more willing to talk to the kids than the other sponsors are. I should point out that the church in general does not make the decisions on the choice of youth sponsors, that is my responsibility alone. And so far, none of the bls I have chosen has failed me in any way. And before the question is asked as to why I am willing to let bls work with the youth I am responsible for, let’s just say that I know someone very, very close to me that is a bl. I have seen the living hell he has been through because of this and I know that he would never harm a child in any way. He has been through the same thing that G has, he has been falsely accused and taken to trial, he has been taken from the highest of being a great man of God serving his church proudly, to barely being welcomed in the doors. I know like a brother. I love him like a brother, and I have seen enough pain in his eyes to last me a lifetime. As for where my church is that it is so accepting of bls, when is the last time you have been to California? Mav.