Mullins encourages Christians to put aside fears, accept different lifestyles

It's doubtful that many pastors name their dog Hermeneutic. But Wes Mullins, the new minister at Pikes Peak Metropolitan Community Church, is not your average pastor.

"Hermeneutic" is a fancy word meaning the interpretation of texts, and it has special meaning to Mullins: In 2002, his interpretation of biblical references to gays helped him come to terms with his own sexuality. His belief that God created him gay deepened his religious faith and informs his social activism.

"I challenge the Christian right to seek love beyond their fears of those who are different," said Mullins, 28, who preached his first sermon at MCC on June 1. "It's unhealthy what they promote psychologically and emotionally."

Born in Oak Ridge, Tenn., Mullins was raised in a fundamentalist church. At 16 he told his parents he was gay, and they placed him in "reparative therapy." For six years, Mullins underwent faith-based sessions to convert him into a heterosexual.

Meanwhile, he pursued his dream of being a minister. By 2002, when he graduated from Lipscomb University in Nashville with a degree in biblical studies, Mullins concluded that reparative therapy didn't work and accepted his sexuality.

He also started analyzing the Bible to help him sort through his sexuality and came to believe that those who rail against homosexuality on religious grounds are taking the six biblical passages about gay life out of context. As with passages on slavery and the subjugation of women, the Bible's few comments on gay life were not authoritative, he said.

"We don't condone slavery and we see women's roles differently today than the way they did when the Bible was written," Mullins said. The same reasoning applies to the gay lifestyle. "It was an easy jump for me."

While pursuing his master's of divinity degree at Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas, Mullins began attending services at a Metropolitan Community Church, a gay-friendly denomination. "I walked in to my first service there and was overwhelmed," Mullins said. "I knew that God accepted me as I am."

He also fell in love in Abilene.

But in 2003, when he and his partner participated in a commitment ceremony, the university withdrew his scholarship, Mullins said. He finished his master's at Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth, Texas.

Mullins' first church position was music director of MCC in Abilene, and he was ordained in December 2005. He was assistant pastor at the MCC in Portland, Ore., before accepting the senior pastor position in Colorado Springs.

Mullins plans to make an impact on the Springs community.

"I want to cast a vision of a new way of life in Colorado Springs," Mullins said. "I want to be a passionate voice for what Christianity can be."

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