An Interview: Queer Theology, Indoctrination and Adventism

Below is a powerful interview we did with Wayne Blakely, founder and director of Know His Love Ministries during the 2021 ASI Convention in Orlando, FL.

Andy Roman: Recently you asked me if I had seen any video series within Adventism that specifically addressed the radical LGBT+ agenda, and that offered redemption for those struggling with same-sex attractions. As I was unable to come up with some names you responded by saying, “There are none.” Brother Wayne, not only are you correct, but the bigger question is, “Why is that?

Wayne Blakely: So my question was actually: “What keynote Adventist Evangelist do you know that does a week long series on redemption from homosexuality, recognizing our sinful condition, God’s deep love for us, His call to surrender and recognition that we are all level at the foot of the cross?” There isn’t one. Why? Because keynote speakers appear to be thriving on a popularity driven pulpit.

Here is a sector of people who have long been ignored. So much so that they have developed their own culture and are now making demands on the denomination to indoctrinate their ideations which have no biblical basis. Basically, this is promoting “queer theology” within Adventism. They are not running into any resistance. They are gaining momentum. And our universities and academies are acclimating to the LGBT+ demands.  It’s unprecedented. I’ve witnessed decades of Adventists priding themselves with the special light God provided us.

Are LGBT+ people simply collateral? We have multiple denominational statements in various conferences, including the General Conference, with regard to our stance on homosexuality. Andrews University has a twenty one page statement.  One conference pastor said this when I pointed this out. “Wayne, it’s starting to look like we don’t even agree with ourselves.” The sad reality is this: With all these statements, we still don’t have a shred of paper that advises someone who struggles with LGBT+ ideations, how to come to Jesus and experience hope, restoration and redemption in Christ.

This month, the Billy Graham publication, Decision Magazine, devoted their entire issue to standing for Christ and His trusted Word, rather than caving into the LGBT+ cultural demands. They promote the gospel in the face of cultural and governmental demands to adopt that which God cannot condone.

Suddenly, our light and truth fades as we’re traveling down the road of indoctrination without spiritual resilience. I have to remind myself that this is just a smokescreen because God has already won the battle. We know how this will turn out. He is victorious. However, that doesn’t make it less painful to watch bright lights flicker.

Andy Roman: There is no question that the radical LGBT+ militants are some of the most aggressive and active groups around. They are working to transform our society at every level, which includes suppressing Christian conservative voices. Have we as Seventh-day Adventists surrendered to the LGBT+ lobby or are we just being too passive on this subject?

Wayne Blakely: Great question. I often refer to those who have fallen to the militant insistence as those who have drunk the Kool Aid. It’s happened on nearly every Adventist university campus and many academy campuses. There’s not a single support group for those with unwanted same-sex attraction. However, there are at least seven gay/straight alliances set to ground you in your sexual identity and sexual orientation. Sexuality has become the “golden calf” of the postmodern age. Instead of clarity, chaos and confusion is flourishing. Instead of drawing close to Jesus and deciphering His will and unique plan for each of our lives, self has risen to steal His throne.

At the corporate level, a “guide” has been produced by the North American Division’s commission on Human Sexuality Committee. It’s called, “Guiding Families of LGBT+ Loved Ones.” Sadly, rather than guiding them, it’s clouding the clarity of God’s pure love with a “love” redefined by human flesh. The cravings of the human race have risen above the Holy authority of our Savior who suffered greatly with the hope that we would cover ourselves with His blood and deny the relentless deceptions brought on by the serpent in the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He is counting on us following the dictates of our own will. His clever and crafty solicitations worked on a third of heaven. How would we be any less susceptible? Our only safety is in claiming our identity in sweet Jesus.

Yes, I believe that we are passive, fleeing from any hint of controversy that may escalate to a court of law or public forum where our approach to life’s challenges is resolved with the Holy Scriptures. Isn’t that why we have Religious Liberty attorneys? Are they not there to ensure our right to live according to the Word of God, instead of depending on private funds that lead to muzzling our witness of Jesus?

Andy Roman: You mentioned to me that in some countries you would be locked up in prison for participating in the ministry that God has given you. Tell us about your ministry and why is our culture becoming more hostile to ministries like yours.

Wayne Blakely: Twelve years ago, after living openly as a gay man in the LGBT+ community for forty years, I began to contemplate my destiny and consider life beyond that on this planet. Having been raised by loving parents who instilled the reliability of scripture in my life, I wanted answers. What exactly, as a same-sex attracted man, is Jesus asking of me?

God is so patient (see Romans 5:8). He allows us to go down many dead end roads so that we come to the conclusion that our lives are not safe without abiding in Him and in His Word of trust. However, many of us, even in the church today, cannot conclude God’s will and plan for us simply because we have not developed an intimate relationship with Jesus. I asked God: “What do you want from me?” He inspired me with the Holy Spirit, with a one-word response: intimacy. We must be found courting Jesus with a hunger and thirst for His righteousness, instead of seeking pleasures, passions and concepts that seek to appease our senses. He wants my heart. He will not force any loyalty. He invites us to establish Him as the reliable King of our lives.

I recognized that Jesus offers me identity in Him, not in a social construct designed to encapsulate my “feelings.” My identity is established in who or what I have given my heart. Once I recognized the “Great Controversy,” and how Jesus seeks to win my heart and Satan attempts to steal it, I began to hunger for more of Jesus and His amazing promises.  I had been duped.  My appetites and passions were self-consumed. Today I want what Jesus desires for me. Sexuality needed to be removed from the throne. I want to reestablish Jesus as King.

The LGBT+ movement has established decades of immersing us in the idea that our “feelings” are our truth. This indoctrination has worked on psychologists, chaplains, pastors, parents, society, and most importantly, the person struggling with LGBT+ ideations. If we don’t establish God’s trustworthiness and uplift His ways and His plans for our lives, we become Satan’s sitting ducks.

When I recognized what the prince of darkness had done to my life, I began to seek Jesus and uncover the truths and hopes he had successfully kept me from for so many years. I was ecstatic in my discovery. Jesus brought this conviction, not the church or any other organized group of people. It had been through my personal discovery through His Word and discovery of a love He offers, like no other.

Shortly after discovering my identity in Christ, I developed Know His Love Ministries. Named so, because it is by experiencing His love that brings us to a point of personal surrender and choosing to deny ourselves for His honor and glory, instead of endless self-gratification.

Those with LGBT+ ideations, as well as many church members, have failed to recognize who we are in Christ:  “A New Creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17).  Whatever anchors you to this world can be dissolved over time, through a constant, abiding relationship with Jesus, and not by a promise to make me heterosexual. But a promise to establish me as a child of God, developing an eternal future free of all deceptions, pains and hopeless lies Satan imposed on me from as early as I can remember.

God’s plan for each of us is unique. It is not a cookie cutter identity. However, whatever His will and plan for us is, it will always agree with His Word and never go against it. My identity is rooted in my trusted Father, not in queer theology. Know His Love Ministries speaks and conducts seminars around the world, pointing to the “love in truth” message of Jesus. It seeks to bring clarity and understanding to ALL God’s children, uniting us at the cross of Jesus.
The cultural clash is angering God’s arch enemy.

Today, Satan is exhibiting his anger in the passing of laws that seek to silence the call of Jesus on the hearts of those who might recognize His amazing gift, His fairness and justness. His love is one that compares to no other. Today, laws are being passed, seeking to silence the call of Jesus.  As Seventh-day Adventists, we should be making an effort to preserve religious liberty.  We should be extending God’s invitation to every student in our teaching institutions. We should be demonstrating God’s love with deep compassion, not compromise.

Today, culture is swallowing up Christian leadership. Bright lights are going out. We are not safe in the social constructs of others, only on the established, trusted, divine teachings of Jesus. I don’t paint some Pollyanna picture, enticing people with some kind of overnight cure. When I gave my heart to Jesus, a transformation began that will not be complete until the day He comes to take me to my forever home.

One of the most difficult conversations in Adventism is that of failures. We have a history of sending people who have fallen to the edge. We are all on this journey together. We need to draw nearer to Jesus and to one another, during a time when tests and trials are in our pathway.  Proverbs 24:16 confirms that a righteous man may fall. However, Jesus promises to help us get back up and continue to keep trusting in Him. James 5:16 invites us to share our weaknesses and pray for the healing which Jesus promises.

My walk with God after forty years immersed in a life dedicated to passions and pleasures has not been without failure. However, I refuse to cave into the deceptions Satan seeks to use to reclaim me. My only safety is in a constant, abiding relationship with Jesus.

I am challenged today, both inside and outside the church. However, this is no surprise. We know we will face persecution. My Savior is worth any suffering I may come to endure. I will never endure it alone. We have many trusted examples throughout scripture that confirm that Jesus will never leave or forsake us.

Andy Roman: Wayne, aside from you, Coming Out Ministries and a few others, there really aren’t too many voices trying to publicly shed the light of the gospel on the LGBT+ agenda even though Jesus said this would be a major issue during the last days. What can we do, if anything, to get others to become proactive on this important issue?

Wayne Blakely: When I was in my youth, it seemed I was the only person in the Christian faith walking through this nightmare. I didn’t ask to be this way. However, none of us asked to have the stain of sin on us. Be that as it may be, we are stained, each one of us. We all have a cross to carry, but never alone.

My plea to the church, to my brothers and sisters, is to recognize our commonality. Establish God as your King and Savior. Promote His trustworthiness. Promote His authorship of PURE love. Advocate for the fact that EVERY life matters. Write church and academic leadership, pleading on behalf of those who suffer from LGBT+ ideations, with the depth and fairness of the love of Jesus to establish and promote His ways and His teachings. Demonstrate that He is worth it, because He says that we are worth it. Come apart from the world and recognize that our only hope in eternity is the glory of Jesus. Culture wants to swallow you and your loved ones. By contrast, God’s ways will seem narrow and rigid unless we are investing in His trusted sovereignty, knowing His love.

There are two ministries (Know His Love Ministries and Coming Out Ministries) for twenty million Adventists which seek to bring clarity, hope and love to families faced with today’s promotion, if not mandates, as it relates to the LGBT+ conversation. Invite one to conduct seminars, provide Bible-based education and have conversations that confirm the love and fairness of our amazing heavenly Father.

Andy Roman: Tell us about your most recent project. What plans do you have to raise a standard of truth and righteousness in these end-times?

Wayne Blakely: In December of 2020, I released a book called, Line by Line – A Biblical Analysis of Guiding Families of LGBT+ Loved Ones. The widely distributed Guiding Families book has caused significant damage in our church and teaching institutions, with cultural adaptations and indoctrination. I believe the body of Christ deserves representation that God’s ways are trusted. They are not our ways. They are His. Don’t you want to direct your focus on the One who gifted you with life?  Not just life on this earth, but the breath He gifted you, intended for eternity.

The second edition of Line by Line is currently at the press and will be released and mailed to every Seventh-day Adventist church within the North American Division, within the United States. This is a huge gift from God. I am so very grateful to all who were inspired to make this possible.

There are continued direct efforts aimed to shift our focus to culture and the desires of self. No matter who you listen to, or whatever you read, make sure it agrees with scripture. It is my hope that you will see through the testimonies of those both in and outside the church that Jesus is amazing in all that He promises.

Andy Roman: We thank you for your faithfulness and for your love for the Lord. How can someone get involved to help you with your project?

Wayne Blakely: Know His Love Ministries has been established for the last ten years. Support comes from people who recognize the value of God’s directives and solutions for such a time as this. Donations can be made at my ministry website: www.knowhislove.org.  Most importantly, I seek prayers, personally and for the ministry. It is a challenge to continually confirm the faithfulness of Jesus in a world rapidly caving into the counterfeit of all God set forth for the good of humanity.