A Church has kicks out its member who came out as gay due to his 'homosexual lifestyle'
A young man identified as Dylan Settles, who is a member of the Woods Chapel General Baptists Church in Brookland for years, has been expelled from his church group after coming out as gay.
The 20-year-old only came out as gay 3 months ago after struggling to come to terms with sexuality privately for years.
"I was tired of living for somebody else ... living for my parents or my friends or whoever,' Settles told Arkansas Matters of his brave decision. 'I kind of just chose to live for what I wanted and be happy," Settles read.
But after finally building up the courage to come out about his sexuality, he said he was 'shocked' and 'hurt' by his church's response. "I was like in awe. I was in so much shock, I couldn't read like the rest of it," he told the local news.
The chapel, in Arkansas, sent him a letter after he revealed his sexuality, and he’s since posted on Facebook. The letter reads:
"It has come to the attention of the Church body, that you have made it known publicly, of your choice to embrace the homosexual lifestyle. While we understand the struggles we all face with sin in our lives, we must be aware of the consequences of our choices.
As a Christian we must choose to serve and obey, in accordance with God’s holy word, in order to remain a member in good standing of the Church body. We as the church board here at Woods Chapel General Baptist Church, have with great sorrow, voted to remove your name immediately from the church membership role.
It is the desire of your church family, you would turn from the sinful lifestyle you have chosen, repent of the sins you have committed, and return to full fellowship with God and the church body."
Dylan wrote in a post: "I just got this letter from a place I called my home church. You will never see my face in that church again.
"I want to thank everyone for helping me share my story. After the hundreds of messages to thousands of shares and over 300 friend requests, I couldn’t reply to everyone.
"I am truly thankful to have a community that has reached out to me at my time of grief."