Massachusetts Pastor And ‘Queering The Black Church’ Author Who Came Out In 2015 Aims To Make Churches More Welcoming For LGBTQ+ Community
A Massachusetts pastor is striving to make churches more accepting of the LGBTQ+ community. Rev. Brandon Thomas Crowley was 22 years old when he replaced a beloved pastor in a historically Black church. Six years later, in 2015, Crowley told the congregation at Myrtle Baptist Church in Newton, Massachusetts that he was gay. Soon after, the reverend was relieved to learn that many members still welcomed him with open arms, TheGrio reported.
The 41-year-old Atlanta native has since penned a book titled, Queering The Black Church. Crowley is telling his story to encourage more churches to be welcoming of LGBTQ+ people. The Massachusetts pastor is highlighting the church members who have shown him love while also speaking out against others who condemn gay people. Crowley said he remembers one pastor in particular who spoke out harshly against LGBTQ+ people.
“He called them all types of names, using derogatory phrases and really describing it as a detestable group and a sinful thing, and I just sort of knew he was talking about me,” Crowley said, according to TheGrio. “That was my first introduction to really knowing the beauty of who I am as a queer person.”
Crowley also points to his grandmother as one of his biggest inspirations.
“She would say, ‘God loves you,’” Crowley said. “She said, ‘They almost made me take my own life when I was pregnant, but I came to know a God beyond the church, and I’ve got beyond what these preachers say.’”
The Morehouse College graduate said there was a time when he dated a woman while trying to conceal his sexual identity. He also said he dated a man at Morehouse but told his family they were just friends.
Crowley attended Harvard Divinity School after graduating from Morehouse. However, he had second thoughts about his goal of becoming a preacher. Instead of moving forward with his dream, Crowley considered writing books about “about the Black church being dead.” One of Crowley’s friends, however, convinced him to apply for the pastorate role at Myrtle Baptist.
When he started serving as pastor at Myrtle Baptist, Crowley struggled to tell the committee about his identity. But he found the courage to come out six years later.
“I could only really do the work of God if I operated from a place of real authenticity,” Crowley said.
Since he was a child, Crowley said the voice of God has been guiding him to chase his dream and grow comfortable with his identity. Particularly when he was sitting on the pulpit at Myrtle Baptist Church on a Sunday in 2015, Crowley said God once again gave him the courage to come out.
“Are you crazy? These people are going to put me out,” Crowley said he told the voice.
A few minutes later, however, Crowley stood up and told the congregation, “I am a proud, Black, gay Christian male.”
Although some church members left after Crowley’s announcement, most stayed put. The church also attracted more people in the following weeks, including new LGBTQ+ members.
Crowley has now earned his Ph.D. from Boston University’s School of Theology. He said he wants to serve as a preacher and a professor, aiming to support “Queer and Black communities in both spiritual and scholarly contexts.” The 41-year-old pastor is also in a relationship with his partner of three years, Tyrone Sutton, whom he met at church.
