A gay guy had the best response to the church that expelled him for “sinning”. (Screen capture from YouTube/wickydkewl)
A man was expelled from the baptist church he attended for six years after religious leaders found out he was gay and told him so in a letter, but he knew exactly how to clap back.
Dylan Settles had been a member of the Woods Chapel General Baptists Church in Brookland, Arkansas, until he received a letter from church officials who shunned him for “sinning”.
The 20-year-old shared the letter on his Facebook which went viral.
The letter read: “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.”
“Looking at today’s world, it’s obvious that we need more love”, Dylan Settles said.
A few months on from the letter in 2016, and Settles appeared on YouTuber Davey Wavey’s channel to read out his own letter addressed to the church that expelled him.
“It’s been a few months since receiving your letter and I have given it some thought. If there is one thing I have learned from your church it’s that where there’s love, there is God”, he said in the heartfelt letter.
“I want to let you and your church body know that I am in a loving relationship with my boyfriend. When I hold his hand or look into his eyes, there’s not sin that I feel. It’s love.
“Looking at today’s world, it’s obvious that we need more love in whatever expression it takes. We shouldn’t condemn love, we should celebrate it.
“After reading your letter, I have come to the decision that I am not repenting to the church. I will not repent for being the person that God has created me to be.”
You can Dylan Settles read both his and the church’s letters below:
Settles had struggled with his sexuality for years before deciding to come out to his loved ones, Little Rock TV station KARK reported.
“I asked for God to kind of just take it out of my life, and give me some hope and faith that I could find a wife or a girlfriend,” said Settles.
“I was tired of living for somebody else, living for my parents or my friends or whoever”, he added, “I kind of just chose to live for what i wanted and be happy.”