BOOKS BY KATIE

God Gets Everything God Wants
(Eerdmans, fall 2021)

Here is the theological rehabilitation we’re doing at Galileo Church, laid out as clearly as I know how (for now; who knows how God will change my mind in decades to come?). For lots of us, the deconstruction of the faith we were given has been psychologically violent and spiritually exhausting. We sit concussed in the rubble of what used to be so easy — the Sunday school faith of our families and friends — and realize that it’s not enough to take it all apart. We have to learn to say something constructive, something affirmative, about what we can see about God from the vantage point of our newly cleared horizon. I often say that I believe a lot less than I used to — many fewer discreet doctrines that feel essential to my discipleship of Jesus — but the stuff I believe, I carry in my bones.

Chapters include such classics as “Jesus in a Hamster Ball,” “Something, Something, Holy Spirit,” and “The Gospel Para Joder.” That last one is, uhh, NSFW. But it is about Jesus.

Family of Origin, Family of Choice:
Stories of Queer Christians
(Eerdmans 2021)

Having come out and made your peace with the God who made you, how then is the queer Christian supposed to make peace with their family of origin? What does the gospel of love require of you in the face of all-out rejection or, more frequently, a kind of half-assed “I love you, but…” tolerance (blech) from the people who raised you?

In partnership with my friend and colleague, social scientist Susan Chiasson, I took this question to LGBTQ+ beloveds from Galileo Church. Susan’s long-form interviews midwifed an astonishing range of answers, all of them considered in the light of Christian faithfulness. I crafted each interview into a first-person narrative, valuing the distinctive voice of each brave, beloved soul.

This project is not prescriptive; it is an example of the power of testimony from people similarly situated to offer hope and strength. The gift of experience is a good gift indeed.

If you read this book with a group of friends, you might enjoy this free discussion guide.

“These stories are of people who paid the price. They sought reconciliation when it would have been easier to walk away. They did the hard work of showing up to love each other well. And they found a church willing to do the hard work with them. If you are moved by a good, redemptive story, you are going to like this book.”

— Paula Stone Williams, from the foreword

“These narratives speak boldly and carefully about the courage queer folks and their families embody as they discern their way through disclosures and invitations to enter closets and as they invite others to get to know them anew. These relationships are ever-changing and significant as families of origin and choice recognize their beloveds, wrestle with the meaning of their lives together, and become open to transformation. The writers beautifully speak to the pains and the celebrations of queer people whose resilient spirits have much to offer to communities and the world.”

— Joretta L. Marshall, professor of pastoral theology and care at Brite Divinity School

“Hays and Chiasson have assembled a fascinating and forceful collection of stories from LGBTQ+ Christians about their experiences with kinship and condemnation, love and loss, reconciliation and resilience, and coming out—and coming to terms with one’s queer self. An engaging, well-theorized and well-researched text that calls cis-het Christians to lean in, listen, and believe; a text that will make a marked contribution toward repairing the harms that Christian families, faiths, and fellowships have inflicted (and still inflict) on LGBTQ+ persons.”

— Tony E. Adams, chair and professor of communication at Bradley University and author of Narrating the Closet

For the Bible Tells Me So:
The Biblical-Theological Necessity
of LGBTQ+ Inclusion in the Church
(KDP 2020)

Over a quarter-century of ministry, I’ve learned and taught that orthodox, biblical, Christian faith not only supports but demands the inclusion of LGBTQ+ persons in the church. A seminar, also called "For the Bible Tells Me So," evolved into this booklet, which is a succinct rendering of a complex theological mystery: God’s consistent and surprising embrace of those whom Very Religious People have cast out. Part One is a rapid read of the (very small) set of scriptures that seem to prohibit LGBTQ+ identity. Part Two presents a literary-theological alternative to fact-checking every individual verse. This edition also includes an open letter published on social media in 2017, “To the Dearly Beloved Queer Children of God,” as an example of how biblical-theological study has provoked Galileo Church to action on behalf of LGBTQ+ Christians who seek inclusion in the church.