{"product_id":"9780822393610","title":"Adam's Gift: A Memoir of a Pastor's Calling to Defy the Church's Persecution of Lesbians and Gays","description":"Jimmy Creech, a United Methodist pastor in North Carolina, was visited one morning in 1984 by Adam, a longtime parishioner whom he liked and respected. Adam said that he was gay, and that he was leaving The United Methodist Church, which had just pronounced that “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” could not be ordained. He would not be part of a community that excluded him. Creech found himself instinctively supporting Adam, telling him that he was sure that God loved and accepted him as he was. \u003ci\u003eAdam’s Gift\u003c\/i\u003e is Creech’s inspiring first-person account of how that conversation transformed his life and ministry.\u003cp\u003eAdam’s visit prompted Creech to re-evaluate his belief that homosexuality was a sin, and to research the scriptural basis for the church’s position. He determined that the church was mistaken, that scriptural translations and interpretations had been botched and dangerously distorted. As a Christian, Creech came to believe that discriminating against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people was morally wrong. This understanding compelled him to perform same-gender commitment ceremonies, which conflicted with church directives. Creech was tried twice by The United Methodist Church, and, after the second trial, his ordination credentials were revoked. \u003ci\u003eAdam’s Gift\u003c\/i\u003e is a moving story and an important chapter in the unfinished struggle for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender civil and human rights.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Duke University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47069951394032,"sku":"9780822393610","price":28.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780822393610_p0.jpg?v=1763749968","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780822393610","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}