“The Outskirts of Sodom”
Text: “But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. —Genesis 19:26”
Excerpt: “Queer Christians are exhausted from defending themselves against the story of Sodom’s usual clobber interpretations. Having once been lost in the outskirts of Sodom, I am grateful for the ways in which I now live honestly with myself, even though I sometimes do look back at past comforts and familiarities sacrificed in my coming out.”
Tyler Heston is a second-year Master of Divinity student at Brite Divinity School and serves as the Assistant Minister for Middle School at University Christian Church in Fort Worth, Texas. He graduated with a degree in Religion in Society and a certificate in nonprofit management from the University of Memphis. Raised in a non-denominational evangelical church in suburban Memphis, Tennessee, Tyler joined Kingsway Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) after coming out as gay while he was in college and now serves as a council member for the GLAD Alliance, which works toward “transforming the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) into a just and inclusive church that welcomes persons of all gender expressions and sexual identities into the full life and leadership of the church.” Aside from school and ministry, he enjoys a variety of things, such as Sufjan Stevens’s music, The X-Files, traveling, and eating sushi with friends.
