One of the businesses I support recently sent out an email advertising their product and advocating for so-called “Pride” Month. I was deeply disappointed by their decision and wrote to them. I thought I would post the interchange we had to give others an idea how they might respond to businesses in their own sphere of influence.
Dear ——,
Greetings! I have been a happy —– customer for several years now, even participating in one of your capital campaigns to expand the reach of the business. As a customer, an investor, and a Christian pastor, I was extremely disappointed to receive a recent mailing advocating so-called Pride Month and the sexual revolution. I’m not sure if you were aware of this advertising campaign or not; I debated whether or not to address the matter; however, again, as a customer, investor, and pastor, I felt it my duty to do so.
I certainly think that we are all concerned for those suffering from sexual confusion. However, the solution to these problems is not encouraging them in their delusion or self-destructive behavior. Rather, the solution will be found in building strong and faithful families that will nurture bold, confident, courageous children who rejoice in their God-given biological identity. That is why I would encourage you to consider supporting Fidelity Month, the initiative of Dr. Robert George. This initiative is using the month of June to encourage folks to rededicate themselves to fidelity to God, family, and community. This is not primarily a political initiative but a cultural one. Regardless whether you choose to support this initiative, I would urge you to avoid pushing the Pride agenda which is destroying the lives of myriad children with its misguided counsel. If you would find it helpful, I would be happy to discuss this matter in more detail – at this point, I simply wanted to register my deep disappointment with this decision.
Blessings,
Pastor Stuart Bryan
Dear Stuart,
Thank you very much for your heartfelt response. We always value the feedback from our customers (and, of course, investors) and we always enjoy the opportunity to have a dialogue.
We have chosen to support our friends, family members, winemakers and co-workers who are in the LGTBQ community by supporting the Trevor Project. The Trevor Project is dedicated to suicide prevention efforts in at-risk youth, particularly in the LGTBQ community. I was, indeed, aware of this promotion and was definitely part of our planning process.
This cause is extremely important to us and The Trevor Project joins the like of the Wounded Warrior Project, a child in need of a life-saving organ transplant and others as causes that we’ve publicly supported with promotional offers. We choose to support these organizations because we believe in their mission and firmly believe that what they do is the right thing.
I would be happy to have further discussions on our philosophy in selecting our charitable partners and our work going forward.
Sincerely,
—–
Dear —–,
Thank you for taking the time to respond. I appreciate the desire to help those struggling with suicidal ideation. My concern is that the organization you have affiliated with affirms a lifestyle choice and behavior that is itself the underlying cause of the suicidal patterns. I have some close friends in ministry here in Coeur d’Alene who minister to those with substance abuse issues. But the way they help them is not by counseling them to dive deeper into drugs – the drugs are the destructive agent themselves. So, too, purporting to help those struggling with sexual confusion by convincing them to deny their God-given biological sex and the loving design of our Creator for their bodies is only going to intensify their long-term suffering. This is not loving behavior any more than providing drug-addicts with additional drugs and drug paraphernalia is loving. I hope and pray that you will reconsider. If you are interested in exploring this issue in more detail, I would encourage you to listen to the following Breakpoint commentary and explore the associated links.
https://breakpoint.org/the-real-harm-of-transgender-ideology/
Again, thank you for taking the time to respond.
Blessings,
Pastor Stuart Bryan
Dear Stuart,
Thank you very much for your response and feedback. I always appreciate hearing from our customers and having a dialogue, especially in the civil and respectful manner which was present in this exchange.
Thanks,
—–