Bibliography
The following resources are sorted roughly according to accessibility & relevance – i.e. about how “deep” does the content go, about how much effort is required for engagement, and about how much will this make sense to those new to the conversation?
Strength Of His Might – “‘Side B’ vs. ‘Side Y’” • (blog | 10min read) - A good introduction to different perspectives – not everyone uses “sides” language, but I’ve found it helpful for explaining my experience. Note that side B and side Y have some theological distinctions, but side Y folks may not be aware of these differences.
Dr. Greg Coles – Single, Gay, Christian • (book | 4.5hr read/listen) - This is a memoir-style book about Coles’ experiences as a celibate gay Christian. He describes his early life in Indonesia, the process of reconciling his faith and sexuality, and then the practical applications of his theological convictions in his life and in his church communities. See also his book No Longer Strangers
Posture Shift – Guiding Families of LGBT+ Loved Ones • (book | 4.5hr read) - Posture Shift: a lot side B believers are very involved in this organization. They do training sessions, they offer meetings for parents of LGBTQ+ people, and they’ve put out a Q&A-type book called Guiding Families. Note that they use LGBT+ terminology and SSA terminology both.
Elijah Drake’s Twitter thread on Side B Allyship • (Twitter thread | 3min read) - Read this if you’ve been in the conversation for a bit and want to know how you can be kinder to LGBTQ+ people in your church.
Life On Side B Podcast • (podcast | 1hr listen per episode) - This excellent podcast has done tremendous work to bring the real experiences, ideas, and words of side B people to the fore. Hosted by a panel of side B believers, Life on Side B (LOSB) takes a deep dive into important side B topics and conversations with contributions from a variety of perspectives. If you want to hear from side B people– this is how to do it! - See especially these episodes: Bill on Missiology • Bridget on Heavy Burdens • The “Sides” Terminology • Side B 101
Bridget Eileen Rivera – Heavy Burdens • (book | 7hr read/listen) - This book outlines some of the background of Christian thinking about gender and sexuality before diving into the ways that Christian communities place burdens on the backs of LGBT+ people that make it harder for them to encounter Christ. Rivera gives a thorough account of the difficulties that Queer Christians face across convictions, traditions, and denominations.
Greg Johnson – Still Time to Care • (book | 12hr read/listen) - This work is primarily a history of the rise and fall of ex-gay ideology over the course of the 20th century and an argument for churches and Christian communities to embrace the traditional practice of the early 20th century by showing love and care to LGBT Christians. Johnson (a PCA pastor with a doctorate in Church History) demonstrates how C. S. Lewis, Billy Graham, John Stott, and Francis Schaeffer all were proponents of the inclusion of LGBT individuals in the life of the church.
Tyler Chernesky – The Beauty of the Traditional Sexual Ethic • (video | 1hr watch) - In this talk from Revoice 2020, Chernesky outlines some of his own experiences of “costly obedience” and expands on how he views Side B life and discipleship as ultimately a beautiful and surprising gift. As of 2024, this video is available through the (subscription) Revoice media library at: watch.revoice.org
David France – How to Survive a Plague • (documentary | 1:45hr watch) - This documentary on the history of the AIDS epidemic and LGBTQ+ activism to combat the disease and convince researchers and US government officials to take the disease seriously is crucial for understanding the experiences of LGBTQ+ people in the US since the 1980s.
Side B and Chill • (podcasts & videos | various durations) - “Side B and Chill” is a list of podcasts and videos put together by the team that makes the “Life on Side B” podcast. Again, most of these folks will use LGBT+ language, but many also use SSA or other descriptors. These resources are organized by topic.
Mark Yarhouse & Olya Zaporozhets – Costly Obedience • (book | 7hr read/listen) - This is a research-based look into of the lives of Side B people that draws heavily on the stories and words of Side B people themselves while providing some broader insights into the community. Please note that Yarhouse & Zaporozhets are not part of the LGBTQ+ community – in many ways they are doing a sort of academic “ethnography” as guests who are invited to learn and communicate their findings.
Grant Hartley – Redeeming Queer Culture: An Adventure • (video | 1hr watch) - Grant Hartley gives an overview of the cultural heritage that Queer people possess and imagines how we might be able to offer the best of our individual and collective experiences back to Christ as we engage with our church communities and our neighbors. - Note: as of March 2024, this video was unlisted but (I believe) available on the Spiritual Friendship blog.
Margot Canaday – The Straight State: Sexuality and Citizenship in Twentieth-Century America - This book is a non-fiction survey of how the federal government of the United States (through various official departments) attempted to address its growing awareness of sexual minority groups through the creation of legal categories and official policies to exclude and marginalize sexual minority populations. Canaday looks at the documents and policies of the armed forces, of immigration authorities, and of welfare offices to show that the state deliberately punished sexual minority groups through the 20th century.
Eve Tushnet – Tenderness • (book | 5hr read) - This is one of my favorite books on the list. It’s a sort of spiritual/emotional devotional guide for LGBT believers aimed at gently, honestly, and humorously guiding Queer Christians away from self-hate and rejection and towards experiencing the love and presence of God.
Revoice Conference • (event)
- Revoice Conference: this is the main side B conference that takes place each Summer. Some of the talks at Revoice or throughout the year are posted to their Youtube channel.
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Resources that I do NOT recommend: As a side note, there are books/articles/podcasts by some side Y authors that I don’t recommend. Christopher Yuan, Becket Cook, and Rosaria Butterfield are all fairly popular among conservative Evangelicals, but they harshly criticize side B believers and elevate questions of sexual ethics to the status of first-order theological questions (i.e. matters that directly affect salvation and the truth of the Gospel). I find sexual ethics tremendously important – I would not be organizing my life around perpetual celibacy otherwise – but they are secondary theological matters (thus they are not mentioned in the historic creeds of the church for example). Dr. Butterfield would say that I am not a follower of Christ and has joked in the past about wanting to bash a prominent Side B author in the head with a brick, so she and others holding similar postures do not have my respect or warrant my time. Side B is a pretty broad community and so you will find a wide range of theological and cultural perspectives, including thinkers who will refer to themselves as “side B” while actually reflecting the side Y perspective in practice. For a fast summary of these distinctions between the sides, see the blog post on Strength Of His Might listed above.
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