Lilly
My name is Lily Clifford and I am a queer Christian. My pronouns are she/they and I am a 21-year-old from Southern Missouri.
Growing up in Missouri, I was submerged into a Fundamentalist Southern Baptist doctrine. In short, we took the Bible word-for-word literally and saw it as entirely inerrant. This caused many problems with loving our neighbors and affirming queer spaces.
Pronouns: she/her
Photo of Lilly
In 2019, I stepped out in faith and left fundamentalism. I moved halfway across the country to have a new start. I began meeting Christians who were affirming and loved people more like Jesus than I had ever experienced before. Through my newfound experiences with Christians and other people of faith, I initiated the process of deconstructing my faith.
Growing up in fundamentalism, I was told by pastors that all women were the same and that we all lacked any individuality. Queer people were shunned when turned away from churches, and picketed with signs like, “God hates fags” and “A fag dies, God laughs”. There was once a time when I truly believed all of those intense teachings, but the walls of my heart began to soften and I truly experienced Jesus for the first time.
Leaving fundamentalism was incredibly painful because of the backlash I got, especially when I came out as queer. Many people I used to look up to were calling and messaging my parents concerned and ashamed of me. I lost so many people in my life, but my faith has strengthened because of it.
Existing in affirming spaces has allowed me to experience The Divine in the most wholesome way possible. As I continue to grow in my faith identity, I feel God calling me into empathy, understanding, and love; he’s calling me into his vision for humanity.
As I embrace the whole of who God made me to be, I understand him and his heart even more.
Photo of Lilly
