The following is a sample profile from the book Holy Troublemakers & Unconventional Saints by Daneen Akers.

Brian McLaren

On a hot summer night in 1972, in Lexington, Kentucky, a small group of teenagers walk stealthily in the dark, having just snuck out of their cabins at church camp. The thrill of adventure energizes them as they hike up a small hillside at the far end of the camp. A nervous laugh escapes from one of them, breaking the silence.

“Shhh!”a voice from the back whispers.“We’ll be in a ton of trouble if we get caught.”

They keep walking, trying to avoid the rocks and twigs in the path with just the light of the moon to guide them.

One of these teenagers is 17-year-old Brian McLaren. He’s grown up going to lots of church events with his family. He hasn’t told anyone, but he’s planning to leave church, faith, and most everything having to do with God when he goes away to college in a year. His church teaches that science is not valid, that women can’t be leaders, and that it’s wrong to ask questions about anything the church teaches. He’s different: He’s curious, loves science, and doesn’t believe men are better at leadership (or anything else) than women. He can’t wait to get out of the church.

As they reach the top of the hillside, he walks a few feet away from the group and lies down on his back in the grass. He gazes up at the moon and stars and just breathes. Suddenly Brian notices how small he feels under the immense sky. The universe above him goes on and on with its burning stars, distant planets, moons, and galaxies.

“I’m just one small human with millions and billions of other humans spinning on this planet in this huge universe,” he thinks to himself. It’s a new thought for him. A revelation. A moment later, he feels something else. Or someone else.

“I felt seen, known, and loved,” Brian says now, remembering that night. “I felt an outpouring of love that completely covered me. And it wasn’t just for me. It was also an outpouring of love for the grass in the field next to me, for everything. All of creation was loved. I experienced God as love that night.”

Brian’s experience of God that night changed the course of his life. “That experience set me on a path. I realized that religion wasn’t just what other people told me or what a book told me. I was an active participant in faith. And love was at the center.”

Brian didn’t give up his faith after all, and he went on to become a Christian pastor. But his preaching embraces science, shares the conviction that women and men are equal, and—most of all—assures people that everyone is completely loved by the Divine just as they are. Brian continues to talk and write about God’s all-encompassing love for all of us, especially people whom the church sometimes leaves out, including LGBTQ people. Some church people rejected him for his convictions and he lost jobs and friends who didn’t agree with him. Those who talk more about who isn’t a part of God’s kingdom don’t like his message.

But that teenage boy who almost gave up his faith? He’s communicated God’s enduring love to all people in more than 20 books and in countless other ways. A husband and father to four children, he simply states:

“The starting point of a progressive Christian is that I love you, I accept you, and I’m interested in learning your story.”

When have you felt seen and loved by God?

Glossary Terms

Christian/Christianity
A person who practices Christianity, the Abrahamic Religion based on the teachings of Jesus, a first-century Jewish teacher. While there are many different types of Christians who vary widely in belief and practice, all find the life and teachings of Jesus to be of central importance.

Conviction
A strong, unchanging belief.

LGBTQ
The acronym for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer people; other commonly used acronyms for gender and sexual minorities include LGBTQI, LGBTQIA, and LGBTQ+.

Progressive
Favoring progress, change, improvement, and reform, as opposed to wishing to maintain things as they are; embracing new social movements.