Mel White

Last updated

Mel White
Mel white christmas.jpg
White in 1995
Born
James Melville White [1]

(1940-06-26) June 26, 1940 (age 84) [1]
Alma mater
Occupations
  • Author
  • clergyman
  • activist
Spouses
Lyla Lee Loehr
(m. 1962;div. 1982)
Gary Nixon
(m. 2008)
Children2, including Mike White

James Melville "Mel" White (born June 26, 1940) is an American clergyman and author. White was a behind-the-scenes member of the Evangelical Protestant movement through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, writing film and television specials and ghostwriting autobiographies for televangelists such as Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and Billy Graham. After years of writing for the Christian right, he came out as gay in 1994 [2] and devoted himself full-time to minister to lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender people, also writing extensively on the subject of gay Christians.

Contents

Life and career

White was born in Santa Clara, California, the son of Faythe Alvera (Rear) and Olin "Carl" White. [3] White graduated from Warner Pacific College and married Lyla Lee Loehr. They had two children, one of whom is the actor and filmmaker Mike White.

After receiving his BA from Warner Pacific College, then graduating with an MA in communications from the University of Portland, White followed with graduate work in communications and film at University of Southern California, UCLA, and Harvard. He received his Doctorate of Ministry from, and was a professor of communications and preaching for over a decade at Fuller Theological Seminary. During this time he also worked as an evangelical pastor.

After their marriage, White admitted to his wife that he had always been attracted to men. He embarked on a long process of attempted cures for his homosexuality, including psychotherapy, prayer, electroconvulsive therapy, and exorcism. None of these techniques changed his attraction to men, and after he attempted suicide, he and his wife agreed to an amicable divorce. His son Mike is bisexual. [4]

In 1984, White began dating Gary Nixon. In 1994, White wrote his autobiography, Stranger at the Gate: To Be Gay And Christian In America, which detailed his former career in the Religious Right and his struggle coming to terms with his sexuality. His ex-wife wrote the foreword to this book. His latest book, Holy Terror: Lies the Christian Right Tells To Deny Gay Equality was released in hardback as Religion Gone Bad: Hidden Dangers from the Christian Right.

After coming out, White transferred his clergy credentials to the gay-affirming Metropolitan Community Church.

In 1997, White was awarded the American Civil Liberties Union's National Civil Liberties Award for his efforts to apply the "soul force" principles of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. to the struggle for justice for sexual minorities. He founded Soulforce, a gay advocacy group, in 1998.

On June 18, 2008, White and Nixon were the first same-sex couple legally married at All Saints Episcopal Church (Pasadena, California) following the May 16, 2008 action of the Supreme Court of California overturning the state's ban on same-sex marriage. [5] They currently reside in Palm Springs, California. [6]

Writings and works

White ghostwrote several books for fellow evangelicals, including Billy Graham (Approaching Hoofbeats), Pat Robertson (America's Date with Destiny), and Jerry Falwell (Strength for the Journey and If I Should Die Before I Wake). [7]

Since 1993, he has devoted himself full-time to minister to lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender people, working on their behalf in the media, in the political process, and with fellow religious leaders.

White's autobiography, Stranger at the Gate: To be Gay and Christian in America (1994), is still being read widely, especially by LGBTQ people, their families and friends struggling to reconcile faith with sexual orientation. White's latest book, Religion Gone Bad: Hidden Dangers from the Christian Right (2007), is called "A consciousness-raising, must-read book" by Bishop John Shelby Spong. It was reissued later in revised form with the title Holy Terror: Lies the Christian Right Tells Us to Deny Gay Equality.

He has produced, written, and directed 53 documentary films and television specials on spirituality.

He is also an author; among his 16 books (nine bestsellers), he wrote Aquino, a book about the Philippines' Ninoy and Corazon Aquino, Deceived about the Jonestown tragedy, David about David Rothenberg (a child burned by his father, later depicted in the film David ), and Lust: The Other Side of Love.

He was talk-show host/producer in When the Going Gets Tough.

In 2009, White appeared on the fourteenth season of The Amazing Race along with his son Mike. The two completed seven legs of the race before being eliminated in sixth place in Phuket, Thailand. [8] The team subsequently participated in The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business , an edition featuring eleven returning teams. [9] They were the second team eliminated and finished in 10th place in Yokosuka, Japan at the end of the third leg. Mel and Mike were eliminated after being hospitalized with hypothermia.

White is also a contributor to the DVD program Living the Questions , an introduction to Progressive Christianity. Dr. White is also featured in the documentary For the Bible Tells Me So. Dr. White is also prominently featured in the documentary True Believer (2024) by Kristen Irving.

The Cambodian NGO New Future for Children is supported by White.

Books and stories under his own name

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Falwell</span> American Baptist pastor, televangelist, and conservative activist (1933–2007)

Jerry Laymon Falwell Sr. was an American Baptist pastor, televangelist, and conservative activist. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, a megachurch in Lynchburg, Virginia. He founded Lynchburg Christian Academy in 1967, founded Liberty University in 1971, and co-founded the Moral Majority in 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Dobson</span> Evangelical Christian psychologist, author, and radio broadcaster

James Clayton Dobson Jr. (born April 21, 1936) is an American evangelical Christian author, psychologist, and founder of Focus on the Family (FotF), which he led from 1977 until 2010. In the 1980s, he was ranked as one of the most influential spokesmen for conservative social positions in American public life. Although never an ordained minister, he was called "the nation's most influential evangelical leader" by The New York Times while Slate portrayed him as a successor to evangelical leaders Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson.

The Christian right, otherwise referred to as the religious right, are Christian political factions characterized by their strong support of socially conservative and traditionalist policies. Christian conservatives seek to influence politics and public policy with their interpretation of the teachings of Christianity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moral Majority</span> American right-wing Christian political organization

The Moral Majority was an American political organization and movement associated with the Christian right and the Republican Party in the United States. It was founded in 1979 by Baptist minister Jerry Falwell Sr. and associates, and dissolved in the late 1980s. It played a key role in the mobilization of conservative Christians as a political force and particularly in Republican presidential victories throughout the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Televangelism</span> Use of radio and television to preach religion

Televangelism and occasionally termed radio evangelism or teleministry, denotes the utilization of media platforms, notably radio and television, for the marketing of religious messages, particularly Christianity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franklin Graham</span> American Christian evangelist and missionary (born 1952)

William Franklin Graham III is an American evangelist and missionary in the evangelical movement. He frequently engages in Christian revival tours and political commentary. The son of Billy Graham, he is president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) and of Samaritan's Purse, an international Christian relief organization. Graham became a "committed Christian" in 1974 and was ordained in 1982, and has since become a public speaker and author.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Graham</span> American evangelist (1918–2018)

William Franklin Graham Jr. was an American evangelist, ordained Southern Baptist minister, and civil rights advocate, whose broadcasts and world tours featuring live sermons became well known in the mid- to late 20th century. Throughout his career, spanning over six decades, Graham rose to prominence as an evangelical Christian figure in the United States and abroad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim LaHaye</span> Evangelical Christian minister and author from the United States

Timothy Francis LaHaye was an American Baptist evangelical Christian minister who wrote more than 85 books, both fiction and non-fiction, including the Left Behind series of apocalyptic fiction, which he co-authored with Jerry B. Jenkins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike White (filmmaker)</span> American actor, writer and producer (born 1970)

Michael Christopher White is an American writer, actor and producer for television and film. He has won numerous awards, including the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award for the 2000 film Chuck & Buck, which he wrote and starred in. He has written the screenplays for films such as School of Rock (2003) and has directed several films that he has written, such as Brad's Status (2017). He was a co-creator, executive producer, writer, director and actor on the HBO series Enlightened. White is also known for his appearances on reality television, competing on two seasons of The Amazing Race and later becoming a contestant and runner-up on Survivor: David vs. Goliath. He created, writes and directs the ongoing HBO satirical comedy anthology series The White Lotus, for which he has won three Primetime Emmy Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Campolo</span> American sociologist and pastor

Anthony Campolo is an American sociologist, Baptist pastor, author, public speaker and former spiritual advisor to U.S. President Bill Clinton. Campolo is known as one of the most influential leaders in the evangelical left and has been a major proponent of progressive thought and reform within the evangelical community. He has also become a leader of the Red-Letter Christian movement, which aims to put emphasis on the teachings of Jesus. Campolo is a popular commentator on religious, political, and social issues, and has been a guest on programs such as The Colbert Report, The Charlie Rose Show, Larry King Live, Nightline, Crossfire, Politically Incorrect and The Hour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soulforce</span> American social justice group

Soulforce is a U.S.-based social justice organization that works to end the religious and political oppression of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI) people. The organization's co-executive directors are Alba Onofrio and Yaz Mendez Nuñez.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Falwell Jr.</span> American lawyer (born 1962)

Jerry Lamon Falwell Jr. is an American attorney, former academic administrator, and evangelical. Starting with his 2007 appointment upon the death of his father, televangelist and conservative activist Jerry Falwell Sr., Falwell served as the president of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, until resigning in August 2020 amid a sex scandal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spiritual autobiography</span>

Spiritual autobiography is a genre of non-fiction prose that dominated Protestant writing during the seventeenth century, particularly in England, particularly that of Dissenters. The narrative generally follows the believer from a state of damnation to a state of grace; the most famous example is perhaps John Bunyan's Grace Abounding (1666). The first known spiritual autobiography is Confessions by Augustine of Hippo, or St. Augustine, which stands to this day as a classic when studying this genre.

Elmer Leon Towns is an American Christian academic, pastor and writer who co-founded Liberty University alongside Jerry Falwell in 1971. He is a speaker on the principles of church growth, church leadership, Christian education, Sunday school, prayer and fasting.

Jonathan Pate Falwell is the senior pastor at the Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia, and Chancellor at Liberty University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Todd (conspiracy theorist)</span> American conspiracy theorist (1949–2007)

John Wayne Todd, also known as "John Todd Collins", "Lance Collins", "Kris Sarayn Kollyns", and "Christopher Kollyns", was an American speaker and conspiracy theorist. He claimed to be a former occultist who was born into a 'witchcraft family' before converting to Christianity. He was a primary source for many Chick Publications works against Dungeons & Dragons, Catholicism, Neopaganism, and Christian rock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Los Angeles Crusade (1949)</span>

The Los Angeles Crusade of 1949 was the first great evangelistic campaign of Billy Graham. It was organized by the Christian group Christ for Greater Los Angeles. The campaign was scheduled for three weeks, but it was extended to eight weeks. During the campaign Graham spoke to 350,000 people, by the end, 3,000 of them decided to convert to Christianity. It was subsequently described as the greatest revival since the time of Billy Sunday. After this crusade Graham became a national figure in the United States.

<i>Whats So Amazing About Grace?</i> Book by Philip Yancey

What's So Amazing About Grace? is a 1997 book by Philip Yancey, an American journalist and editor-at-large for Christianity Today. The book examines grace in Christianity, contending that people crave grace and that it is central to the gospel, but that many local churches ignore grace and instead seek to exterminate immorality. What's So Amazing About Grace? includes Bible stories, anecdotes from Yancey's life, accounts of historical events and other stories. These include a modern retelling of the Parable of the Prodigal Son, an account of Yancey's friendship with Mel White who came out as gay, a comparison of the teachings of early Christians Pelagius and Augustine of Hippo, and a summary of Karen Blixen's short story "Babette's Feast".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Graham rule</span> Rule of some evangelicals to avoid isolated time with women other than their wife

The Modesto Manifesto or Billy Graham rule is a code of conduct among male evangelical Protestant leaders, in which they avoid spending time alone with women to whom they are not married. It is adopted as a display of integrity, a means of avoiding sexual temptation, to avoid any appearance of doing something considered morally objectionable, as well as for avoiding accusations of sexual harassment or assault.

<i>Bad Faith</i> (film) 2024 film by Stephen Ujlaki and Chris Jones

Bad Faith: Christian Nationalism's Unholy War on Democracy is a 2024 American documentary film directed by Stephen Ujlaki and Chris Jones. The film explores the rise of Christian nationalism in the United States and its opposition to American democracy, and the historic role of Christian nationalists in the conservative movement, beginning with Paul Weyrich and Jerry Falwell in the Moral Majority, and Weyrich's creation of the secretive Council for National Policy. They opposed secular and democratic institutions, supported using government to promote Christianity, and much later, their political influence led to the support for the candidacy of Donald Trump, the subsequent January 6 United States Capitol attack, and the policy blueprints for Project 2025.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "California Birth Index, 1905–1995". Ancestry.com. Retrieved December 27, 2011.
  2. Steve Inskeep Religion, Politics a Potent Mix for Jerry Falwell NPR June 30, 2006
  3. "Olin White Obituary (2007) - Santa Cruz, CA - Santa Cruz Sentinel". Legacy.com .
  4. Ferber, Lawrence. White out: writer-producer Mike White comes out and discusses the gay subtext in his new comedy, Orange County, The Advocate (February 5, 2002). Retrieved on January 28, 2008.
  5. Susan Russell (June 18, 2008). "InChatATime: They went to the chapel, and they got". Inchatatime.blogspot.com. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  6. "The Santa Cruz angle to Mike White's HBO hit 'The White Lotus'". December 15, 2022.
  7. Colker, David (July 26, 1993). "In a State of Grace: Religion: Writer and minister Mel White was a Christian evangelical success story until he came out of the closet. That's when former colleagues including Jerry Falwell and Billy Graham cut him off. But White says he is finding peace: 'I am gay, I am proud and God loves me.'". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved July 17, 2013. The Rev. Mel White ghostwrote Jerry Falwell's autobiography, "Strength for the Journey," and Falwell's book about abortion. He ghostwrote Pat Robertson's "America's Dates With Destiny" and Billy Graham's "Approaching Hoofbeats."
  8. "Mel and Mike: Amazing Race". CBS . Retrieved January 26, 2009.
  9. "'The Amazing Race' announces its All-Stars cast". Latimesblogs.latimes.com. January 19, 2011. Retrieved November 23, 2011.