Jim Swilley, Georgia Megachurch Pastor, Comes Out To Congregation After Gay Teen Suicides

Jim Swilley, the pastor of a Georgia megachurch, recently revealed to his congregation that he is gay. The 52-year-old father of four said that his wife, to whom he was married for more than 20 years, encouraged him to come out years ago, but at the time, he told her: "These words will never come out of my mouth."

However, the recent spate of teen suicides, particularly that of Rutgers student Tyler Clementi, prompted him to change his mind. "For some reason his situation was kind of the tipping point with me," Swilley told CNN's Don Lemon this weekend.

"There comes a point in your life where you say 'How much time do we have left in our lives? Are we going to be authentic or not?'"

WATCH:

Comments

[ThaBrainz]

03:51 PM on 12/01/2010

Bishop Jim Swilley was recently talked about on the internet radio show "Center Stage,"
the topic was "Blind Sheep following a Lost Shepherd." The panel consisted of ministers
and pastors, it was interesting to hear their thoughts. They told us according to scripture
what God said about these types of scandals. One of the panel members was
Bishop Prophet H. Walker, the S. Carolina preacher who held the Atlanta rally
demanding Bishop Eddie Long step down. Take a listen to the dialog.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/centerstage/2010/11/27/blind-sheep-following-lost-shepherds

[ThaBrainz]

02:43 PM on 11/27/2010

They will be discussing the Bishop Jim Swilley scandal on "Center Stage" today Nov 27, 2010 @ 3pm CST. The website is www.blogtalkradio.com/centerstage. The topic is "Blind Sheep Following a Lost Shepherd," thought that title kinda said it all.

[halligator]

03:25 PM on 11/18/2010

Remember folks,there's a big difference between kneeling down and bending over !

[carnitine]

02:32 PM on 11/18/2010

Great...

[Ioan Lightoller]

03:55 PM on 11/20/2010

Yes, Carnitine, it IS great that the Lutheran Church is finally coming into the 21st Century.

[Ioan Lightoller]

03:58 PM on 11/20/2010

Sorry, wrong page, but it IS wonderful that Bishop Swilley has decided to be honest and open. It's just a shame that the haters would not let him do so earlier.

[OutoftheClouds]

01:29 PM on 11/18/2010

I'd like to see some research into the prospects of religious leaders and homosexuality starting from the Egyptian days say 3500 years ago to now. I think that was the only road for gay folks back in the day and certainly explains the 'vow of chastity' taken by Catholic priests. After all a vow of celibacy is easy to maintain in public when you aren't physically attracted to women in the first place. Secondly, their outfits are a bit over the top - flambouyant really - and that says a lot about the gay culture, even today. I'm not a homophobe as I believe that the gay folks do humanity a great justice in balancing out the reproductive habits of the rest of us, but it's hard to deny the connection between religion and gay. anyone else?

[wbthacker]

02:18 PM on 11/18/2010

The Catholic vow of celibacy was established for a much simpler reason: the church was trying to control payroll expenses and realized they could save a lot of money if they didn't have to support the wives and children of priests.

The flamboyant clothing... well, there could have been some gay influence there, a medieval sort of "Queer Eye for the Pope Guy". But the costumes are also part of their marketing, one more way of impressing the commoners (and themselves) with how important the clergy is.

But those hats! No gay man would ever have created something like that. :-)

[Arrech]

12:46 AM on 11/18/2010

After checking Leviticus I decided to sell my daughter into slavery and buy me a brand new car.

God is great.

[owlafaye]

11:26 PM on 11/17/2010

Phhh, what else is new? Its part and parcel of religion. Doesn't religion mean the "re-linking" with the divine? and if we acknowledge that we are already linked, we don't need religion.

Religion gets people way out of balance...and thats what is happening here.

Except for the victims, what more can be said?

[HuffPoPaul]

09:12 PM on 11/17/2010

I guess I'll be the lone voice on this, but...52 years and two wives, and two families, and NOW he decides to fess up? OK, better late than never, but the guy sounds like just another charlatan bible thumper to me. He's made his fortune telling his megachurch congregation how to live *their* lives while he's been, essentially, lying to them about his own life. Surely, I could be completely wrong; I'm just going by what little has been presented here (the article and the video.) I wonder whether he's been telling his congregants for all these years that "the bible is not a book...it's a collection of books...There's a lot in there that we don't believe..."

[Jeff Cramer]

04:40 PM on 12/06/2010

If you bothered to read the entire article and those relating to Jim Swilley, you would have read that he had told his wife (2nd wife) that he was gay BEFORE they were married, when they were just dating. So there was no "fessing up" as you put it except when he chose to come out. His kids are fine with his orientation - probably because his outing did not come on the heels of any kind of a scandal, but rather personal feelings and the outcry from all this bullying going on to kids who are gay, prompting some to take their own lives. And why can't a gay person believe in God? We all sin and fall short of His glory, so why beat him up (those who choose to) because of his particular struggle? There are plenty of Christian people who struggle with things, drugs, alcohol, anger, sex, believe me, no one in any church is exempt from sinning, we as a society just pick and choose what we discriminate against.

[johnnyfern]

09:59 AM on 11/17/2010

He's seems sincere and kind. This already makes him an unsual minster.

I wish him the best of luck.

[Arrech]

08:18 PM on 11/17/2010

I do, too.

I like this guy

[ShaneSmith]

09:40 PM on 12/04/2010

Deceit delivered with a compassionate smile does not = kindness to me.

[Arrech]

09:10 AM on 11/17/2010

We are an Obama Nation

[Souris9]

09:37 AM on 11/17/2010

What on earth does that even mean?
Certainly nothing relevent to this article.

[freddypudwacker]

08:55 AM on 11/17/2010

He seems to have a kind and gentle soul.

[Arrech]

08:05 PM on 11/17/2010

Indeed. His body showed resistance; but his words defeated it.

[MyAhaMoment]

08:24 AM on 11/17/2010

I say BRAVO to him for finally being able to accept who he is and to let his congregation know. It must have been extremely difficult to live a lie like that for so long. I wonder how many hours he spent praying either for 'relief from being gay' or the strength to accept and admit. I'm guessing a good number of his members will leave, but religious leaders country-wide need to stop playing GOD and stop villifying an entire segment of the population. They may not agree with it, and maybe it is a sin (whatever), BUT it is NOT their place to judge, it is theirs to understand and to assist.

[Ty Leonard]

08:21 AM on 11/17/2010

I think Jim Swilley needs more guidance from Jesus. Let me get this straight. Two marriage, I am sure there is something in the bible about that. Leaving his second wife for homosexuality. Being real to yourself, and tearing apart two families? And, doing it all in the name of God. I believe everyone should be welcome in a church. Also, everyone has sinned and fell short of glory. I am including myself in that, but I know, in my heart, there is a better option. I am glad we were told about the same sex attraction, because you can not deny what is. I pray that he seeks the guidance of Jesus on this issue. If he always knew about this, then why try marriage a second time?

I am proud that he came forward, but not the way he handled this. If you have a a problem, you can not keep it bottled up, and there are options out there to take care of that situation. Too bad those roads were not taken.

[Arrech]

09:07 AM on 11/17/2010

Too bad people just stop at judging and not proceeding with understanding and CHRISTIAN compassion.

Better late than never. And his testimony is convincing and moving, complemented by the testimony of his loved ones.

He came out, his family is fine and supportive. It's in the video, if you bother to watch and your attention span allows it.

[DrStephen]

09:46 AM on 11/17/2010

What options? Like the ones the teens took? Or do you mean 'curing' the problem. That is all propoganda by folks who can't really glimpse the lack of compassion in their own hearts. I really don't understand your post. Can you clarify? And he tried a second marriage because he did not feel safe telling the truth. Why is that so hard to understand, given the dehumanization that gays are subject to, especially by the church? I'm sure it was hard for his family. Maybe a tenth as hard as it has been for him. Should he suffer 10 times more for being gay? 20 times? Do you see my point?

[Balensiefen progressive]

08:03 AM on 11/17/2010

Uh-oh! Fred Phelps is going to making a visit to him with his merry band of gay bashers. All kidding aside it is refreshing to see someone show such bravery in a public spotlight.

[Artanis71]

01:33 AM on 11/17/2010

I dont post much but, the main reason I have great respect for this man is he is not a hypocrite. So many times the person who turns out to be gay was the one who was screaming the loudest against it. I searched and he has never run this kind of church, he allows all into his church and does not judge, that earns my utmost respect. God bless.