Editor’s note: This is the last of a three-column series.

I have been involved in the struggle for acceptance of gay people for more than 35 years. From day one I knew, as a Christian, rejection and judgment were not acceptable. I pursued knowledge and understanding. In the process I have ended up with hundreds and hundreds of gay friends. Some of them are among my dearest and closest friends.

As I sorted facts from rumors, misunderstandings and ignorance, I have done a lot of changing of minds. For better or for worse, I have put my best understandings on paper and shared them with the public. I wrote papers for the purpose of sharing with the congregations I have served. I penned written newspaper columns. I have written magazine articles. I have even authored a book that sold surprisingly well nationwide. My journey in the pursuit of understanding and wisdom is well documented.

My most recent mind change is about same-sex marriage. I now believe gay folk made a wrong move when they made same-sex marriage their key issue. I now believe the key issue is a type of justice that gives full opportunities for responsible intimacy and equal opportunities under the law for everyone — gay and straight alike. The words that might be used are not at issue. Justice is the issue.

My library has an ample supply of how-I-changed-my-mind books. They have been written by gay persons, their brothers and sisters, parents, pastors, Bible scholars and theologians. And now there is Jack Rogers, PhD.

Rogers spent his teaching career at theological seminaries. He taught for many years at Fuller Theological Seminary and recently retired from teaching at San Francisco Theological Seminary, a seminary related to the United Presbyterian Church USA. His academic specialty is the history of theology. Rogers is a theological conservative.

Rogers is fully aware that Christian churches change their minds with regularity. This is true of every kind of Protestant. It is true of Roman Catholics. It is true of Mormons. It is true of the most hard-core Christian fundamentalists. For Rogers it is a matter of history. Facts are undeniable.

In his book “Jesus, The Bible, and Homosexuality,” Rogers first traces his own mind change. He is not gay. As far as he knows, no one in his family is gay. He spent years pursuing education and graduate degrees. He was involved with marriage and family. Issues about gay acceptance did not touch him personally. He was involved with other things. On gay issues he was nescient.

Rogers loves his church and denomination. He is a past moderator of the Presbyterian Church USA, the highest elective office in the denomination. His denomination is now in a tortured argument about the place of gay people in the church. Unless people can talk with one another, and unless there is some thoughtful mind changing, the Presbyterian Church USA is headed for schism.

In his book, Rogers traces his mind changes from being indifferent to advocacy for full inclusion and justice for his gay brothers and sisters.

His personal story is worth the price of the book. The body of the book is not about Rogers; it is about Presbyterians and the process of mind changing that needs to take place if schism is to be avoided and gay people are to find their rightful place in the kingdom of God.

Rogers takes the reader through the story of how Presbyterians have changed their minds on other subjects. American Presbyterians have changed their minds about two enormously important issues. For more than 200 years, American Presbyterians argued that a correct reading of the Bible justified the enslavement of people of African American descent and the subordination of women to men.

The Presbyterians were not alone. Catholics and almost every stripe of Protestant joined them in the opinion. Today it is hard for us to believe churches for centuries supported enslavement of other human beings and that churches opposed woman suffrage into the 20th century.

Rogers believes Christians will and must change their minds about gay acceptance and inclusion. The indifference that Rogers experienced in his earlier years is no longer possible.

Everyone is now aware of the issues. Further, we now have scholarship and research that must be considered by fair-minded people.

In 50 years even the most hardcore fundamentalist will be embarrassed by the way churches have treated their gay brothers and sisters.

Rogers’ book is well worth a thoughtful read.

The Rev. Howard Bess is pastor of Church of the Covenant, an American Baptist church in Palmer. His e-mail address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.