Pastor Jim Swilley Isn't Talking About His Gay Sex Life
- By
- On Top Magazine Staff
- | November 16, 2010
Recently out Megachurch Pastor Jim Swilley isn't talking about his gay sex life.
The twice-married father of four founded Church in the Now in Rockdale County, Georgia 25 years ago. The 52-year-old Swilley told his flock last month that he's gay and that he has known about his orientation since he was a child.
In an interview broadcast Sunday on CNN, Swilley told Don Lemon that being gay and being sexual are separate things.
When Lemon asked, “What does this mean for you as far as having a partner – sexually – what does this mean for you?” Swilley ducked.
“Before I answer that question, I'd like to say that I usually don't like to answer that question,” he said. “Not because I have anything to hide, but straight people have a tendency to think that orientation is just about sex. That's where a lot of the confusion comes, even in the church. … Orientation is about much more than that. I know gay couples who have been together 10, 15, 20, 35 years. I got a letter from somebody yesterday that has been with his partner 42 years. Orientation is about love, it's about overall view, it's about people who have lives, commitment.”
Earlier, in an interview with gay weekly the Georgia Voice, Swilley offered similar comments.
“It's not just about sex. It's about attraction. It's about love,” he said, then added that “straight people aren't called 'sexual intercourse.'”
“I can't second guess God's creation,” he concluded. “God made me exactly who I am – spirit, soul and body.”