A Michigan pastor who once compared
being gay to alcoholism has resigned his post after he was caught
looking for sex on Grindr, a dating app for gay and bisexual men.
Matthew Makela, an associate pastor at
St. John's Lutheran Church and School in Midland, and his wife,
Cassie, are raising three daughters and two sons.
In comments to a 2014 op-ed by Pastor
Dan Dickerson, Makela compared being gay to alcoholism.
“I love people who have same sex
attraction, and so does God,” he wrote. “The proof is in the
sacrifice He made for all of us who sin … We don't tell a person
born with tendencies to abuse alcohol to keep on giving in to his
innate desires because he can't help it. We try to help him in his
struggle.”
In a Facebook post from the same year,
Makela suggested that allowing gay couples to marry would harm the
institution.
“Long before gay marriage was part of
our national discussion, natural marriage did not always reflect
God's will of love and submission. Divorce became common, love in
marriage grew cold and children were not always seen as a blessing.
Changing the culture begins with changing our own culture of marriage
and family, taking the marriage union with the utmost seriousness and
welcoming children in our church,” he wrote.
Gay
blog Queerty on Monday published screenshots of Makela soliciting
sex from another man on Grindr. The pastor explained that he was
“bicurious,” had two children and doesn't “usually do evenings
or overnights” because he has a girlfriend. He said that he was a
top who loved to “make out naked.” “Also love to cuddle,” he
added.
In an email to Queerty, Makela said
that he had “resigned” from his position at the church.