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.”