Focusing on Abundance Can Help Church Grow on LGBTQ+ Issues

In a recent National Catholic Reporter essay, theologian Dan Horan argues that if the Church would adopt a theology of abundance, it  might change, among other things, the official hierarchical approachto the LGBTQ+ community, enabling us to see “the wonderful diversity of God’s creative intention.”

Horan basees his reflection on the recently published book Abundance, written by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, which analyzes the political and economic landscape of the United States through a framework of abundance and scarcity. In their call to develop a shift in mindset from scarcity to abundance, Horan notes that there is one domain, rich for consideration, that they don’t address: theology. 

For Horan, cultivating a theology of abundance could change how we approach theological anthropology, especially in regards to gender and sexuality, and could reframe our understanding of God’s intentions for human community. 

“Another way to describe the generosity reflected in the reign of God announced by Jesus Christ is abundance,” Horan says. He continues:

 “It is striking that everything Jesus communicated about how God wants us to live in community was about expanding our sense of belonging, inclusion and justice. So abundant are the resources of God’s love and favor that all are invited to the divine banquet and there’s plenty for everyone, provided we let go of our own prejudices and envy in order to recognize that God’s love and mercy falls on ‘the just and unjust’ alike (Matthew 5:45).”

Dan Horan

When we fail to live into the gratuity and abundance of God’s grace, Horan says, we can adopt a scarcity mentality, which limits our understanding of God, God’s love, and what it means to be a Christian. This can lead us to believing that there is only one “right” way to be a Christian or a human person. “Within these contexts,” Horan says, “there is often a sense of limitation regarding who God loves or who can belong” in the Chrisitan community. 

The  scarcity mindset is a choice, he explains. We do not have to limit God to a “competitive, discriminatory, exclusionary theological worldview and set of practices.” We can choose, instead, to operate from a theology of abundance and inclusion: 

“If our theological anthropology presupposed the kind of divine abundance found in Jesus’ preaching, church teaching on gender and sexuality might look very different. Instead of a scarcity mentality that maintains a narrowly conceived standard for what is considered ‘normal’ or ‘right,’ we might recognize the wonderful diversity of God’s creative intention.

“Perhaps women, LGBTQ+ persons, members of historically minoritized communities and others considered ‘different’ (or even ‘disordered’) would enjoy the same presumption of full humanity that their cisgender, straight, white male neighbors do.”

The abundance mindset would have implications on pastoral ministry as well, as Horan says:

“If our pastoral outreach was motivated by a theology of abundance rather than scarcity, we might find that the frequent proclamation that “all are welcome” in our faith communities was lived more authentically through our actions.

“Perhaps this might mean a ministry of presence takes priority over proselytizing, and loving invitation to community takes priority over condemnation or dismissal. It may also mean not just attending to the self-selecting members of our churches, but also reaching out to others in our communities, especially the most vulnerable.”

According to Horan, such an abundance approach could have implications for understandings the idea ofof vocation and for ecumenical and interreligious dialogue as well, prompting a more generous approach to friendship and dialogue. 

Operating from an abundance mindset prioritizes the bountiful and unending nature of God’s love and can help Christians to approach the world from that place of abundance rather than a place of fear and self-interest. Within this theological framework, LGBTQ+ persons emerge from God’s abundant love and creativity, and Christian attitudes of inclusion, hospitality, and justice flow from the experience of receiving God’s abundance. 

Guided by those principles, Horan invites all Christians: “…let us live in such a way as to announce the inbreaking of God’s reign through our embrace of abundance.”

–Phoebe Carstens, New Ways Ministry, April 9, 2025