Doug Nave told…how he had to “come out of the closet” twice. He “came out” as a gay man, and in…the Presbyterian tradition.

As the keynote speaker at the Covenant Network of Presbyterians General Assembly Commissioners Convocation, Doug Nave told the packed sanctuary at Westminster Presbyterian Church how he had to “come out of the closet” twice. He “came out” as a gay man, and in his faith through the Presbyterian tradition.

Nave, who lives in London but practices law in New York City, said he never understood that for many in the Christian family, being a Presbyterian places him on the outer margins and that many Christians believe that Presbyterianism is the very embodiment of error.

“Having stumbled out of a closet I never realized I inhabited, I began the odd process of coming out to myself as a Presbyterian,” said the attorney, whose firm is a dominant presence on behalf of the Presbyterian Church (USA) in high-profile property disputes.

He went on to explain what he thinks makes Presbyterians different: “We believe that requiring someone to disregard his or her own conscience and to obey man-made rules is a sin. The sin of idolatry. … We declare that God alone is Lord of the conscience.”

Nave, who is on the Covenant Network board of directors and a member of Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City, spoke at Friday’s event prior to the official start of General Assembly. He was introduced as a powerful thinker and generous Presbyterian by Barbara Wheeler, director of theological education at the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s Auburn Theological Seminary.

Nave was critical of the standards the denomination has in place, approved by past General Assemblies, regarding marriage and homosexual behavior. He said that denying marriage to any group, denies them a powerful discipleship.

“It’s always jarring to me when I attend a Presbyterian gathering and I find the church reducing the extraordinary richness and challenge of committed relationships to a tawdry fixation on sex,” he said. “That kind of theology reminds me of the games we played with wood blocks when we were children. We outgrew those games and surely the church should move on too.”

His lecture moved on to changes in church attitudes and views on several issues. He cited the once-held beliefs that Earth was the center of the universe, and the reversal of the denomination’s defense of slavery and segregation. He also spoke of former exclusions on women’s ordination, the use of birth control and divorce-remarriage.

“Each time after a period of rancor and debate, we resolve our differences by a return to founding principles,” he said, reminding the audience that God is lord of conscience.

“Some say the solution is simply caving to compromise, that the church can make no room for same-sex relationships … They may be fine Christians, but they’re not very good Presbyterians, because they are ignoring the very principles that help to define Presbyterianism for hundreds of years.”

He said there was varying political ideology among Jesus’ disciples, with Matthew as a right-wing conservative and Simon, a left wing zealot, yet “somehow they found themselves traveling with Christ despite their differences.”

He then rallied for the work that lied ahead “correcting the exclusionary rules that deeply hurt LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) people.”