Church To Gay Man In Arkansas: 'Turn From Sinful Lifestyle'

JONESBORO, Ark. (CBS4) - In a situation that has some similarities to a Colorado transgender woman's last month, a man in Arkansas says he has been forced out of his church because of his sexual orientation.

Dylän Settles, a resident of Jonesboro, says Woods Chapel General Baptist Church in nearby Brookland sent him a letter over the weekend stating they "voted to remove (him) from the church membership role" because he is gay.

In the letter, which he posted on Facebook, the church calls it his "choice, to embrace the homosexual lifestyle" and includes the following comment:

"It is the desire of your church family you would turn from the sinful lifestyle you have chosen, repent of the sins you have committed, and return to full fellowship with God and the church body."

Before he opened it, Settles told WATN-TV he thought he might be getting a letter because he hadn't been going to church services as often as he used to.

"I was in awe. I was in so much shock that I couldn't read the rest of it," said Settles about the moment he realized the letter's intent.

Settles says he doesn't plan to attend any services at the church now that his membership has been removed.

"I don't feel comfortable sitting at a pew or sitting beside my parents or sitting alone in this corner in that church when all I'm going to see is people pointing their fingers at me or putting me up against a wall because of the lifestyle I chose," he told the television station.

His post received dozens of comments on Facebook, both from those who support the church's decision and those who support Settles. Several suggested he join other churches where he would be welcomed.

Melissa Chapman told CBS4 last month that she was similarly restricted by her church in Colorado.

Flatirons Community Church in Lafayette was holding a women's church retreat, and Chapman had been looking forward to attending until she was told she would not be allowed to participate in any women's activities there.

Chapman has had gender reassignment surgery and lived more than half her life as a woman. She told CBS4 the church was aware of her situation and had even told the congregation two years ago they accepted her as a woman.

That story also drew a slew of comments in CBS4's Facebook posting about it.