Abstract
To sustain his Southern Baptist congregation’s communal identity despite personally shifting away from their traditional marriage ideology in favor of affirming homosexuality, Reverend Danny Cortez blends elements of his congregation’s existing ideology with modifications that enable the integration of his new ideology. I analyze this sermon using Black’s second persona, arguing that Cortez paves the way for his congregation to accept both members who affirm and members who reject homosexuality as biblical by combining the theme of love amid conflict, the constitutive character of Christ, and an experiential framework for biblical interpretation into a “boundary-crossing Christian” second persona.
Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1. Charland is referring to Michael C. McGee, “In Search of ‘The People’: A Rhetorical Alternative,” Quarterly Journal of Speech 61 (October 1975): 238–240.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Taylor Katz
Taylor Katz is a doctoral candidate at the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee. His work centers on rhetorical leadership within religious communities with particular focus on Christian rhetoric amid controversy. This includes projects that address the rhetorics of Christian leaders regarding religious freedom, race, and technology.