{{Short description|American clergyman and author (born 1940)}} {{BLP sources|date=November 2019}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2013}} {{Infobox person | name = Mel White | image = Mel white christmas.jpg | alt = | caption = White in 1995 | birth_name = James Melville White<ref name="birth date">{{cite news|url=http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=5247|title=California Birth Index, 1905–1995|publisher=Ancestry.com|access-date=December 27, 2011}}</ref> | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1940|6|26}}<ref name="birth date"/> | birth_place = [[Santa Clara, California]], U.S.<ref name="birth date"/> | occupation = {{flatlist| * Author * clergyman * activist }} | spouse = {{plainlist| * {{marriage|Lyla Lee Loehr<br>|1962|1982|reason=divorced}} * {{marriage|Gary Nixon<br>|2008|2024|end=died}} }} | parents = | alma_mater = {{plainlist| * [[Warner Pacific College]] * [[University of Portland]] }} | children = 2, including [[Mike White (filmmaker)|Mike White]] }} '''James Melville White''' (born June 26, 1940) is an American clergyman and author. White was a behind-the-scenes member of the [[Evangelicalism|Evangelical]] Protestant movement through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, writing film and television specials and [[ghostwriting]] autobiographies for [[televangelist]]s such as [[Jerry Falwell]], [[Pat Robertson]], and [[Billy Graham]]. After years of writing for the [[Christian right]], he [[coming out|came out]] as gay in 1994<ref name="MelWhite">Steve Inskeep [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5522064 Religion, Politics a Potent Mix for Jerry Falwell] NPR June 30, 2006</ref> and devoted himself full-time to minister to [[LGBT community|lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender people]], also writing extensively on the subject of [[Christianity and homosexuality|gay Christians]].
==Life and career== White was born in Santa Clara, California, the son of Faythe Alvera (Rear) and Olin "Carl" White.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/santacruzsentinel/name/olin-white-obituary?id=8268727 | title=Olin White Obituary (2007) - Santa Cruz, CA - Santa Cruz Sentinel | website=[[Legacy.com]] }}</ref> White graduated from [[Warner Pacific College]] and married Lyla Lee Loehr. They had two children, one of whom is the actor and filmmaker [[Mike White (filmmaker)|Mike White]].
After receiving his BA from [[Warner Pacific College]], then graduating with an MA in communications from the [[University of Portland]], White followed with graduate work in communications and film at [[University of Southern California]], [[UCLA]], and [[Harvard]]. He received his [[Doctor of Ministry|Doctorate of Ministry]] from, and was a professor of communications and preaching for over a decade at [[Fuller Theological Seminary]]. During this time he also worked as an [[evangelism|evangelical]] pastor.
After their marriage, White admitted to his wife that he had always been attracted to men. He embarked on a long process of attempted [[Conversion therapy|'cures' for his homosexuality]], including [[psychotherapy]], prayer, [[electroconvulsive therapy]], and [[exorcism]]. None of these techniques changed his attraction to men, and after he attempted [[suicide]], he and his wife agreed to an amicable divorce. His son [[Mike White (filmmaker)|Mike]] is bisexual.<ref>Ferber, Lawrence. [http://www.thefreelibrary.com/White+out%3A+writer-producer+Mike+White+comes+out+and+discusses+the+gay...-a082322838 White out: writer-producer Mike White comes out and discusses the gay subtext in his new comedy, Orange County], [[The Advocate (LGBT magazine)|The Advocate]] (February 5, 2002). Retrieved on January 28, 2008.</ref>
In 1984, White began dating Gary Nixon. In 1994, White wrote his autobiography, ''Stranger at the Gate: To Be Gay And Christian In America'', which detailed his former career in the [[Christian right|Religious Right]] and his struggle coming to terms with his [[Sexual orientation|sexuality]]. His ex-wife wrote the foreword to this book. His latest book, ''Holy Terror: Lies the Christian Right Tells To Deny Gay Equality'' was released in hardback as ''Religion Gone Bad: Hidden Dangers from the Christian Right''.
After coming out, White transferred his clergy credentials to the gay-affirming [[Metropolitan Community Church]].
In 1997, White was awarded the [[American Civil Liberties Union]]'s National Civil Liberties Award for his efforts to apply the "soul force" principles of [[Mahatma Gandhi]] and [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] to the struggle for justice for sexual minorities. He founded [[Soulforce (organization)|Soulforce]], a gay advocacy group, in 1998.
On June 18, 2008, White and Nixon were the first same-sex couple legally married at [[All Saints Episcopal Church (Pasadena, California)]] following the May 16, 2008 action of the [[Supreme Court of California]] overturning the [[2008 California Proposition 8|state's ban on same-sex marriage]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Susan Russell |url=https://inchatatime.blogspot.com/2008/06/they-went-to-chapel-and-they-got.html |title=InChatATime: They went to the chapel, and they got |publisher=Inchatatime.blogspot.com |date=2008-06-18 |access-date=2014-06-29}}</ref> Nixon died on August 12, 2024.<ref>{{cite web |date=November 6, 2024 |title=Gary Nixon Memorial |url=https://soulforce.org/gary-nixon-memorial/ |website=soulforce.org}}</ref>
==Writings and works== White [[ghostwriting|ghostwrote]] several books for fellow evangelicals, including Billy Graham (''Approaching Hoofbeats''), Pat Robertson (''America's Date with Destiny''), and Jerry Falwell (''Strength for the Journey'' and ''If I Should Die Before I Wake'').<ref>{{cite news|last=Colker|first=David|title=In a State of Grace: Religion: Writer and minister Mel White was a Christian evangelical success story until he came out of the closet. That's when former colleagues including Jerry Falwell and Billy Graham cut him off. But White says he is finding peace: 'I am gay, I am proud and God loves me.'|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-07-26-vw-17120-story.html|access-date=July 17, 2013|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=July 26, 1993|quote=The Rev. Mel White ghostwrote Jerry Falwell's autobiography, "Strength for the Journey," and Falwell's book about abortion. He ghostwrote Pat Robertson's "America's Dates With Destiny" and Billy Graham's "Approaching Hoofbeats."}}</ref>
Since 1993, he has devoted himself full-time to minister to lesbians, gays, [[bisexual]]s, and [[transgender]] people, working on their behalf in the media, in the political process, and with fellow religious leaders.
White's autobiography, ''Stranger at the Gate: To be Gay and Christian in America'' (1994), is still being read widely, especially by LGBTQ people, their families and friends struggling to reconcile faith with sexual orientation. White's latest book, ''Religion Gone Bad: Hidden Dangers from the Christian Right'' (2007), is called "A consciousness-raising, must-read book" by Bishop [[John Shelby Spong]]. It was reissued later in revised form with the title ''Holy Terror: Lies the Christian Right Tells Us to Deny Gay Equality''.
He has produced, written, and directed 53 documentary films and television specials on [[spirituality]].
He is also an author; among his 16 books (nine bestsellers), he wrote ''Aquino'', a book about the Philippines' [[Ninoy Aquino|Ninoy]] and [[Corazon Aquino]], ''Deceived'' about the [[Jonestown]] tragedy, ''David'' about David Rothenberg (a child burned by his father, later depicted in the film ''[[David (1988 film)#Plot|David]]''), and ''Lust: The Other Side of Love''.
He was talk-show host/producer in ''When the Going Gets Tough''.
==In popular culture==
In 2009, White appeared on the [[The Amazing Race 14|fourteenth season]] of ''[[The Amazing Race (American TV series)|The Amazing Race]]'' along with his son [[Mike White (scriptwriter)|Mike]]. The two completed seven legs of the race before being eliminated in sixth place in [[Phuket Province|Phuket]], Thailand.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbs.com/shows/amazing_race/season/14/cast/|title=Mel and Mike: Amazing Race|publisher=[[CBS]]|access-date=January 26, 2009}}</ref> The team subsequently participated in ''[[The Amazing Race 18|The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business]]'', an edition featuring eleven returning teams.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2011/01/the-amazing-race-announces-its-all-stars-cast.html|title='The Amazing Race' announces its All-Stars cast|publisher=Latimesblogs.latimes.com|date=January 19, 2011|access-date=November 23, 2011}}</ref> They were the second team eliminated and finished in 10th place in [[Yokosuka, Kanagawa|Yokosuka]], Japan at the end of the third leg. Mel and Mike were eliminated after being hospitalized with hypothermia.
White is also a contributor to the DVD program ''[[Living the Questions]]'', an introduction to [[Progressive Christianity]]. Dr. White is also featured in the documentary ''[[For the Bible Tells Me So]].'' Dr. White is also prominently featured in the documentary ''True Believer'' (2024) by Kristen Irving.
The Cambodian NGO New Future for Children is supported by White.
==Books and stories under his own name== * {{cite book|last=White|first=Mel|title=Lust: The Other Side of Love|publisher=Fleming H. Revell|year=1978|isbn=0-8007-0932-2 |page=191}} * {{cite book|last=White|first=Mel|title=Deceived|publisher=Spire Books|year=1979|isbn=978-0-8007-8367-9}} * ''Sam Clemens and the Notable Mare'' (1993) (collected in [[Mike Resnick]]'s alternate history anthology ''[[Alternate Warriors]]'') * {{cite book|last=White|first=Mel|title=Stranger at the Gate: To Be Gay and Christian in America|publisher=Penguin Group (USA)|date=April 1995|url=https://archive.org/details/strangeratgateto00whit/page/325|isbn=0-452-27381-1|page=[https://archive.org/details/strangeratgateto00whit/page/325 325]|url-access=registration}} * {{cite book|last=White|first=Mel|title=Religion Gone Bad: Hidden Dangers from the Christian Right|publisher=Penguin Group (USA)|date=September 2006|url=https://archive.org/details/religiongonebadh00whit_0/page/384|isbn=1-58542-531-1|page=[https://archive.org/details/religiongonebadh00whit_0/page/384 384]|access-date=November 23, 2011|url-access=registration}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{official website|url=http://www.melwhite.org/}} * [http://www.soulforce.org/ Mel White's GLBT organization] * [http://www.whosoever.org/issue4/issue4_white.html Interview with Rev. Candace Chellew, Whosoever.org] * Mel White, [http://newfutureforchildren.com/ New Future for Children, Cambodia] * {{IMDb name | id = 0925203}}
{{Fuller Theological Seminary}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Mel}} [[Category:1940 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:American memoirists]] [[Category:American non-fiction writers]] [[Category:American pacifists]] [[Category:American gay writers]] [[Category:Fuller Theological Seminary alumni]] [[Category:Fuller Theological Seminary faculty]] [[Category:Harvard University alumni]] [[Category:LGBTQ Protestant clergy]] [[Category:Metropolitan Community Church clergy]] [[Category:People from Santa Clara, California]] [[Category:LGBTQ theologians]] [[Category:University of California, Los Angeles alumni]] [[Category:University of Portland alumni]] [[Category:University of Southern California alumni]] [[Category:Warner Pacific University alumni]] [[Category:LGBTQ people from California]] [[Category:Participants in American reality television series]] [[Category:The Amazing Race contestants]] [[Category:20th-century American LGBTQ people]] [[Category:21st-century American LGBTQ people]] [[Category:LGBTQ rights activists from California]]