LETTERS OPINION

RE: RAYBACK AND THE WELL

The “Yes, homosexuality is a sin” statement was first published on The Well’s website shortly after it was recorded in Casey Middle School’s auditorium on Nov. 6, 2016 as part of a “Gospel Sexuality Panel.” The recording was available on the church’s website at the time the Daily Camera published the April 5, 2023 op-ed about The Well and the Rayback connection, but disappeared shortly after all the recent negative publicity started up.

through eight of their published sermon “City of God,” recorded Jan. 9, 2022 at the Rayback Collective. Davis is constantly railing against transgenderism, because it interferes with his notions derived from Genesis.

In a sermon, ironically titled “Peace with God,” recorded in Casey Middle School’s auditorium on May 20, 2018, Matt Patrick compared the vast majority of all Boulder folks who don’t subscribe to his religious beliefs as “terrorist cells in the kingdom of God.” years ago. This silence is not by happenstance, coincidence or pure chance. No, this quarter-long century void is strategic, deliberate and politically tactical. The tragedy is apparent to everyone, all you have to do is listen and you’ll discover KOA sounds like a 1962 White Citizens Council meeting.

Black men can toss a pass, run a power sweep and catch a deep bomb, yet we can’t comment on women’s rights, the economy, global issues or national politics: We are to be “seen but not heard.”

Just shut up and run, boy!

CU, the athletic program, the president’s office, the college newspaper and the Board of Regents are, willingly and knowingly, facilitating this highly exploitative relationship, allowing KOA to utilize Black athletes to further the anti-Black agenda of the Make America Great/White Again (MAGA) movement, which dominates the AM airwaves. Call it “Hate Radio” — I do and so do millions more, but local mainstream media outlets won’t.

Go figure?

Forgive me, but I can’t sit quietly and let that play out without stating the obvious: The voices coming out of iHeartMedia’s KOA and its affiliates are as insulting and belittling of Black and brown people as Trump’s cult can be. And on the flip-side, ownership — and more importantly their sponsorship base — won’t allow any contradicting and challenging voices on the AM airwaves.

This isn’t complicated at all. The only occasion in which Black men can perform on KOA is to run with a ball.

Where’s The Denver Post, Westword and all the rest? If this isn’t an instance of exploiting people, then what is? How insulting and belittling can it get? Is this a case of “if you don’t say anything, neither will I?”

It’s so very quiet, you can hear a rat piss on cotton.

Why should young Black men, who the MAGA right brands as public enemy No. 1, thugs who’re always up to no good, underwrite their efforts?

Now, if Deion isn’t instantly competitive, and isn’t automatically successful, despite the gridiron program being mired in mediocrity, Coach Prime will be a target for a public “lynching.” No different from the Bronco’s Russell Wilson was this year. The fanatical fans — who when not rooting for their favorite boys will be rooting for Lord Trump and Ron DeSantis — will want to remove the “uppity” Black males who don’t know their assigned inferior place.

Talk about a conflict of interest.

I’ve fired off a letter to the CU Athletic Director, Rick George. Let’s see what he does.

Desi Cortez is a resident of Aurora and longtime columnist.

This opinion does not necessarily reflect the views of Boulder Weekly.

Although The Well church has reorganized their website and re-posted many of their older sermon recordings (albeit conveniently without retaining the old links), they have not re-posted that sermon. When they do, it will be possible to show another link between certain Rayback founders and the church. So don’t hold your breath.

Numerous other Well sermons speak more generally about “sexual immorality” as a code phrase for LGBTQ relationships, or sex outside of marriage.

And yes, they are extremely antitrans. Their pastor/elder Chase Davis recently said, “It is a fatal mistake to love your neighbor.” The context of this statement was what to do as a confused Christian when your neighbor is trans. Listen at minutes six

It’s not all metaphorical or theological fun and games. These pastors regularly mislead their audiences by claiming that everything they say is “reality.” If they kept it all to themselves and their flock, it wouldn’t matter so much. But unlike most other churches in Boulder, these guys publish their sermons for anyone in the world to listen to or watch on the internet, also known as the public square.

God help a gay or trans kid in a family brought up under this ugly, hateful and ignorant church’s tutelage. These pastors’ language is immoral because it leads to youth suicides. That the language is religiously motivated isn’t an excuse.

An online comment from Boulder

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