For thirty-one years Scott McQueen was a Southern Baptist preacher. And as the parent of three boys, he was a “parrot” of the orthodox message about homosexuality. But on April 8, 2014, when his youngest son came out to him as gay, Scott’s life and his spiritual journey changed forever.

One of the most difficult moments was when their son asked Scott and his wife Jackie to drive him to a town a couple hours away to go on a date with a boy. At that time, Scott was not affirming of his son, but he took him anyway to be supportive. Find our why Scott made this difficult decision on this bonus podcast episode.

For the initial interview with Scott, check out BE THE BRIDGE – Season 1, Episode 20.

Scott is the author of REASONABLE DOUBT – A case for LGBTQ inclusion in the institutions of marriage and church.  www.reasonabledoubtbook.com

Susan Cottrell is a prominent voice for faith parents of LGBTQIA+ kids. We chat about our least favorite expression: Love the sinner. Hate the sin.

That message is equivalent to an insincere apology, and the only message received is HATE.

We talk about alternatives for parents and also deep down what that expression really means.  “I love you, but I don’t understand you.”

This is an episode for parents of LGBTQIA+ youth and also for anyone who wants to show true love to a gay family member or friend.

For more info: www.freedhearts.org

Susan Cottrell, the prominent voice for faith parents of LGBTQI children, was featured on ABC’s 20/20, Nightline and Good Morning America, on NBC News Out, on The Advocate Magazine’s National Coming Out Day videos, on The Advocate’s Out in Left Field with Dana Goldberg, and as a devotional contributor on the Our Bible app.

She is an international speaker, author, and consultant. Through her nonprofit organization—FreedHearts—Susan champions the LGBTQI community and families with her authenticity and tender-hearted zeal. She challenges Christians to love as the foundation of faith. She spent 25 years in the non-affirming Evangelical church, is the Founder and President of FreedHearts, has a Master of Arts in Theological Studies, and served as the Vice-President of PFLAG Austin (Texas). Her books “Mom, I’m Gay”—Loving Your LGBTQ Child and Strengthening Your Faith, True Colors – Celebrating the Truth and Beauty of the Real You, Radically Included – The Biblical Case for Radical Love and Inclusion, and the soon-to-be-released Be Love – What the World Needs Now, and My Coffee with the Pastor: Building the Vision for Lavish Christlike Inclusion, are endorsed by The Human Rights Campaign, PFLAG, The Gay Christian Network and many others. She and her husband Rob have been married for 30 years, have five children, two of whom are in the LGBTQI community, and live in Austin, Texas.

The Bible contains inconsistencies so why do some people claim the Bible is inerrant? I’ve been reading the Bible through this year, and just from reading the Old Testament alongside the New Testament, I found errors.  How many people died at Shittim? Numbers 25:9 says 24,000.  Paul in 1 Corinthians 10:8 says 23,000.  You can argue about how that error came to be, but you can’t deny it’s there, and if you use anything not in the Bible to explain that away, then you’re going exegetical (outside the Bible itself), and you’re not a true literalist.

Here’s a list of 101 contradictions in the Bible where one book says one thing, and another book says something different. And it doesn’t even include the one that I found!

I don’t use this to say that everything is the Bible is false or that its central message is wrong. I just point out that it’s not error-free. And there are thousands of translations which have conflicting views on tenses, word meaning, literal versus figurative (for example, our word “butterfly” does NOT mean that butter is flying.), punctuation, oral versus written traditions. The Bible is an essential starting point for us in Western culture because it is the dominant source of so much of our laws and customs. It’s also a font of Western literature and superstitions (e.g, our fear of the #13 relates to the number of guests as drawn by da Vinci in his painting of the Last Supper.)

I disagree with a recent GC article called 21 Books You Don’t Have to Read. Whether you’re a devout Christian or indifferent atheist, the Bible is a must-read, if only just for cultural literacy.

In this episode, I speak with Robert Cottrell about the flawed concept of “Biblical inerrancy.” People may claim they believe in the infallibility of the Bible. They may claim that it’s “God’s Word” although there’s no place where God tells a group of men, “Hey, in the 4th century, y’all need to meet and put together certain gospels, histories, and letters written over the past few hundred years, and called that collection the Christian Scriptures.”

No one takes the Bible literally. All people who claim the Bible is the source of their faith just cherry pick verses they want to believe, exclude the rest and call their individualized faith an “inerrant view of the Bible.”

We talk about how and why people do this in the podcast.

Robert and I chat about how the Bible is used as a sword to attack the LGBTQIA+ community and how the Bible can be used as a shield against such attacks.

If you’ve ever needed to respond to someone who claims their version of the Bible is the truth, don’t miss this episode!

To hear Robert’s prior episode and learn about his spiritual journey, check out this episode.

SUBSCRIBE TO BE THE BRIDGE PODCAST TODAY AT iTunes, Google Play and Stitcher Radio.

http://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/6517235

Mikah Meyer just finished visiting his 308th park on his world-record trip to be the youngest person to visit all 417 U.S. National Parks. We talk about his childhood as the kid of a campus pastor, how he knew that gay was wrong, and how he decided to undertake this incredible feat.

As a kid, Mikah prayed to be ordinary (straight) but after he embraced his sexuality, he realized that he could become extraordinary. THE BIG SURPRISE – Christians around the country are supporting his mission.

Please support Mikah in his efforts by helping fund his last big hurdle: Visiting all 23 parks in Alaska.

www.mikahmeyer.com

More info on Mikah Meyer

Road Trip and National Parks expert Mikah Meyer has been named a “Social Media Warrior” by MTV and featured by The Guardian, NPR, Upworthy, and The Today Show among thousands of media outlets worldwide for his Travel Beyond Convention and multiple travel world records. Becoming the youngest person to visit all 400+ units of the National Park Service and the sole person to do it in one continuous trip, he has been called an “Emerging Leader in the Outdoor Industry” by SNEWS, and his expertise ranges from media partnerships with the US federal government’s news agency to speaking engagements from Nebraska to New Zealand. Sought after for projects that focus on bringing cultures together, he is equally comfortable hosting on-screen in Iran or penning op-eds and travelogues. Also an accomplished performer, Mikah has sung professionally with the Washington National Cathedral choirs, the Memphis Symphony and various international ensembles, and has created shows ranging from full-length improvised musicals to educational cabarets. He is a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar who has devoted his life to helping people find common ground, whether in his hometown of Lincoln or standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial completing world records.

How it all started?

In 2005, days after his father’s funeral, 19-year-old Mikah embarked on his first independent road trip. What was initially planned as a post-freshman year getaway, quickly turned into a transformative experience that showed Mikah the healing power of road trips. Since then, he has taken one road trip a year to honor this experience, resulting in 2011-2012 with a 260 day, 16,400 mile “Dream Road Trip” around 46 North American states/ provinces.

In 2014, Mikah’s article summarizing these trips garnered over 40,000 shares via the Huffington Post and feature through RoadTrippers.com (read here). It also inspired the title track for singer/songwriter Shelly Waters’ album DRIVE.

With April 29, 2016, marking the 11th anniversary of his father’s passing from cancer, Mikah is honoring his dad’s love of driving by making life out of death and launching his journey to experience all 400+ units of the U.S. National Park System. This double world record trip will not only make him the youngest person to experience every unit, but also the sole person to do so in a continuous journey.

To have Mikah perform with your organization, or speak at your university, civic club, or company during his journey, visit the Speaking/Singing page

Dr. Paula Trimble-Familetti is a passionate advocate for women’s rights, inclusive language, and biblical literacy.  She holds a B.A. in Religion from Chapman University, an M.A. in Religion from Liberty University and a Dr. of Ministry in International Feminist Theology from San Francisco Theological Seminary.  She has taught Women in Religion and Women’s History classes at Chapman University.

Her book Prostitutes, Virgins and Mothers: Questioning Teachings about Biblical Women is an incredible reimagining of certain Biblical stories through the eyes of the female main characters. Informational and entertaining, this book made me look at the Bible in a whole new but deeper way.

In my first in-person interview, I talk with Dr. Paula about how she became interested in this topic and about her spiritual journey.

Ibrahim Kamara was born in Kuwait but moved to Tennessee as a kid. He was raised Muslim, and he cherishes his faith community. At the age of 13, he realized that his attractions were different from other boys. He tried to pray away the gay, bargaining with Allah because Ibrahim wanted to spend Paradise in his own Versailles-like palace.  Eventually, he realized that he had to live an authentic life. He has a passion for helping others understand that we are all intersectional beings, and those diverse aspects make us who we are. He is active in queer interfaith groups on his college campus and is the co-founder of a Denver-based group for queer Muslims.

He can be reached by Facebook at Ibrahim Kamara.

He can be reached on Instagram at bubb1egum_b1tch.

His queer Muslim group can be contact via Facebook at Salam of Denver.

He works with You are Welcome Here to help LGBTQIA+ people of all faith backgrounds connect with others of faith.

Chelsey Glassco is a teacher and therapeutic foster parent. As a kid, she attended “Jesus Camp” and was taught that homosexuality was the worst sin. When she came out to her parents at 16, she was forced into conversion therapy. But armed with her Xena journal, Chelsey was able to survive. Her tale of the mental and emotional abuse she suffered at the hands of so-called “Christians” should be a wakeup call for the faithful. This podcast serves as a story of do’s and don’ts for today’s church. Religion should be a sanctuary and not a weapon!

WARNING: Explicit language is used.

Mais Al-Nima was born in Baghdad, Iraq and spent her childhood there. Then she lived in Syria and Kuwait before coming to the United States for school. She grew up as a practicing Muslim, but when she came out as queer, she put aside her faith.

But she longed for that sense of community that religion provides and wanted to reconnect with her Arab culture. She co-founded a group for queer Muslims and queer people from the North Africa and the Middle East. Her goal is to help people of all faiths find community, wholeness, and contentedness as they tread through their queer and spiritual journeys.

She is also working on the You Are Welcome Here interfaith meeting to be held in Denver this October 2018.

In this episode, we talk about her spiritual journey and how she came to understand that Islam will always have a place in her life.

To engage with Mais, contact her by email at mais.alnima@gmail.com

Instagram: mais_nema

To learn more about her organization promoting an inclusive Muslim / Mena group, check out Salam of Denver

Instagram: SalamofDenver

Facebook: Salam of Denver

You Are Welcome Here:

http://Welcomeyawh.org

Facebook and Instagram: youarewelcomehereyawh/

The Kevin Garcia talks about coming out and experiencing the fullness of God.

We are at a time in history where the LGBTQIA+ people are more accepted than ever in our country, but there’s still a whole community and a whole lot of Christians out there who don’t feel the same way.

God loves every single person in those non-affirming places, and God wants all of those folks to experience the same freedom that many of us experience when coming out. People don’t know how free they are to love and to be able to step into the fullness of what God created them to be.

Self-described “hot mess” Kevin Garcia is a writer, podcaster, YouTuber, and speaker. And he’s about to start seminary.

At the end of this podcast, I was ready to move to wherever Kevin gets his first pulpit. PREACH!

To reach Kevin, check out the following:

www.thekevingarcia.com

www.facebook.com/thekevingarcia

www.youtube.com/helloimkevn

Twitter and other social media platforms: @thekevingarcia

Robert Cottrell and his wife Susan are the co-founders of FREEDHEARTS.ORG, one of the best online resources for parents, children, and pastors connecting the LGBTQIA+ and faith communities.

He is the father of five kids, two of whom identify as queer. In 2010, his oldest daughter came out as bisexual, and in 2012, his youngest daughter came out as lesbian.

On this episode, Robert shares advice for parents of LGBTQIA+ kids and spills the secret on the “secret weapon” God has placed in conservative evangelical churches.

For more information, www.freedhearts.org.

William Stell is a gay pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Bordentown, NJ. He’s a writer for HuffPost and Patheos and has presented on “sexual ethics” at this year’s Q Christian Fellowship conference in Denver. He recently published his first year of sermons: Free, Clean and Loved: A Gay Pastor’s First Year in Sermons.

When William entered Princeton Theological Seminary, he’d just come out as gay and had no specific intention to become a pastor. But at orientation, he met his first boyfriend, and by the time he graduated, he felt the calling to be a minister. Before studying at Princeton, William lived and worked in the country of Jordan at a school for Deaf and Deaf-Blind children. Although his familial roots are Presbyterian, William was raised in a black Baptist church, and he has spent significant time in Methodist, Catholic, non-denominational, and other church traditions.

You can find him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/william.stell.50

On Twitter, he is @wmstell

For links to his articles on HuffPost, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/william-stell

His book of sermons can be found at:https://www.amazon.com/Free-Clean-Loved-Pastors-Sermons/dp/1946478628/

“I’m attracted to women,” Jazz Fitzgerald told a friend at their conservative Christian college. Jazz was forced into weekly therapy where her counselors probed to find the root cause of Jazz’s sexuality. She was told that she was broken and needed to be fixed. She could never know the fullness of God unless she had a husband.

She pushed her feelings down deep and became the poster child of ex-gay therapy on campus. But the repudiation of her sexuality wasn’t enough. Based on fears that she could be a risk to students because of her sexual orientation and not because of any conduct, Jazz was fired from her position as a campus resident advisor. Losing her job and her home in less than 48 hours caused Jazz to become severely depressed and she had a breakdown.

But after a close friend came out to her as lesbian, Jazz realized that happiness and fullness could only come by being true to herself.

Her desire is that all people can see her humanity: her desires for family, for an emotional connection with another person and for a community.  We talk about the dangers of seeing others as labels and not people.

She is a champion for helping find connections between the LGBTQIA+ and faith communities. She founded You Are Welcome Here and is planning a conference for people of all faiths to be held in Denver, October 4 and 5, 2018.  The website has links to her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Jason Galvez is a Christian, father, spouse, entertainer, and advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community. He was raised in a charismatic church, and two of his uncles (both pastors) tried to exorcise the “demons” that made him homosexual. For years, Jason tried to persuade his relatives to change their minds about the Bible by sending them books, sermons, and articles, but one day, God spoke to him and told him to change his tactics. By living his authentic life, Jason realized he could change more hearts and minds.

To find out more:

http://jasonj.biz/author.php (Author)

http://jasonjdotbiz.wordpress.com/ (Blog)

https://www.facebook.com/SyracuseAuthor (Facebook)

For thirty-one years Scott McQueen was a Southern Baptist preacher. And as the parent of three boys, he was a “parrot” of the orthodox message about homosexuality. But on April 8, 2014, when his youngest son came out to him as gay, Scott’s life and his spiritual journey changed forever. He was no longer on the smooth highway he’d been traveling most of his career, and he had to go “off-roading” for a while.

Following a year of trials and tribulations in his church and wisdom and enlightenment in his research into the original languages of the Bible, Scott came to realize that everything he thought he knew, everything he’d been taught, everything he believed to be right had a flaw.

If Jesus broke Biblical law to favor helping people, what was wrong with our understanding of the Bible?

Scott is the author of REASONABLE DOUBT – A case for LGBTQ inclusion in the institutions of marriage and church.  

For more information, check out Scott McQueen at www.reasonabledoubtbook.com or contact him directly at pastorscott@minister.com

GOD CREATED ADAM AND EVE BUT WHAT ABOUT INTERSEX? Nick Manchester is an intersex chimera who’s transgender, non-binary, gay and asexual. Doctors forced his parents to decide his gender when he was three days old, and they made the choice to raise him as a girl. But he never felt comfortable in that assigned gender. After a couple failed suicide attempts, he realized that he needed to live his life as a man. He’s been kicked out of church and told that he’s a child of demons, but Nick has finally found a faith community who support him and love him and accept him. If you’ve ever wondered about “intersex” or “transgender,” then this podcast will help you understand how God has made all of us unique and special

CAN A GAY MAN BASE HIS SEXUAL ETHICS ON THE BIBLE? Brian Peyton Joyner shares new insight from the Q Christian Fellowship conference about how we can use the Golden Rule to establish a new sexual ethics for the 21st century. It’s about shifting from a model based on boundaries to one based on values. Want to weigh in on sex and religion?  Leave your comments at www.facebook.com/brianpeytonjoyner.

Can you have a relationship with God if you believe that God condemns who you are?

For twenty-four years, Jeff Ford was married to a woman, and they have three beautiful daughters. But along the way, Jeff had a secret. He was attracted to guys. Jeff’s conservative faith and love for his family motivated him to find a cure for his same-sex attractions. He spent fourteen years in church counseling and countless gay conversion therapy programs, but nothing changed his attractions.

He could not pray away the gay.

Jeff’s marriage and his family suffered because he could not live a life of integrity, and he considered divorce in 2005 and 2009.  He had faithfully pursued Christian counseling and gay conversion for many years but watched most members continue to struggle with no change in their sexual orientation.  He loyally followed Exodus International for years and watched their organization implode in 2013 when their leaders apologized for the work they did and finally admitted they could not change people’s sexual orientation.  With prayer, Bible study, and a long history with others in gay conversion therapy, Jeff finally realized he needed to live his own truth; the truth that God designed for his life.  He divorced in 2016, still unsure whether the Scriptures required him to be celibate or whether he could be in a relationship with a man, but he knew that he could not continue to live a lie.

Jeff’s spiritual journey has taken him to the place where he finally understood his relationship with God would never be what it needed to be so long as he continued to believe he was hated and condemned by God. Today, he has come to realize that God deeply loves him and everyone in the LGBT+ community.  Jeff finally knows and celebrates he is divinely created as someone special with unique characteristics and gifts to give to the world, his family, friends, and the community. And his faith has never been stronger.

IS YOUR FAITH STRONG ENOUGH TO ALLOW GOD TO SELECT THE PERSON YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE? AND BE WITH?

Suzanne Dewitt Hall was a straight conservative Christian who once blogged about the evils of homosexuality. But then she met Diane. “It felt like the angel was at the door of the prison saying, ‘Come out. Here’s your earthquake.  Get out of there.'”

Suzanne left her husband and followed the path that God laid out for her. “When you allow God to be the person to select the person you’re supposed to be with it’s transformational.”

Suzanne Dewitt Hall describes herself as a Freelance scribbler, one of Rumplepimple’s moms, a cookbookophile and an imagiplationist.

She’s a scribbler all right. She has three different blogs and is a frequent contributor to HuffPost.

Suzanne is the author of an exciting new devotional book (WHERE TRUE LOVE IS) that will reaffirm how much God loves each of us as an LGBTQIA+ individual.

She’s the author of the children’s book series THE ADVENTURES OF RUMPLEPIMPLE.  Rumplepimple is a naughty terrier with an annoying cat for a big sister and two moms who can’t understand a word he says. It’s a tale of an unlikely hero who saves the say in the most unusual way.

She’s a cookbookophile with an interest in cookbooks from the 50s and 60s. A recent example on her blog is a cookbook using Spry, a vegetable shortening and competitor to that essential ingredient in my momma’s biscuits – Crisco.

And you’ll have to listen to this phenomenal interview to find out the meaning of the word “imagiplationist.”

To reach Suzanne and find out more about the devotional book, check out Twitter or Facebook.

Where True Love Is, her new devotional book is available for purchase on Amazon.

On this 15th episode, I talk to Jackie McQueen. She had been the wife of a Southern Baptist pastor for 30 years. And she firmly believed that being gay was a choice. But her world turned upside down on April 8, 2014, when she found out that her son was gay. For the past three and a half years, she has struggled with her conscience, her faith and being a mother.

She is an ordinary person whom God has called to do extraordinary things, and her courage, compassion, and conviction make her a shining example of the best of Christianity.

Jackie talks about those initials months after their church found out her son was gay. The deacons told them their son couldn’t talk about being gay at church, and he couldn’t do anything “gay” at church either. Parents were worried that their son might try to convert their children. The youth leader staged an intervention when their son went on a youth group trip to Florida. Eventually, Jackie and her husband realized that the church couldn’t handle them anymore, and they had to leave their church home. And their denomination.

Some questions:

• Is being gay a choice?
• Why is homosexuality looked at differently than divorce?
• Why do conservative Christians spend so much time focused on the lives of other people?

On this 14th episode, I talk with Thomas Mark Zuniga. Tom is a Christian who has same-sex attractions, and his core belief is that the only kind of sex God blesses is marital sex between a man and a woman. But Tom has never tried to “pray away the gay.”

Instead, he struggles to balance faith, sexuality, and masculinity. And each week, he checks in with his “brothers” where they discuss their SPERM count.

Tom is the co-founder of Your Other Brothers (YOB), an online community of Christian men who struggle with same-sex attractions. Through blogs, a podcast and online comments, men on YOB share their stories and explore life with raw honesty and courage.

Tom and his spiritual brothers are not out to stoke culture warrior sentiment or contribute to the rowdy political or theological debates over these touchy issues.

For more information: www.yourotherbrothers.com or http://thomasmarkzuniga.com

For the Your Other Brothers Podcast:  https://www.yourotherbrothers.com/category/podcast/

Tom is the author of two books: Struggle Central and Running To http://thomasmarkzuniga.com/running-to-book/

http://thomasmarkzuniga.com/struggle-central-book/

EPISODE DESCRIPTION:

On this 13th episode, I speak with Susan Cottrell, the mother of two kids in the LGBTQ community. She became a devout Christian at the age of 14 and was a women’s ministry leader at her church. But after her kids came out, she realized that her family would never have a place in their church again.

She is a proud Mama Bear and the founder of a ministry for families of LGBTQ individuals, called FreedHearts. Her mission is to free hearts to love, heal and affirm.

Susan has a Master of Arts in Theological Studies, and we dive deep into the Bible, talking about Genesis 2 and complementarity, the “purity culture” and how it’s not good for us to be alone. I solicit advice from Susan on how to heal from the wounds inflicted by the faith community, and she offers tips on how to be your own best friend.

WEBSITE: For outstanding resources for Christian parents and LGBTQ kids, please see her website www.freedhearts.org.

If you’re a mom or dad and would like join her online support group (a private Facebook group), please contact Susan on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/FreedHearts/. If you’re in the LGBTQ community and need someone to talk to, Susan is there to listen and offer support and encouragement.

BOOKS: As the author of three books, her goal is to change the human conversation on love and inclusion:

• For parents: “Mom, I’m Gay”: Loving Your LGBTQ Child
• For LGBTQ people: True Colors: Celebrating the Truth and Beauty of the Real You;
• For pastors and church members wanting to learn more: Coffee with the Pastor

On this 12th episode, my guest is a woman who believes that if she can change her mind about faith and sexuality, then anyone can.

Liz Dyer is a mama bear who is changing the world, by not only helping educate and support mothers like herself but by inspiring others to make the world a safer and kinder place for LGBT folks to live.

She was raised Southern Baptist and believed that gay relationships were sinful. But when her son came out to her his sophomore year of college, she decided to look deeper into the Bible and her faith. She fully expected to prove to her son the error of his ways, but instead, she found that the Bible does not condemn loving and committed same-sex relationships. And in her view, it was a sin to suggest otherwise.

As a conservative Christian with a gay child, she realized that the resources available to mothers like her were limited. She created Serendipitydodah for Moms, a private Facebook group for open-minded Christian moms who have LGBTQ kids and want to develop and maintain healthy, loving, authentic relationships with their LGBTQ kids.

For information on the stories by moms with LGBT kids, please see the Mama Bears Story Project page on Facebook.

For more information, please see https://serendipitydodah.wordpress.com.  Liz encourages folks to reach out to her at her private email: lizdyer55@gmail.com. Please contact her if you’re a mother who is interested in joining her private Facebook group.

On this 11^th episode, I speak with Jill McCrory, the first Baptist female preacher I’ve ever met.  I love her stubbornness in holding onto her Baptist heritage and for her insight during our chat.

Jill McCrory is a straight woman whom God has called to be a Baptist voice to the LGBTQ community. I talk with her about her theological questioning as a teenager and why she left the church for twenty years. We discuss the moment when she discovered that there was more to the Bible than what she’d been taught in Sunday School, and her decision to attend seminary. She admits that she never expected to be a minister. But that all changed when she was told that she couldn’t preach the truth because people couldn’t handle the truth. We talk about the church’s history of “othering” and its abuse of the political process.

Jill discusses the importance of the four freedoms to Baptists and how her stubbornness keeps her loyal to the Baptist brand. She talks about her work spear-heading the development of an LGBTQ community center in her Maryland county of Montgomery.

She is the epitome of someone who practices what she preaches. Her insight and wisdom on Scripture and the teachings of Christ are inspiring.

For information on the MoCo Pride center in Montgomery County, MD, please see https://www.mocopridecenter.org. For information on centers in your area, please see www.centerlink.org.

Justin Lee is a firm believer that Christians should be known for showing love, not for being jerks. Twenty years ago, he started building bridges between the gay and Christian group on his campus. in 2001, he founded the Gay Christian Network, which has grown to 30,000 members. He is the author of Torn: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays v. Christians Debate. I speak with Justin about his faith and how his spiritual quest led him to a different yet richer understanding of the Bible.

To find out more about Justin, to book him as a speaker, or to connect with him, check out his website here.

Daniel Helminiak is the author of What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality. Since its publication in 1994, the book has sold 120,000 copies and been translated into seven languages. Daniel was ordained a Catholic priest in Rome on Christmas Day in 1967. But by 1976, he realized he was gay and could not reconcile his integrity with Vatican expectations. He obtained doctorate degrees in psychology and theology and became an authority on the Bible and its teachings on homosexuality. I talk with him about how his examination of the Scripture challenged his faith and changed his views, but how he became a stronger and more spiritual person in the end. For more information: www.visionsofdaniel.net.  Daniel is also the author of the book, The Transcended Christian: What do you do when you outgrow your religion?

Greg Coles is a single Gay Christian whose love and enthusiasm for Jesus shine through in this week’s episode. We talk about his childhood on the Indonesian island of Java and his spiritual odyssey of faith and sexual identity. Greg’s warmth and humility shatter any preconceived notions I had about someone who has decided God has called him to gay and celibate. For more about Greg, check out www.gregcoles.com or his memoir Single Gay Christian.

In this seventh episode, I speak with former Catholic priest Michael Parise. As a kid, Michael was bullied by his entire class, and for many years considered himself asexual. His senior year in college, Michael Parise decided to abandon his plans for dental school and become a Catholic priest. When he was 48, he had his first kiss with another man. For thirty-two years, he served parishes in the Boston area, but today, he is a teacher, mentor, healer, author, and artist. His insights on the Bible and religion make this episode one of the most informative.

For more, check out https://mpariselifecoach.com.

Jaron Terry is one of the most dynamic and fabulous people I’ve ever met. I fell in love with her after getting a free Mama Bear hug at the Gay Christian Network conference this past January. Few people in this world reflect the light and love of Christ like she does. We talk about her about getting shunned by her Methodist church after her son came out and how she found solace in support groups like PFLAG and the Serependitydodah Facebook group. And she dishes advice for LGBTQ parents in dealing with family holiday obligations, including this gem – Don’t be afraid to drop the “F” bomb on grandma.

On this fifth episode, I talk with Tim Rymel, author, educator, and rethinker, about his experience as a leader in the gay conversion therapy movement. Tim grew up Pentecostal in a small town in California, and from a young age, he knew he had same-sex attractions. He also knew that he needed to pray away the gay. His journey from an unshakable conservative Christian to a progressive social justice writer has been long and arduous. Tim married a woman, had two kids and spent years as a key figure in the ex-gay movement. But after his divorce, he realized that he needed to live his authentic life and is now happily married to a man.

www.timrymel.com His book Going Gay: My Journey from Evangelical Christian Minister to Self-Acceptance, Love, Life, and Meaning was published in 2014. To purchase, click here.

On this 4th episode, I speak with Amber Cantorna. As the daughter of a Focus on the Family executive, she grew up in the idyllic Christian home. But at the age of nine, Amber learned that appearances were more important than her feelings. She did not have a safe place, even in her own family. She went through a dark period until she was able to accept her sexuality and become her authentic self. She talks about how she has refocused her family while staying true to her faith.

Published in October 2017, don’t miss Amber’s memoir: REFOCUSING MY FAMILY: Coming Out, Being Cast Out, and Discovering the True Love of God.

www.ambercantorna.com

Follow her on Facebook www.facebook.com/amberncantorna and Twitter @amberncantorna

WARNING: This episode does contain a discussion of self-injury.

In this third episode, I speak with Nathan Tyler Sliwa about his spiritual journey as a gay man and follower of Christ. Nathan is 24 years old and the Minister of Contemporary Music at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Cary, North Carolina, which is just outside of Raleigh.  Like so many people who have tried to stay in the church after coming out, Nathan met some resistance in balancing his sexuality and his spirituality. He hasn’t always been accepted, but unlike so many of us, he persisted and kept going in the church.

Nathan describes himself as gay, Christian, a singer, competitive, silly, a foodie, a Lutheran and nerdtacular.

To find out more about Nathan, check out his website at www.nathantylersings.com.  His recently released video response to the Nashville Statement can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8pUDLHICX4.

In this first episode, I talk with Washington DC radio personality Michael Sharp.

Michael grew up in Shacktown just outside Detroit. His parents were Pentecostal and Catholic, but he and his brother were raised Lutheran and sent to Christian day school.

From the age of 10, Michael knew he was gay, but he never told anyone until many years later. Because of the abuse he saw heaped on the LGBTQ community, he gave up hope. And tried to take his own life with an overdose of pills and by cutting.

At the age of 15, Michael was kicked out of his house by his parents and ended up homeless. For four months, he slept in the back of his Honda Civic, wrapping himself in a sheet so that no one would see him.

At one point, he was run off the road by a gang of four guys just because they saw his rainbow flag sticker. He was beaten and lost part of his hearing.

At times, Michael didn’t think that he had a future, but his world changed when he found a support group for the LGBTQ community in Detroit. Although it started as a suicide prevention group of about six people, it eventually grew into a community of more than a hundred.

Michael’s wisdom and insight invite us all to understand the power of possibility.