When you hear good news, you want to share that news with others. Allow me, then, to share some good news with you.
We received an email this week from a young man who, until recently, believed he could practice homosexuality and follow Jesus. He has now experienced a dramatic, life-changing conversion, and he shares his story here.
I believe you’ll be encouraged as you read it, especially if you or someone close to you struggles with same-sex attraction. At the request of the writer, we are not sharing his identity.
Dr. Brown,
I really hope you see this letter personally. I wanted to share my testimony on how your ministry was used by God to bless me and bring to Himself.
In 2014, we had a short interaction on Twitter about the issue of homosexuality, which I shared on Facebook to mock you–go figure! Your ministry graciously sent me your book, Can You Be Gay and Christian? I read it prayerfully and carefully, but I came away from it (after also reading God and the Gay Christian by Matthew Vines) believing that my homosexuality was blessed by God. I believed that Vines and others had done a good job of responding to (or refuting) theologians such as yourself.
So, as much as I appreciated the book, I went on with my life and continued in the LGBTQ lifestyle. At the same time, I attended a Christian university while hiding my sexuality from them. I graduated in 2015 with a B.S. in Church Ministries.
Dr. Brown, you know as well as I do that college graduations are supposed to be celebrations of our hard work and academic accomplishments. However, it was one of the worst days of my life.
In 2014-2015, I started to have a lot of doubts and became deeply depressed. My relationship with my boyfriend at the time started to fall apart. From 2014-2016, I was unemployed because I was so paralyzed by fear. It’s ironic…my degree is in Church Ministries, but as I walked across the platform at my graduation I wasn’t actively attending a church. Most people run to church when they’re depressed and dealing with bad circumstances. I did the opposite. I stopped attending my local church.
I realized that I wasn’t saved. I thought going to church, reading my Bible, attending a Christian university, and loving my neighbor (as best I could) meant I was saved. But I didn’t have a relationship with Christ and I didn’t see the Spirit’s work in my life… read more