Is This Physical Acceptance With Another Man?
It felt good to be close to another man. And yet, was it right (healthy, faithful, acceptable) to like this? Is this what acceptance in a physical sense felt like?
Read More
Fighting Masculine Insecurities on Spring Break
Just imagining myself joining this group on this trip brought up several anxieties: the fear of sharing, sleeping, and showering among so many other guys. I also had masculine insecurities about cleaning up after Hurricane Katrina along with the ability to share my faith. But God is bigger than my anxieties. And as I’d eventually learn, jumping into the unknown with God tends to be the best option.
Read More
State of the YOB! September 2018
It’s our premiere episode of “State of the YOB,” a recap of last month’s blogs, podcasts, and video as I also bid a fond farewell to a dear, zero-legged friend.
Read More
Coming Out at College
College held the hope for a fresh start. Home meant the weight of my double-life: the pain of lying about porn and “everything is okay” all the time; the great friendships that never felt deep or authentic enough for my broken self.
Read More
My Jesus Journey Leads Me Here
Call it a “new direction” or a clearer translation of what YOB has been from the start: a community desperate for Jesus. My 31-year Jesus journey leads me here. Wherever “here” is. Broken on the floor. Echoes of the past ringing in my ears. Doubts for the future always shadowing my vision no matter how many tears I blink away.
Read More
When the Masculine Ideal Failed Me
His profile definitely made him seem like the modern, ideal, “manly man.” He was a jock type with many photos of himself playing baseball. He also stated drawing as one of his hobbies, just like me. A straight masculine dude who plays sports, likes drawing, and calls himself a Christian? Perfect!
Read More
Where I Fill My Deepest Hunger
Most of my life, I’ve thought of faith mainly as a decision based on knowing some facts about God. Instead, faith is about coming to Jesus in such a way that the deepest hungers and thirsts of our souls are satisfied in him.
Read More
Coming Out to My Family Like a Hit-and-Run
I would be coming out to my family over dinner. I told them that I wasn’t planning on changing the course of my faith. I explained that I was telling them because I planned to tell even more people. I told them that if I wanted to talk about it again I’d be the one to bring it up, and I stood up and left.
Read More
My Straight Friend Won’t Touch Me
He was never physically affectionate; we’d never even hugged. I wanted to touch him not out of a sexual desire but from a longing to connect with him as love with a brother. I dreamed of a day when we could embrace and confess our brotherly love for each other. I put my hand on his shoulder once. He brushed it off.
Read More
YOBcast Episode 033: Marriage, Another Story
Sometimes a marriage falls apart. We tell another story of “mixed-orientation” marriage as Elliott’s friend, John, talks about his unique upbringing in Japan, his time as an openly gay man at a Christian college, his sexual encounters with men and women, and ultimately a marriage that led to children and heartbreak.
Read More
Recent Comments