courage Archives • Your Other Brothers

12 May 202212 May 2022

The First Guy I Fell In Love With, and the Path Forward with Touch

He's the guy who has clarified my boundaries with cuddling and physical touch more than any other. The guy from whom I've sought comfort in touch more than any other. The guy who has made me feel seen and warm and laugh and cry like no other. He's the first (and to this point, only) guy I've fallen in love

by Thomas Mark Zuniga

12 Comment(s)

19 January 202220 January 2022

Repurposing My Angst with the Church

While I have had many wonderful, supportive Christians in my life, I find many more who just do not want to meet me where I am with my sexuality. This is not a childish lament about how life is not fair or how people in the Church have the audacity to disagree with some of my thoughts or opinions. No, this is an honest observation that the Church has done and continues to do a poor job of helping gay or same-sex attracted Christians continue to walk in their faith with Christ. Instead of being a great cloud of witnesses encouraging me onward, some act as a voice of the enemy telling me I have no place at God's

by Aaron

3 Comment(s)

5 January 20225 January 2022

You Need to Do Better

Living this life means recognizing that there are some hard elements to this journey – some of which may always be hard. If I can't make these things any less hard, then I need to have tools to stand up and continue forward, learning, growing, and changing, rather than get beaten down, stagnate, and cease to grow. I need methods to find peace and joy, even in pain. In my last post I said that my answer to thriving begins in Jesus, and I would add that it continues with Jesus as I work through the areas of my life that need attention, healing, growth, and change. In short, I needed to do

by Ben Rutkowski

8 Comment(s)

11 December 202111 December 2021

YOB ConvoCast 038: Tom & Kevin Live a Life Worth Living!

Kevin returns to talk about some of his latest reads! Including one of Tom’s favorite books, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller, which inspires you to live a life worth reading about. Tom and Kevin also talk about the magic of camp once again, early morning prayer gatherings at this year’s YOBBERS retreat, and a shared love for hoodies – sleeveless or

by YOB

2 Comment(s)

8 December 20214 April 2022

Imprisoned for Being Gay

Sometimes you just have to be honest with yourself about who you are. After another year and a half in Germany, I woke up one morning, walked down to my first sergeant's office, and told him I was gay – that I didn't want to be in the Army anymore. My colonel had to sign off on that paperwork; he refused. And I was arrested. The Army rushed the investigation, and I was

by Michael Jeremiah Black

21 Comment(s)

24 November 202124 November 2021

You Are Accepted Just as You Are

We get asked the why question so much because this life is hard. Being a Christian is hard; being LGBTQ+ is hard. Being both can be exhausting. And it may continue to be exhausting if we don't do the work to understand why it's hard and figure out how to keep

by Ben Rutkowski

17 Comment(s)

27 October 202127 October 2021

Disabled and Gay: Where Do I Go?

It seems one can find almost anything on the Internet nowadays, with the exception of a serious discussion about sexuality and disabilities; let me assure you, I have looked. It has been increasingly important to me (and certainly others in my plight) to find such information. I was born with cerebral palsy, along with the ability to ask questions apparently nobody is supposed to ask. Like most kids who grow up gay, I felt different on the inside; in my particular case, I was different on the outside

by Guest Author

8 Comment(s)

23 October 202123 October 2021

YOB ConvoCast 035: Tom & Fred on Coming Out and Coming In!

Tom welcomes his pastor to the show! Fred shares some tales from a recent road trip with his mom and unpacks his call to ministry, including how he never expected to be a lead pastor. He also describes his "coming in" story: his first interactions with gay people going all the way back to high school and college, and also his learning about "Side B" gay/SSA people in the church. What advice would Fred give to anyone listening who has never come out to a pastor

by YOB