vulnerability

I Crushed on Him Before I Knew I Was Gay
I Crushed on Him Before I Knew I Was Gay
I met a friend named Rick at my first meeting of the Christian Student Ministry. We talked briefly at the meeting, and then more the next morning over breakfast. From those earliest moments with Rick, I felt all the feelings of a crush – though I didn't realize it at the time. While I obviously felt a physical attraction to this guy, I also felt an emotional, mental, and spiritual attraction that even now is difficult to explain.
The Masculine Uncertainty of Being Uncircumcised
The Masculine Uncertainty of Being Uncircumcised
How does this "normal boy" turned "normal man" feel about his naked body? His penis? I'm still unsure of many of the answers to these questions. From the inside out, I've struggled to feel normal (comfortable) in my own skin. This masculine body. Starting with that particular appendage.
A Prodigal Welcomed Home at this YOBBERS Retreat
A Prodigal Welcomed Home at this YOBBERS Retreat
I joined Your Other Brothers back in 2017. I experienced the first and second camp retreats in good ole North Carolina, but then I took a break from YOB the next two years. Why? Because I was tired of it.
Will I Experience Renewal at this YOBBERS Retreat?
Will I Experience Renewal at this YOBBERS Retreat?
I entered my first YOBBERS retreat hoping for renewal out of this weekend. But would I really get that renewal? Would I see a refresh of strength – mentally, physically, spiritually?
Inviting Jesus into the Messiness After the YOBBERS Retreat
Inviting Jesus into the Messiness After the YOBBERS Retreat
Going into this retreat, your boy was stressed. Stressed just from day-to-day existing. Looking back and evaluating my spiritual condition at the time, I could not slow down long enough to have one simple conversation with God. Long enough for my brain and my heart to catch up to each other.
A Straight Guy Goes on the YOBBERS Retreat
A Straight Guy Goes on the YOBBERS Retreat
I'd be spending the weekend with an entire group of gay/SSA/bi/queer men. Something I’d never done before. But, you know, YOLO. I'd told one of my friends from church, "It will probably be a lot like a typical Christian men's retreat." "Except with more hugging," he replied. But, really, why was I going?
Five Retreats Later and I'm All Stirred Up
Five Retreats Later and I’m Still Figuring This Out
Despite all the incredible people in our online community, I've recognized my need for more men in my city on whom I can depend. This has been a sobering searching process because YOB has become such a pillar of my identity. If I'm no longer close or as intentional with a large lot of our YOB community, who even am I?
YOB ConvoCast 070: Matthew Finally Comes Out as a Plain Old Gay
YOB ConvoCast 070: Matthew Finally Comes Out as a Plain Old Gay
Matthew's been active in the YOB community for years, but why did it take so long for him to share his story publicly? He opens up about his long road of coming out to himself before he could ever come out to other people, referencing his Enneagram Three shame with authenticity and difficult emotions. He talks about taking metaphorical trips to the desert to lament his dreams of marriage, family, ministry, purpose, and influence, and he also beams about his sexuality's blessings, including a moment leading worship at his first YOBBERS retreat in 2021.
As Spring Melts the Shame of My Sexuality
When I finally acknowledged my sexuality as something God could use for His glory and my good, it became something that endeared me to others rather than only alienate me from them. Sexuality was no longer just a source of shame; it became a catalyst for connection.
The First Step in My Healing with Sexuality
The First Step in My Healing with Sexuality
I was just about to graduate and launch out into the world, and I couldn't hide from the truth any longer. I'm homosexual. That was the only language I had for it at the time. There was no way I could have used the word gay, because I sure wasn't happy; quite the opposite, in fact. I was devastated.
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