I received my first 3 recommendations from a PDX meetup group of gay Christians. I actually found the group two weeks before I planned to leave Portland, OR (March 7, 2018) and so it was a bitter-sweet time to encounter other like-minded homosexuals, half of whom had been in long-term partnerships and half of whom were alone, single, and in many cases, experiencing rejection or distance from their families. I was fresh off Miracle Sunday, and passionately shared parts of My Story with them. In some ways, they were one of my initial test audiences for my autobiography.
My final week in Dunedin had mediocre weather. I had seen most of the sites the city had to offer, and I was feeling lonely, so I threw myself into these recommendations. September 23-29 had me voraciously devouring all 3 recommendations from this group.
Recommendation #1 from the PDX Gay Christian Meetup Group
Blue Babies Pink by Brett Trapp (B.T.) Harman
This one is a freebie! You don’t have to buy it, or find it at the library. You can experience the blog on a very professional website and/or you can experience the podcast on a number of different hosting platforms. Just click on the logo to head to B.T.’s blog to find out all the details.
This was also recommended by numerous individuals in the PDX meetup group, and so that is why it occupies the #1 spot. In the span of three days (Sep 27-29), I listened to the 9 hours of audio, visited the blog several times to view the other content, and even followed B.T. on Instagram and started a limited conversation with him (he’s a busy guy after all). I’m impressed he even responded to a random follower like me, although I feel like I’m more than just a random follower…because I have my own coming out story that I’ve written and self-published.
What I liked about BBP is that it came out of Brett’s desire to share his own story, which he heavily documented. He doesn’t try to convert you or thump you over the head with the Bible. He has any easy way of talking about his life as a Christian man who struggled for years with homosexual attraction. BBP also covers a range of topics and isn’t just limited to homosexuality. B.T. brings up mental health issues, death, pride, loneliness, single-hood, and he eloquently shows his own journey toward understanding and dealing with his homosexual attraction.
The most impactful episodes to me were:
Episode 34 • Warm Hands on Cold Shoulders
But the biggest impression that I was left with as I listened to episode 44 was that BBP was not My Story. I contend that I have walked a darker path, because I walked away from the religion of my youth, while Brett stubbornly held on. I look at his story with admiration, but I also know that it isn’t the story of so many LGBT kids who grew up in the church. They also walked much darker paths, many of them never returning due to the Christian church’s treatment of these precious children. Children who were only trying to express the way that God made them, who only want to find attachment, acceptance, and love.
I’m very glad this occupies the #1 spot on my recommendation list, because I do think everyone can listen to, experience, and learn from a heartfelt story of how one man has aligned his sexuality and his spirituality. Plus, if you like it, there might be another, slightly darker story to listen to soon…