I Tried to Be Straight

Retired NFL Offensive Tackle Ryan O'Callaghan, lived in a community where coming out of the closet wasn't an option. After realizing he was gay, he joined sports at a young age to hide his sexuality. Getting to retirement he finally reached a breaking point and made the decision to come out. Support us and Join our Monthly Zoom on Patreon: patreon.com/c/ITriedtoBeStraight Chat with us and others o...

Author, Pastor, and Speaker Brandan Robertson shares why being gay and Christian makes perfect sense. We also chat about how queer people have helped change the church for the better, and the progress we've seen in the church over the last several years. Support us and join our monthly Zoom at www.patreon.com/ITriedtoBeStraight Chat with us and other for free at www.discord.gg/7jwmTemc5y Brandan's...

Sexologist Meg Cowan shares how purity culture affected her growing up in the church, how she found healing and how she started helping others find healing as well. She shares how purity culture can affect closeted gays and how to live a healthy sex life after coming out of the closet after shutting it down for so long. Support us and join our monthly Zoom at www.patreon.com/ITriedtoBeStraight Cha...

Shortly after getting saved as a gay youth, John Smid buried his sexuality and joined the leadership team in a conversion therapy program at Love in Action. After years leading the program, he finally comes to terms with the fact that no one was finding any success changing their sexuality, and starts asking big questions about what they're doing in the program. Support us on Patreon: patreon....

We're back! Season 2 is here and we're so happy to be back with you all. Take a look at what we've got in store for Season 2 in the teaser, and episode 1 will be here next week!

It's just Susie and Nate for the Season 1 finale! We dig into how our faith has evolved through the podcast and dig into what we believe healthy dating looks like. Also is it ok for your identity to be rooted in your sexuality? Chat with us and others on Discord!https://discord.gg/7jwmTemc5y

Melody Rachel shares how she grew in her relationship with Jesus when she accepted her sexuality. Gay Christian podcasters interviewing another gay Christian podcaster. This is a fun one! Chat with us and others: https://discord.gg/7jwmTemc5y

Pastor's daughter, Brittany was set to live the perfect Christian life, hoping to follow in her father's footsteps as a preacher. Life took a different turn when she realized she was a lesbian. She started a journey of prayer and fasting, doing whatever she could to try and stop being gay. Chat with us and others for free on Discord - https://discord.gg/7jwmTemc5y

Rénald Kent was leading worship at several churches before he realized he could no longer suppress being gay. After coming out on his podcast, he loses every upcoming worship gig in one night. He shares why even after losing everything his relationship with God is stronger than ever. Find him on the Not Safe For Church Podcast or at IG @renoldkent

Jennifer Knapp dominated the Christian music charts winning several Dove awards and more. In the midst of it all, she finally came to terms with her sexuality and realized she was going to have to risk it all to be honest with herself. She shares how she kept her faith, and has a stronger walk with God than ever. Learn more about Jennifer at jenniferknapp.com And join our community on our free cha...

Susie's friend Mason joins us to share his coming out story. Growing up in the church, he tried to be straight for several years, until finally he realized he wasn't being honest with himself. Determined to discover his sexuality, Mason set out into the dating scene to see if he was really gay and what do to with his faith. Chat with us and others in the I Tried to Be Straight Community -...

JJ Gerber grew up in the church and built a career in the as a Christian musician and actor. Eventually realizing he couldn't stay in the closet anymore he came out and realized his opportunities in the church would slowly disappear.

Dr. Laura, PhD. religious trauma expert and author of When Religion Hurts You shares her experience with religious trauma growing up in the evangelical church, and how it effects the LGBTQ community. She then offers some practical advice on how to start healing from church trauma. Check out her book at drlauraeanderson.com/book

Brit Barron was pastoring at a mega church when she fell in love with a girl. After wrestling with what to do, she overcame her fears of coming out and decided to give it all up for what she believed in. Check out her first book, Worth It at the link below, and keep an eye out for her 2nd book coming soon! https://a.co/d/4NmOtLB

Speaker and author, Jonathan Merritt, joins us on the podcast to share his story of getting outed in the church as a pastor's kid. He shares how he found himself, pushed through and became the successful writer he is today. He shares his brand new children's book. My Guncle and Me, a beautifully illustrated story of acceptance and love. You can find the book at: https://amzn.to/3V1yvbX

Cade grew up in the Catholic church and decided to commit to the priesthood when he realized he was gay. After getting rejected from the Priesthood, he started to realize there was no place for him within the Catholic church.

Susie's sister Brenda joins us for a special dialogue about growing up with Susie and how she knew Susie was bi all along. Then we dig into a particularly rough comment battle Nate dealt with on Instagram last week and discuss what to do in those situations.

Timm suppressed his sexuality for years, got married and started a family. He finally came to terms with being gay at 45 years old and shares his story of navigating that with his family.

Speaker and ex evangelical pastor Brian Recker shares why he couldn't keep rejecting gay people in his church, and how he lost everything when he started accepting them.

Michelle comes on to the podcast to share her coming out story for the first time online! She grew up in Texas in a conservative home, and then moved to Redding to go to Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry alongside Nate. Eventually working at Bethel Worship department, and finally realizing she was gay at 30 years old!

Reverend Dave from Scotland shares how he changed his position on the gay community after years of Biblical study and getting to know gay believers.

When Christian singer and speaker Staci Frenes learned her child was gay, she found her faith and dreams for the future collapsing around her. We discuss how she came to terms with her child's sexuality and learned to accept them for who they were. Learn more about her book and her story at stacifrenes.com

Matt another pastor's kid, and a friend of Nate's from men's purity group, shares his coming out story, and some words of wisdom on the pod.

Pastor Erin and worship leader Chelsea, from Live On Purpose church share their journey of falling in love while in the evangelical church, losing everything, and then leaving and starting a family and a progressive church of their own.

Susie and Nate dig into more of their coming out stories and then switch into a discussion on what it means to be Christian and gay and the attacks and doubts they've had to wrestle through.