Christians and the LGBTQ Conversation: A Powerful Story of Redemption. 

Love her honesty and heart. I know exactly the point she is saying when she says she still has same sex attraction but must be faithful to God. I was born as a male and have dealt with gender identity issues for much of my life. Even at almost 60 years old I have thoughts regarding that. But Praise be to God He helped me realized that is a result of the fallen nature and not how He created me. He created me to be a male and the man He desires me to be. I rely on His grace to deal with that thorn in my flesh when it arises. It is He that deals with it in my heart, mind, and soul, as He transforms me daily into the image of His Beloved Son, my Savior and Lord, Jesus the Christ. As long as I turn over those untrustworthy feelings when they come up and focus my heart, mind, and soul on God’s will for my life, He deals with them. I don’t have too. As time goes on, it is less and less and now, MUCH LESS of an issue. Now, I love being married to a beautiful and wonderful woman for 13 years and living life as the male I was born as and as God created me to be. He has taught me to love being a man and a husband. The result of all of this is that I can have a heart and compassion for those that deal with gender identity issues and especially Christians that are dealing with it while also struggling with their faith in relation to it. I am proof of and hope of that God’s Grace is sufficient....IF WE ALLOW IT TO BE AND RELY ON IT. Thank You God and Praise be Your Name for evermore.

15:05. I was really moved by this part. “If I am only willing to obey when I both understand and agree, how am I not making myself god?”

“Marriage can be a beautiful gift, but it’s a horrible savior” For someone who has been married and expected my spouse to help glue the pieces back together when things went south and instead stomped on everything and walked away… this is a deep meaningful quote for me. Expecting perfection is only something you can expect from God.

"My desires don't care about me. They won't be there when I'm old and dying."

I am an ex homosexual, former alcoholic, ex drug addict, was addicted to porn, anything immoral, anything addictive. I had no self worth, living self destructive. Now even through there are trials, there is a peace where before I only had shame and guilt. My sins were many but Christ has forgiven them all. Everyday I still struggle with the old thoughts and desires but God is bigger than all that and I rely on Him everyday for strength.

I am a recovering addict, and the way she describes same-sex attraction reminds me of how I stay sober. For some reason, I always had predisposition to addictive behavior. I still think about using sometimes, but I know God wants me to be sober and so I rely on Him and His Word to be faithful.

“Do you trust the one who is asking?” that’s so powerful for any dilemma.

I love her tone and her heart for God. I will share this video on all my platforms. So glad she is using her gifts for serving God. Wow! So awesome!🙌🏾♥️

Wow!! I’m not personally part of the LGBTQ community but this was an amazing interview. I’ve learned so much and could listen to Rachel all day. She has opened my eyes about so many things. This interview will forever impact and improve my walk with Christ. Thank you.

The power of God set me free from homosexuality. I was engaged when the lord convicted me. My life is so full. Thank you Jesus.

My husband and I have an extremely similar story but reversed. We felt God called us to marry, it felt almost totally logical. We joke that we fell in love after we got married. We of course loved each other deeply as friends, but God transformed our relationship to something we actively thought was not possible.

Such an interesting perspective. I’m a heterosexual Christian follower raised in an evangelical family. At 57 I’ve come to a point now where I’m happily single (never married) and never want to be in a relationship again, or get married. So many Christian marriages I know are struggling and definitely not something I’d want. It’s taken many scars to get to this point but how thankful I am that the Lord has taken my distorted view that I’m only worth something if I’m attractive to the opposite sex and get married. What it does mean, however, is that I’m going to have to work for the rest of my life to support myself (which can be scary at times), but God has proven over and over again these last few years that He is sufficient and is my Provider and the best ‘employer’. Every day I’m thankful when I wake up and go to sleep that I never married the last chap I dated for 5 years and that my life is peaceful and relatively uncomplicated, but it’s been a long, hard fight with the Lord to get here. But it’s only because of His unconditional love for me that I’ve made it.

Her voice is so calm and beautiful.

I really needed to hear this today. Thank you for this kind and honest interview with Rachel. I was not familiar with her, but will definitely be purchasing her book. Sean, I appreciate your style of interviewing as well. You really let your guests speak their stories of faith and beliefs. God bless you both!!

“Everything has to start from believing in and understanding the Character of God.” Wow- This is profoundly clear and challenging all at once. For someone who has been a christian my whole life, I have never heard this so scripturally defined and contextually put. Thank you for being HONEST and vulnerable. When you said, “I’ve looked at scripture and no where does it actually say ‘Be straight.’ It says be faithful to the obedience of the word of God.” (May have misquoted that.) but that is amazing because we ALL have our own temptations that we struggle with, but its about ‘resisting the devil and he will flee.’ I think of temptations like birds flying over head- you can’t stop them from flying over head, but you can stop them from building a nest in your hair.- Jilliana

Oh my gosh-I hung on her every word. So real and humble and filled w/grace.

I see so many videos and think the thumbs up like, is not enough. This testimony is awesome. What an amazing God we serve.

Such a great conversation. Rachel is so genuine and winsome. Her thoughts drew me in and made me listen with fresh ears.

I am a living testimony to the fact that, if God wills it, a same sex attracted individual can have a perfectly wonderful, loving and fulfilling heterosexual marriage. I left the LGBTQ community nearly 14 years ago with the intention of remaining single the rest of my life. But, after a couple years being single, I was surprised to find myself attracted to a man. We eventually were married, and for the first 4 years or so, I did experience some level of same-sex attraction, though it was greatly diminished. I've never had a problem with monogamy. Approximately 6 1/2 years in, I fully accepted Jesus and was born again. Now 8 years in, I can honestly say that I no longer experience same sex attraction at all. I truly have been made new. I can't image being intimate with anyone other than my endlessly kind and ever supportive husband. It's truly a miracle.

I love this conversation! You are a great interviewer, Sean. Rachel is so funny and interesting and lovely. Thank you for this.

What a blessing to listen to this guest! Such a deep, honest, emotionally intelligent interview, facilitated by a sincere, humble interviewer. Loved every word.

Ty for the work you're doing! This interview is awesome. It's so cool (as a woman) to see an intelligent woman speak wisely, honestly, and kindly.

I love the way you position your experience and perspective. Great conversation! Appreciate your work Dr. Sean... 🌹

What a great video! I was very blessed by this in so many ways. There is a bunch of nuggets in here. Thank you both!

Wow. What an amazing conversation. So gentle but verrrry truthful and biblical.

This women, she's speaking truth. It all starts with the gospel. If we dug deep to know God through scriptures then we can see marriage and what it is supposed to be through God's eyes. Not a heterosexual's eyes. Not a homosexual's eyes. Or any other sexual identities's eyes. God's eyes.

The honesty and humility in this interview is so precious. This is a great resource/ template on how to discuss these sensitive issues. Such grace. This is inspiring. Thank you both.

Perfect example of 'trusting' without fully understanding is found in the book of Hosea

Thank you For pointing out that the CHURCH needs to strongly support SINGLES.

Best conversation I have heard on this topic. Thank you! So helpful!

Thank you so much for being open and honest, and rational and calm. This isn't preachy, nor is it a tearful appeal. Even touching on the subject of the harmful side of "conversion therapy" and how we have learned so much. This should create helpful and hopeful discussion and thought.

"Can you trust the one who's asking?" Great question. Love this interview.

Wow. This is a very different interview than I thought it would be. Excellent.

Wow, great interview. She is funny, humble, honest, and kind! Everyone should catch this interview regardless of perspective or lifestyle..."God is mostly about YES, not mostly about NO."

Rachel is such a great communicator with a very pleasant voice. It’s endearing.

This was a great interview with a lot of information! This conversation and others I've heard around current Hot topic issues have impressed upon me the importance of my understanding the gospel message and communicating that well to those around me. Thank you for your ministry

I can say, for sure, this whole approach could be ministered in all temptational lifestyles. What a wonderful woman you are Rachel! Thank you, you’ve opened my eyes to prejudices I didn’t know i had... even towards myself.

WOW. This is an excellent discussion. Thank you Rachel and Sean!

Glad to know you are my sister, Rachel!!!! I wish you were in my bible study group!

Thank you Rachel for sharing your journey. It was very interesting to hear how your perceptions/thoughts/feelings evolved. The fact that you were curious, researched and kept moving forward toward Jesus given no prior experience with the Lord in your upbringing speaks volumes. At the end before q&a you had mentioned single people in the church regardless of sexual orientation need to be thought of more made me cry 😢. I’m so incredibly lonely and in church it’s always talked about marriage and families but neglects the support for singles. I’m turning 40 in 2022 never married no children yet struggling so much from it. Praying every day and asking why so I can understand. I strongly believe humans are designed for intimate love and not meant to live in this physical world isolated and single. But if God’s will is not for me to have those things I just want peace from it and no more sadness. Thank you for making that a point. God bless you.

"We're broken compasses" I love that!

Really enjoyed this conversation and being introduced to Rachel. She’s really smart and also funny.

This is so awesome. Totally encouraging and helpful in thinking through the way we approach this topic. Thank you all.

Wow! This was a powerful interview! She is amazing how she describes her breakthrough. And Sean is such an awesome listener. Thanks to the both of you!

Very well thought out and well considered sharing. So many people need to hear this wise perspective. Especially the Church in this day.

This was an amazing Live stream 🙌🏾 👏🏾

Wonderful conversation. Thanks to both of you.

So good! I wanted to say, all, married people experience attraction to others. But we don't act on it. Well, those of us that want to be faithful to God and our marriage partner. Attraction still happens.

I have not heard such solid truth based on God's Love and His Word for such along time.Thank you

Wow what a great interview and conversation, the best I’ve ever heard on the subject 👌

Thankyou SO much. I really needed to hear this. Bless you both in your ministries.

Absolutely incredible, enlightening conversation. Thank you for sharing your story and Biblical perspective.

Grew up in wonderful Christian home, great Christian college, lead a fabulous Bible Study (inductively) and was SO crazy blessed by Rachel’s testimony- she shared several profound truths about the garden, sharing with nonChristians, etc, that were fresh! Thank you so much, Rachel and Sean... what a valuable angle, voice!

📍Thank you Rachel for your honesty, what an eye opener.

Need this conversation so badly. Thank uoi

Oh man. So encouraging. My sister is living as a lesbian currently with her partner. She claims the name of Christ but has accepted the teaching that scripture doesn’t condemn her immoral lifestyle. I desperately want to keep the lines of communication open and foster a loving relationship but it is so hard because my heart is breaking for her and her verbiage is so antagonistic to how I believe and that my family and I are in full-time ministry in a local church. This interview was so encouraging!

Amen that it isn't just about sex! I'm dealing with a situation because of an accident where intimacy is off of the table right now and still our marriage is wonderful and Faithful! Love your work Dr. Sean.

I want to know how to talk to/reach people of all backgrounds; and this was soooooo helpful to me! Woooow! Thank you so much for this conversation!❤️❤️❤️

I am so moved by Rachel’s thought and process! “If I only obey when I both understand and agree…….” This is SO SO related to the knowledge of good and evil! Thank you Rachel for presenting this in just the very way God has been teaching me.

Love listening to her speak, she has such a soothing and authentic voice

As a person who started a fire on a Christian forum asking about this because our Church went the full affirmation route, thank you for sharing your story. I've said similar things that Rachel was saying and was called names because I'm straight and married! Thanks for this!

Miss Gilson is a great example of the concept that "God will make a way." My father-in-law who is Jewish came to Christ when he read the New Testament on his own. Yes, Eve was tricked or beguiled. This is a wonderful interview. Jude 21-23 addresses this concept that not everyone comes to Christ in the same manner. Thank you for posting this video Dr. McDowell.

Wow! All I can say. Fantastic conversation Sean! Thanks

Thank you for this interview! It was so very helpful especially to those involved in ministry that deals with trauma. The response many times to cope from a difficult past is to delve into what is "desirable" be it alcohol/drugs, gambling , over eating, under eating and/or sexual behavior, and many more.

This is a fantastic word from God and I believe it's incredibly important to have a singles ministry. I try hard to remember my single friends. I was there and remember kind of being lost in the shuffle. We have to share the love of God.

Praise God that HE relentlessly pursues us. And God bless you Rachel for sharing your story with such truth. And humor, we’re all in this fight together God bless us all as we hopefully become a part of bringing America back to God!! 🙏🏼✨🔥🇺🇸

Rachael, you are one of the best intersections of scholarship, common sense, experiential knowledge and practical empathy I've seen in a long time.

Such a great interview, I appreciate Rachel’s openness and honesty, and Sean’s questions which teach me to have an open heart

Amazing and enlightening chat. I walked away with the thought of how blessed I was to have been taught a strong, firm foundation about who God is and what he wants for me as one of his children. Yes I have stumbled, still do. I’ve lived in the world and my thoughts still go back when the devil plants little seeds of inadequacy, Im far more aware of how he uses our faults to make us stumble even further and think there is no return. Well there is and it’s Jesus. He is watching and waiting clothes in grace...how blessed I am never to have felt the aloneness of being gay. I love the listen and protect message at the end.

She is real Interesting to listen to. Humble, intellectual mind and doesn’t talk to fast or loud or aggressively. She listens well too! What a great conversation!👍😊

Beautifully put👌This answers so many questions in such an effective way.

Excellent,mind broadening,compassionate teaching.Thank you God,Rachel and Sean.

Excellent interview, very well said . Love it

Rachel has a voice made for narration

Thank you so much for that interview... It changed my life.

So much revelation and new perspectives. Praise God for your ministry!

Outstanding testimony. Thank you 🙏🏽

What an amazing understanding and explanation of scripture and who God is!

Fantastic!! Praise God for Rachel. Need to translate this right now!!!

To see how God works on us (all of us) is a beautiful transformation. We love you, Sister, and God bless!

Great interview. Thank you!

This lady is so intelligent and so full of insight! She blew my mind!! God's wisdom clearly shows in her.

Thank you, thank you. Amazing in depth scriptural truth. I am so incredibly inspired to read more and engage in meaningful conversation.

Rachel, good point about that quitting point in our lives with God. "Will you still trust Me even if...?" I've been at that point a few times, and it takes courage to step into the unknown. It's the 'leaning of the entire weight of the human personality on God'. It's the definition of faith. Being single, being at the end of another failed relationship, seeing our dreams of marriage and children in the dirt at our feet, these are quitting points in life for me. I've only ever been straight. I appreciate your perspective and thoughts about these private issues.

Ultimately this comes down to are we living for ourselves or denying ourselves and carrying our cross. I'm a heterosexual Christian man married to a wonderful Christian woman. The mistake I sometimes make is pursuing aspects of our relationship in the way I should be pursuing God. I might put my feelings first rather than recognise what my marriage is truly for. I have little doubt God put us together for a reason and I have come to realise that God orchestrated our marriage to reflect and honour him, not purely for our sakes. Working towards a successful marriage is an act of worship. The world tells us we shouldn't live a lie. But the truth of how we feel and what we want never outweighs the truth that what God wants and asks of us is more important and even better for us as well. We need to stop being selfish. We don't deserve the worship we give ourselves. In truth we get more than we deserve from God when we submit to him anyway.

God bless you, good ideas and knowledge you gave me. 💗

Her explanation of her journey of struggling with trusting God when He prohibits things - regardless of whether we can see any evil in them - is SO beautiful and logical.

I watched this probably a year ago and I wanted to swing back around to say this interview has utterly changed my life since then. I'm here in Colorado Springs and pastor The Jesus Church, and we recently had a mass shooting at Club Q, a LGBTQ+ bar, and because of this interview and others after it I've watched on your channel, we are going to Club Q as a church to LOVE and meet people with the care and compassion of Jesus

Please translate this interview and the book to Spanish. There are so many people that can be bless by this.

What a great compassionate conversation.

Such a beautiful testimony and ministry with experienced advice. So much love from both of them.

Man I love this gals heart and maturity. I can't wait to listen to her book. Just downloaded it.

Great interview!

This was seriously so good!! Great interview!

What a God honoring discussion! God bless you both! Thank you!!.

This is so good! Thank you, Rachel and Sean! I learned so much.

Thank you so much for this video Thank you Rachel for your testimony who will help so many that are experiencing this... Psalm 118:24 I have many discussion with few that are LGBTQ and especially now... God Bless you us and let us pray for those to see the truth Amen

Chuckle, love this gal! "We all live downstream of that bad decision." (!)

This was really great. Thank you!

I have been so blessed, thank you so much beautiful sister in Christ!! 🙏🏼✨♥️