Several years ago Kait started wrestling with the complex and nuanced topics of gender, faith, and sexuality.

In this process, she noticed that so many of her influences came from being told corporately what to believe, versus having true, meaningful relationships with people actually wrestling with these topic.

So she decided to change that. She started having more conversations with her gay and trans* friends. She purposefully had numerous in depth-conversations with Christians who ranged all across the board theologically when it came to this topic.

Within this journey there have been a lot of both practical and theological questions she has had to research and wrestle with. But what she couldn’t get past in all her years of wrestling were the STORIES she heard behind every single LGBTQ+ individual she came in contact with.

Stories of pain… of being abandoned… of feeling suicidal…of being so painfully confused…of being kicked out of their church… of being shunned and unaccepted by their own friends and families…of not feeling heard…of feeling like they were all alone in their journeys.

Today, as a podcast focused on love and relationships, the Heart of Dating embarks on a journey to share some of these beautiful stories. Our ultimate goal is to create a safe and compassionate environment for all LGBTQ+ people as well as anyone currently wrestling with their sexuality or gender identity….many of whom may feel marginalized and ostracized by religion today.

We also hope this series will expand your mindset, ignite a fiery compassion on your hearts, and will challenge you to come alongside those in your life who identify as LGBTQ+ with more love and grace.

If you are thinking you will walk away from this series with all your questions answered and feel PERFECTLY equipped, well my friends, that just is not realistic. This series is meant to be a conversation STARTER. We pray it motivates you to continue on the journey and feel more equipped to have healthy, nuanced, compassionate dialogues on the topics of faith, sexuality and gender.

We need to feel the weight and the real lives of a diverse mix of REAL people from the stories of the guests being featured on this series. WHY? Because these stories are the reality for so many. Oftentimes our LBGTQ+ brothers and sisters do not feel the weight of our compassion, our hearts to understand, our hearts to come alongside of them… they only hear our hearts to change them, shun them, or disagree with them.

We have found that it is especially paramount that we lead with compassion above all and HEAR every word that the guests have to share about their stories and experience as Christian men and women.

It can become easy- especially if you’re straight and have not struggled with same-sex attraction or gender dysphoria- to talk about ALL of this as an issue or an argument to win. But as our dear friend Preston Sprinkle says, even if you land theologically with a traditionally christian view of marriage, might we implore you to consider that your truth will never be heard until your grace and compassion are felt.

Today we invite you to lean in and listen.  Seek to understand that which you have not understood before you make judgments or seek to change.

We are embarking into the grey together with LOVE, GRACE, COMPASSION, and an open heart to see others the way God sees them.

Welcome to Season 7 of the Heart of Dating Podcast.