Have you ever been made the “prayer request” of a community because your story didn’t match the triumphal testimony narrative? Justin grew up in the Southern Baptist Church as a conservative labeled by his high school peers as “God boy.” He was handing out tracts, evangelizing, and really good at obeying purity culture rules when it came to women. Then he realized that he was gay. He went on a long journey of wrestling with faith and identity, and we talk about his story today. For over 25 years, Justin Lee has been a leading voice in navigating contentious issues with depth and empathy. As the author of "Talking Across the Divide: How to Communicate with People You Disagree With—and Maybe Even Change the World," his work has been adopted as a college textbook, guiding students through areas of disagreement. Beginning his journey in the 90s as a spokesperson for Bridges Across the Divide, Justin later founded a nonprofit dedicated to fostering dialogue within Christian communities on LGBTQ issues, gaining international recognition for his efforts. His bestselling book, "Torn: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-vs.-Christians Debate," has solidified his reputation as a bridge-builder between progressives and conservatives. Justin's influence extends beyond his writing, as a co-host of three podcasts and a sought-after speaker featured in global media outlets. Now, he focuses on empowering individuals to apply strategic dialogue principles to diverse causes, maintaining a vibrant online presence through his YouTube channel and website at GeekyJustin.com. You can preorder Justin’s book here: https://geekyjustin.com/books/torn-v2/ You can connect to Justin’s YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/geekyjustin Time Stamps for the episode: 02:48 Boardgame Geekdom 08:04 Board games are like cosplay 11:54 Growing up Baptist 17:13 Coming out into a culture war 23:49 Slow realization, “I am gay.” 30:10 Making peace with new identity 35:03 Accepting that I can’t become straight 41:34 the danger of failed testimony to group narrative 48:43 Wrestling with the clobber passages 55:26 Asking the gay community to help with our theology 1:00:43 weaponizing truth claims 1:05:46 teaching the beginners 1:09:17 dialogue with those ideologically opposed to you All Music for this episode is provided by Axeltree Find us on the web: https://liminalliving.simplecast.com/ Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/liminalliving Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCseqDsKpQv2r7AbFfrWF0ow Follow us on Patheos: patheos.com/editorial/podcasts/liminal-living All Music for this episode composed by Axeltree