​​"Life Together: Building a Community Through Friendship" at Asbury Theological Seminary

I recently preached the chapel message on back-to-back days at Asbury Theological Seminary. Check out this recording and transcript from the second day exploring the power of spiritual friendship to create belonging and enrich both single and married lives.

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“Discerning Love in a Lonely World” at Asbury Theological Seminary

I recently preached the chapel message on back-to-back days at Asbury Theological Seminary. Check out this recording and transcript from the first day discovering how biblical discernment frees us to embrace love—whether in marriage or singleness—with gratitude and joy.

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LGBT Topics, Article Pieter Valk LGBT Topics, Article Pieter Valk

From Pray-the-Gay-Away to Pansexual Pragmatism

Over the past decade the number of people who identify as LGBT+ has doubled, particularly among those who identify as pansexual and are opening to choosing a life partner based on something other than greatest physical attraction. Yet over the same time span, the son of conversion therapy creator Joseph Nicolosi Sr. has created and popularized a new conversion therapy call "reintegrative therapy" for gay people trying to get straight married. What do we do with these seemingly parallel but also contradictory trends?

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Reflection, LGBT Topics Pieter Valk Reflection, LGBT Topics Pieter Valk

A brief explainer of my views on biblical gender ethics

Christian leaders need to first prioritize relationship with trans people, build trust, address any mental health challenges unrelated to gender incongruence, and patiently wait for the Holy Spirit to move. But eventually, conversation may get to theological questions. Even more often, cisgender straight Christians press me to answer the question, “Is transition permissible for Christians navigating gender incongruence?” How do I answer that question and others?

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Reflection, LGBT Topics Pieter Valk Reflection, LGBT Topics Pieter Valk

Beware of the New Ex-Gay

The ex-gay movement seemingly died in the 2010s. Exodus International (the umbrella organization of sexual orientation change effort "SOCE" ministries) closed in 2013, admitting that "99.9% of [participants] have not experienced a change in their orientation." By the end of the 2010s, it seemed that evangelical Christians had widely accepted that people don't choose who they're attracted to, SOCEs were harmfully ineffective, and a different solution was needed. But over the past few years, the ex-gay movement appears to be making a comeback.

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I don’t have the secrets to lifetime celibacy

Last month I went on a walk-and-talk with a guy who'd been following me on Instagram for a while. He messaged me and said he'd almost given up hope, but he thought he'd give it a chance and reach out to me. As we crisscrossed the neighborhood, he said he started following me because I posted honestly about my "struggles with sexual purity," as he called it. He was secretly battling addiction and found it refreshing to hear someone speak openly about sexual addiction, gay desire, rooting out sin, and chasing after Jesus...

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Sexual Stewardship for All, Article Pieter Valk Sexual Stewardship for All, Article Pieter Valk

“Chasing After Earnest Confession” in Anglican Compass

Ever woken up with a moral hangover? Here's how I chased after earnest confession while on a cold morning run. In my latest article in Anglican Compass, I recount a time years ago when I recited the common confession after a moral failure and wrestled with whether I meant the memorized words: "I woke up with a moral hangover..."

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Reflection, LGBT Topics Pieter Valk Reflection, LGBT Topics Pieter Valk

Is internalized homophobia holding you back?

People on the left who disagree with gay Christians like me (who hold a historic sexual ethic) often accuse us of internalized homophobia. While they intend to discredit our beliefs with this accusation—suggesting we're only committed to God's wisdom because of deep-seated shame, they're right (in part). I've definitely been haunted by internalized homophobia...

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Reflection, LGBT Topics Pieter Valk Reflection, LGBT Topics Pieter Valk

What does it mean to be pansexual?

Do any of your friends identify as pansexual? Over the past year, I've increasingly noticed teens, celebrities, and some Christians identifying as pan or pansexual. I've read the internet definitions, and as someone who teaches about sexuality for a living I'm supposed to know what it means to be pan, with precision. But I'm gonna be honest. I feel a little lost.

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Article, LGBT Topics Pieter Valk Article, LGBT Topics Pieter Valk

Yes, Rosaria, Christians do have LGBT+ neighbors...

In a recent article on Clear Truth Media, Rosaria Butterfield argues that none of us have LGBT+/queer neighbors because LGBT+ people do not exist. She goes on to explain that God did not intend for anyone to be queer (no one is ontologically a sexual or gender minority); therefore a Christian who concedes to their neighbor being an LGBT+ person is complicit in a lie that will lead them further away from Jesus. So, what did Rosaria Butterfield get right (and wrong) in her recent article about sexual orientation and ontology?

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The closet created my sex addiction.

I recently shared about my ongoing sexual addiction recovery. And I’ve posted in the past about the fact that same-sex attraction does not inherently lead to sexual addiction. But it’s true that gay people struggle with sexual addiction at higher rates than some other populations. Why? The closet.

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Coming Out as Celibate (to my Gay Hairstylist)

Nervous about sharing your beliefs on sex ethics outside of church?! I was, and then a TikTok notification made it unavoidable. This is how I faced my fears. 😬

“A year ago when I downloaded Tiktok, I enabled a feature that allows you to see who's viewed your Tiktok profile (and vice versa)…”

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Couldn’t my singleness just be temporary?

In a recent sermon at Calvary the Hill Church in Seattle I shared about the difference between temporary and vocational singleness, and why we should consider vocational singleness instead of living in limbo. Temporary singleness is the default state everyone is born into, whereas vocational singleness is a lifetime vocation of singleness for the sake of doing kingdom work with undivided attention.

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Where have I experienced “freedom” in my sexuality?

I recently went on the Head to Heart Podcast with Jenny Marcum, and she opened with a question she asks many of her guests: What has Jesus freed you from? If I’m honest, hearing the question brought back painful memories. As a gay Christian committed to historic sex ethics, I’ve often been asked why God hasn’t yet freed me from my same-sex attractions.

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Recovery (including mine) is messy

In college and post-grad when Christian leaders shared testimonies about what they used to struggle with and celebrated God's provision, it was often implied (if not directly stated) that they no longer struggled. I remember internally asking, "At all? All of the temptation is gone? You never slip up ever? Even a little?" I never believed it. Do you? Sometimes I worry that I unintentionally send the same signals.

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