Jackie Hill Perry, author and spoken word artist, recently told comedian and content creator Kev On Stage (Kevin Fredericks) that while she loves her husband, she still experiences same-sex attraction.
Hill Perry, who has previously shared her story of leaving lesbianism for Jesus, told Kev On Stage that, as a Christian, she will always face temptation.
“I feel the need to make that a point because another problematic assumption that people bring into all their conversations with those who are same-sex attracted is that to come to Jesus means that you will be straight,” she said. “That you will not experience the temptations that come with being whoever you call yourself to be.”
“But that implies that to be a Christian is to not have temptation. Yet, we serve a God who was tempted in all respects but was without sin,” she added. “So how are you telling me to be like Christ means that I won’t struggle? That’s nowhere in the Bible.”
Hill Perry went on to tell Kev On Stage about her decision to leave the woman she was in a relationship with at the time when she felt God call her to a different lifestyle.
Kev On Stage, who normally stays in the comedic lane, announced on June 30 that he would be launching “Theological Thursdays” to discuss issues he believes churches tend to avoid. In addition to Hill Perry, he has also interviewed pastor Jonathan “YPJ” Miller, about White Jesus.
The nearly-six-minute video of Kev On Stage and Hill Perry’s June 29 conversation had been viewed more than 332,000 times on Instagram by July 3.
Hill Perry shareds her journey out of a life of sin, as she explains it, in her 2018 book, Gay Girl, Good God: The Story of Who I Was and Who God Has Always Been.
In a previous discussion with Faithfully Magazine about her book, the married mother said, “My sexuality really wasn’t the main issue, it was my sin because it was a byproduct of my sin.”
“I wasn’t just gay, but I was an unbeliever. And being an unbeliever meant that I was lustful, I was a liar, I was a thief, I was proud, I was unforgiving, I was merciless, I wasn’t kind. I was all of that and more,” Hill Perry said. “So let’s just say homosexuality wasn’t my only issue, I still needed to repent. I think I wanted people that are in that community to recognize that God is not just trying to give you the power to flee sexual immorality. But He’s trying to give you the power to just flee your nature, a nature that is usually antithetical to what He is, but a nature that can be changed if we just trust Jesus.”
Below is an excerpt from the 2018 Q&A with Hill Perry.
FPB: You also make it pretty clear in the latter chapters of the book that same-sex attracted Christians are not making it up or choosing to have these attractions and that, for some, it’ll be a lifelong cross to bear. I feel like this is something you’re saying specifically to Christian communities. So how do you feel about Christian communities right now? Have we gotten better about appreciating this reality? Or is there still a huge gap that we need to fill in or learn?
Hill Perry: Yeah, I think the church is getting way better, to be honest with you. One, because the Lord has promised to sanctify her and she is being sanctified. I believe that God is telling the truth when He says that the church is going to become holier. In her become holier, she’s becoming a lot more lovely. But I think a lot of that isn’t just God, but I think it’s the proximity. It’s not just homosexuality out there, not on TV. It’s not just in movies, but it’s in our homes, it’s in our families, it’s in our workplaces. I feel like because more people are having to deal with the people that they love and adore dealing or struggling with homosexuality it makes it a lot more urgent as to know what to do about it. I think as they’re trying to figure out what to do, they’re just becoming better at being more loving towards people that they may not understand. We got we got growth just as we have growth in anything. We need growth when it comes down to dealing with race and social justice and using the pulpit. But I think as people continue to speak out and speak up people are responding in truth.
FPB: So what kind of disciplines or safeguards do you personally practice to kind of nurture your relationship with God, with your husband, etc.?
Hill Perry: I think as I’ve gone grown in Christ, same-sex attraction is honestly not the heaviest cross I bear. I think, if anything, things like pride and arrogance and ego and just a rebellion against authority, those tend to be the ones that I’m having to die to more often. But I think it’s really as simple as just loving God with everything. I don’t compartmentalize my struggles. I see it as a holistic type of situation. With me, it’s time in the Word, prayer from what I get in the Word, time in community and fellowship. That does something to my heart where even as sins come up or temptations rise up, I have a better aim, I have Someone who I believe is better than what I’m attracted to which is Christ.
But also, I’m very honest with God about how I feel. I’m not one of those people that’s going to act as if everything is good when it’s not, as if God doesn’t see it. So I’m quick to confess to the Father, quick to let God know. But I’m also quick to let people who are not God know, whether that’s my husband, whether that’s women in my community that I trust, whether that’s people in leadership. I want to welcome them in on my struggles so that they could be praying for me and walk with me through it. That’s usually what I do… I love God and try to love God with all my heart and soul and I trust God’s people to be able to help me as I fight.
