This morning’s featured NALT Christians video comes from Kristen Howerton, a psychology professor at a Christian university. In this video, she describes how she was raised very conservative, a pastor’s daughter, and attended a conservative Bible college. She used to believe that homosexuality was a sin and a choice, but her own life experience in her academic field told her a very different story. When she encountered actual LGBT people, she had to abandon her preconceived notions and the dogma she had been raised with, and approach the issue from an honest perspective. Today, she’s a completely affirming Christian who wants you to know that Christians are Not All Like That.

One of the important things Kristen talks about is that she has held affirming views for quite a while, but was scared to speak up. One of the main goals of the NALT Christians Project is to give LGBT-affirming Christians a place to actually join together in speaking up. When faced with messaging from the Religious Right that treats anyone outside of their strict, exclusionary worldview as suspect, as unserious, or as inauthentic, it can be difficult to speak up if you feel like you’re the only one pushing back. If you’ve dealt with those fears, you need to watch this video all the way through. With NALT, you’re not alone. Learn how to make your video here.