May 1, 2025

A Teenager's Journey Through Same-Sex Attraction

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355: What happens when God's Word confronts our deepest desires and identity? For 16-year-old Chase Vu, it meant a profound transformation that upended everything he thought he knew about himself. Chase's journey begins at a gay-affirming church where he embraced both Christianity and homosexuality, believing the two could comfortably coexist. But when his mother and sister pointed him to 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, Chase faced a spiritual crossroads that would demand his full surrender. "I had to realize that if you always substitute your faith for your feelings, then you're only going to be a Christian when it's convenient for you," Chase shares with wisdom beyond his years. Tune in to hear more about Chase's testimony.

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00:00 - Meeting Chase Vu

04:58 - Chase's Faith Journey and Gay-Affirming Church

10:21 - Scripture That Changed Everything

15:08 - Identity Beyond Sexuality

28:57 - Family Confrontation and Truth

38:15 - Confession Brings Healing

50:52 - A Mother's Love and Difficult Conversations

59:32 - Closing Thoughts on God's Power

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and welcome back to pastor plex podcast.

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I am your host, pastor plec, and join me in studios none other than pastor holland greg.

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Welcome back, holland, thank you so much.

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Thank you, and also uh, with this is jordan smith, a regular guest around here, and then new to pastor plex podcast is none other than chase Vu.

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Welcome, chase.

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Thanks for having me.

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I'm so glad you're here.

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So what are we talking about, Chase?

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So we're going to be talking about my own journey with struggling with homosexual desires.

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All right, let's talk about it.

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And Jordan I brought him on because he is a person who also struggles with same-sex attraction and he has been wrestling and wrestling for years on this one, and I would love to hear you guys interact a little bit, so talk to us.

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First off, how long have you been a Christian?

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What's your journey to this point?

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been.

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So I personally have been a Christian for about four years now, Ben.

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So I personally have been a Christian for about four years now and even after I was saved I was still under the impression that it was okay to have homosexual desires and act on them.

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Because I was at a gay affirming church and I was kind of taught that, you know, our God is a graceful God, a forgiving God, and as long as you love who you love, there's not going to be any judgment for that.

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Basically, and that was the mentality that I had for I'd say, probably two years ago, um, when I got very serious in my faith, um, my, both my sister and my mom had told me about I think it's first Corinthians six nine, where it's talking about um, people who act on homosexual desires will not inherit the kingdom of heaven.

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And that was kind of an awakening for me, because I had really wanted to get baptized at the time, yeah, but I did not want to get baptized.

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I didn't want to get baptized while still acting on homosexual desires.

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I didn't.

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When I got baptized, I wanted to be sure that I was ready to fully commit to my relationship with God.

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Okay, so I was like I'm not going to get baptized until I'm 100% sure that I'm ready to give up that part of my life.

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And it took a long time.

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I waited a whole year and I was praying about it and even after I got baptized I still struggled with it.

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But I which I think people with those kinds of struggles might struggle with them the rest of your life perhaps people with those kind of struggles might struggle with them the rest of your life perhaps.

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But um, yeah, I definitely got to a point where I decided I need to put god first in my life.

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So how did you like.

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so it was your mom and sister who, like, showed you first corinthians 6, or are you reading on your own?

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I mean, what was the thing like where you're at a gay affirming church, you get saved there, right?

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So like they talk about Jesus died on the cross for your sins, rose from the dead.

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And then you're like cool.

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And they're like, oh, by the way, if you are a homosexual, go for it, we support that.

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And then you shifted from that.

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How'd you get to that church in the first place?

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Hold on so can I talk real quick.

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I don't have a lot of time here, so I will say Chase that verse.

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The thing that's helpful for me is also it talks about drunks won't inherit the kingdom of God and all these other sins.

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People like to use that as like the gay bashing verse, but they're probably self-deceived in a lot of ways and should check themselves.

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But verse, but they're probably self-deceived in a lot of ways and should check themselves.

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But yeah, I'm also interested did you seek out a gay affirming church or how'd you get?

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plugged in there.

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No, so it was Brie and Pablo's church at the time and it goes into like the my actual testimony and deeper into that.

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But Brie and Pablo had invited me to go to that church and they weren't aware that it was a gay affirming church at the time, I think.

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But yeah, it's not necessarily that they like openly talked about the fact that they supported it, they just also didn't talk against it, right, and they would like baptize gay couples together.

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And that's kind of how I went there and I didn't really think anything of it.

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Um, because, as their teachings at the time, they have improved, I do still attend the church on occasion, um, but at the time they're teaching improved, like they've shifted more concert, like to say, like that's not okay now, or um, I think the pastors of that specific church have okay.

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However, they're part of a like a bigger branch of churches so, like the head um pastor, I don't think allows them to really talk about it wow well that's wild yeah yeah, had you read those verses before any verse that was saying homosexuality is a sin, acting on it at least.

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Yeah.

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So just to clarify, after my mom and sister had told me that if you do want to be serious about your faith, you can't really act on gay desires, I had went home and I know it sounds silly, but I was kind of reading through my Bible because I was really having a hard time accepting it and I was trying to.

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I was trying to look for like a loophole, almost like something to justify my sin, and I was really just trying to find a second way.

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And then I found first Corinthians, six, nine through 10.

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And I was so utterly focused on how it said you shall not inherit the kingdom of heaven, and it just completely broke me.

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But then, but then I found verse 11 and it says and such were some of you.

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But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of Lord Jesus Christ and by the spirit of our God.

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So I think it took me a long time In fact I didn't even have this revelation until recently.

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But I had to realize that that was the old me and I was born that way.

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But I was also reborn through Jesus when I was baptized.

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So I got to finally say like I'm leaving behind that part of me and I don't have to identify as that anymore.

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I don't even have to put my identity in my sexuality.

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Instead, I can finally put it in Jesus alone.

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What makes you think you?

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were born that way.

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Yeah, yeah, it's just that.

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You can ask anyone in my family.

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But I, just from a very young age, I always um acted very gay, I guess.

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So I don't think it was necessarily anything in society that pushed it on me or as, or, as far as I can remember, it didn't seem like that.

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It's just that's I always like since I can remember.

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It didn't seem like that.

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It's just that's I always like since I can remember always had an attraction to both men and women.

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And then as I grew up, I guess people just thought I acted more gay.

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So since they already put that label on me, I just kind of went with it.

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And you know, there's the power of life and death is in the tongue.

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So I would just say that I was gay and because of that it only grew.

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So how?

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old are you?

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Right now, I'm 16.

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You're 16.

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So this at 12, so as you're just entering into puberty, is where you're experiencing salvation and you're experiencing a conflict with your own soul.

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And now, at 16, are you?

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How are you operating on a daily basis to kind of to reinforce your I don't know your your faith over your sexuality?

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You know I'm I'm honestly still working on it.

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If I'm being honest, I just staying consistent in the word is very helpful to me.

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Music has always been helpful, so I try and stay and listen to worship music, just reaffirming my faith on a daily basis to try and help.

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But also I do do accountability with various people, including Pablo, my brother-in-law.

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Wow, but also I do do accountability with various people, including Pablo, my brother-in-law.

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Wow.

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So we have had many talks and phone calls about just overall confessing like what I've been feeling very convicted about lately, and almost every single time I think it has come up where I'll say yeah, I felt very lustful this week, or like I've just very, I've just felt more inclined to act on homosexual desires.

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Yeah, so hold on Let me yeah.

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I'm going to go ahead and take over real quick, but I wanted to circle back a little bit and you say you acted gay, do you mean by that?

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Or people said you acted gay, so I'm curious because it's actually something again.

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Yeah, yeah so who says those are gay traits?

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It's kind of what I'm thinking through right now.

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I think guys come in different varieties and just because the culture flamboyant dude yeah just because the culture assigns that to being more feminine.

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It's the culture, it's not the bible exactly so.

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I definitely think it was just, um, you could say society.

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I could just say it was the kids at my school who made me feel that way, but I definitely think it was other kids who picked up on the way I acted.

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It was also, um the friend group that I had around me that, I think, influenced me to act that way.

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Not to blame them, because I'm sure I would have acted more flamboyant, um either way, but I at the time had not a good friend group, um not the best influences on me, and they were um a very like lgbtq community kind of friendship group and so I think also surrounding myself with them, also made me, made my traits a little more flamboyant, I guess you could say yeah, jordan, how for you like?

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one of the things that we talked about with you is that whenever, uh, when we you know you've talked about this over and over, but you're at I love what he was saying about his affirmations or reaffirm on kind of a daily basis, do you still do like those affirmations or like, or is that sort of drifted off over time?

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It or is that sort of drifted?

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off.

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Over time it's drifted off, but I mean I can still find my identity in the Bible.

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I just don't necessarily say those affirmations every day anymore.

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And for someone like you know you're over twice his age, right, thanks, you know.

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So what does that mean?

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Like?

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What kind of hope can you offer him about someone who, like it, hasn't like changed for you necessarily?

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But have you found a closeness with God, or has it just been like a grind of like?

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I'm going to take this by faith and I can't go back because I know that's God's word.

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How do you handle that Jordan?

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I mean there's seasons, right, ups and downs.

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It definitely feels like a grind.

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I mean, abraham had to wait 80 years but at the same time he also cheated on his wife in that time period.

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So take that with a grain of salt.

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But yeah, just, it's still.

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It's hard.

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You know you have to take it by faith.

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Really, I think God can change that.

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It doesn't mean he has to Either way.

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It's for his glory and trying to see it through that lens, which is obviously a lot easier said than done, yeah, but I do have to leave and I will just say keep fighting the good fight.

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That's always been an encouraging thing people have said to me, so thank you man, yeah, thanks jordan yeah so, chase, let me, let me talk to you about this because, like you said, you were attracted to guys and girls like is that shifted.

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Now are you still attracted girls?

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A little bit are you yeah and so is it something.

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Now it's like I'm going to overcome, uh, the I'm going to kill off in me the attraction to men in a sexual way and I'm going to I don't know since feed it, but like I'm going to cultivate a godly life.

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And so how are you?

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How do you?

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Because there's people listening, they have kids that are saying that they're gay, they're having kids that are, that are now 25, that are coming out as gay.

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We have a whole trans world of insanity and yet you were able to, even in a gay-affirming church, to hear the words of your mom and your sister, to then say to kind of grieve.

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You had to go through a grieving process of giving up my sin for King Jesus.

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Yeah.

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And here I mean to me when I hear that.

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That is like it reminds me of the rich young ruler.

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Jesus comes up to the rich young ruler, or the rich young ruler comes up, jesus falls on his knees.

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What must I do to be saved?

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And he's like you know, you need to keep all the laws.

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Like I've done that.

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I've been pretty much awesome my whole life.

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He's like oh, one thing you still lack go and sell everything you have, give it to the poor and then come follow me.

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And I think for you, you kind of went through a process.

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I have to give up everything, I have to follow Jesus.

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And you were able to do that.

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And the question I have, like that, like how were your parent or how was your mom and sister able to speak that into your life in a way that you received it not with like, or maybe you're at first, you're like whatever, I don't know um, but how did you respond?

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What were the thoughts going through your head?

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How did the holy spirit work in you over this past season?

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Um.

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So it was my mom who told me first, Um, and I was definitely just in a state of shock.

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I wasn't um, I was just taking in what I was hearing, because up until this point they my family had um, reassured me that it was okay to have these desires, and then my mom kind of went about that situation saying that she would always support me, no matter what.

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And but if you are serious about your faith, then this is what the Bible says, and I guess that came from her own conviction, also being a Christian.

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So then I kind of left that there and then I went to go talk to my sister and my brother-in-law because they were, and until this day, some of the biggest mentors and Christian influences on my life, and we had had conversations where they had also made me believe, not in a bad way, that it was okay to act on these desires, even as a Christian.

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But we were no offense to them, love them.

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I think we were all just in a lukewarm state, kind of at the time being.

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So I don't blame them at all for thinking that, because they were still in their own learning process as well.

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But then, yeah, I guess I was kind of a little upset about that because they were just, they were like my best friends and they were always people that I trusted more than anything in the world.

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Yeah.

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So I kind of went over to their place and I sat them down and I had a talk and I was like I just I don't know where this is coming from, because up until this point, um, I was kind of led to believe that it was all right.

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And so I was like what made you feel all of a sudden that it's not?

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And my sister just kind of kept it real with me, which I appreciated it a lot.

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She was saying it just came from reading the word and being more consistent in the Bible and over time I came to realize that in the Bible and after, over time, I came to realize that, um, there's in her um, I don't know if this is the exact way I should put it, but there's no such thing as a gay Christian.

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You're either gay or a Christian and you can't really they can't really coexist.

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And although I was upset at first, it took some time and a lot of prayer.

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This was not just um, this was not just like God flipping a light ball, like a light switch in my life, like it took a long time, in fact.

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I don't like I was um, I didn't even actually admit that I was ready to let go of the gay part of me until this year, like I think it was like a month ago, I came back from retreat and I, I w, I went to a Christian retreat for my other church and was the same church that affirmed your gayness.

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And now, yes, but it's well sorry let me, that's good.

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I mean, I love how God can work the crazy way yeah.

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Um, so the youth is run differently than the actual church.

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Oh, that's wild.

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Yes, so I have made all my friends in the youth and the youth pastor aware and they have all been utterly supportive and understanding and agree with me.

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Wow, so the youth is so there's a chance you could change the direction of an entire church because of your conviction about what god is telling you, and you could write the course of so many souls of the future as they, as they start to see the reality that god, the holy spirit, is working in you.

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You, you know, you're at a gay affirming church who then notices this in you, that the holy spirit is at work, and they're like huh, here's a guy that we said go for it, you know, marry a dude.

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And then all of a sudden you're like no, the God's word says this.

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And now you've transformed I don't want to say give you like God, through you, has transformed the youth group and inevitably that's going to have an effect on the church as a whole.

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Yeah, that's wild.

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I mean god willing, yeah, yeah, no, but that that's.

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That is an incredible chase.

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Like when you think about you know, like old people everywhere, um and by old people I mean people like you know, over 20, um, they are like terrified of the next generation coming forward and just saying, oh, that's old, draconian, old stuff.

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We don't live like that anymore.

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We need to be free of all the rules of this ancient book, and what you're saying is the ancient book has life to you and it actually is breathing into your soul.

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And would you say you feel more connected to Christ now that you've kind of validated with Scripture, you've aligned with Scripture?

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Do you feel more close to Christ now that you've kind of validated with Scripture, you've aligned with Scripture?

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Do you feel more close to Christ now?

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For sure.

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And so what is your like?

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How do friends at school like, because you're still at like a normal high school and you're still dealing with people that are probably like oh, you're better than us now.

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I mean like, how have you dealt with like the high school drama, so I'm homeschooled?

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Oh, you're better than us now.

00:18:24.011 --> 00:18:27.463
I mean like, how have you dealt with like the high school drama, so I'm homeschooled?

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Oh, okay, got it.

00:18:28.567 --> 00:18:31.079
That is definitely All your classmates are.

00:18:31.079 --> 00:18:33.127
All your classmates, just think you're weird.

00:18:33.779 --> 00:18:36.249
No, so it's online school.

00:18:36.862 --> 00:18:39.150
Okay, but I'm sure it's online school.

00:18:39.920 --> 00:18:41.246
All right, so you're not having to deal with that.

00:18:41.246 --> 00:18:42.663
It's a Christian online school.

00:18:42.723 --> 00:18:52.426
Okay, so the only interaction you've had this is wild to me, so the only interaction you've had with other kids is at a church where they're gay affirming, and then you change the culture of it.

00:18:52.426 --> 00:18:53.625
Okay, that's powerful.

00:18:53.625 --> 00:18:56.307
So talk to me about then.

00:18:56.307 --> 00:19:03.365
Like, what's the message then for you as you move forward, as you interact with other teenagers?

00:19:03.365 --> 00:19:05.801
Like do your parents allow you to be on like tiktok or anything?

00:19:05.801 --> 00:19:12.983
Yes, and like how do you like, have you seen anybody with like your same message?

00:19:14.226 --> 00:19:15.909
um, I personally have not.

00:19:15.909 --> 00:19:26.781
I've seen like influencers on social media with the same message, but I personally have not met anyone right with um the same experiences that I've gone through, or like what I've dealt with personally.

00:19:26.781 --> 00:19:32.313
And um, just to go back a little, I I was in public school.

00:19:32.313 --> 00:19:33.561
This is my first year doing online.

00:19:33.561 --> 00:19:35.486
Okay, all right, so we just left.

00:19:35.826 --> 00:19:37.150
uh, what was it?

00:19:37.150 --> 00:19:37.411
So?

00:19:37.411 --> 00:19:40.065
How long have so you've been fully, I don't know, jesified in the past year?

00:19:40.065 --> 00:19:40.787
Jesified, I don't know christian.

00:19:40.787 --> 00:19:41.347
I don't know.

00:19:41.347 --> 00:19:45.480
Jesus-ified in the past year, jesus-ified, I don't know Christian, I don't know.

00:19:45.480 --> 00:19:51.451
I'm trying to get full on here right, like you're going on, like there's no such thing as a gay Christian.

00:19:51.451 --> 00:19:53.768
I'm fully in following Jesus.

00:19:53.768 --> 00:19:57.146
I'm leaving my old life behind, new life, born again.

00:19:57.146 --> 00:20:00.949
That's all happened outside of public school.

00:20:01.351 --> 00:20:05.068
Yeah, it was happening while I was in public school as well.

00:20:05.068 --> 00:20:10.528
Yeah, so I was still trying to spread the word, spread the gospel.

00:20:10.708 --> 00:20:29.827
I was inviting kids to youth every now and then, but I definitely while in public school, I still identified as gay okay and so for them to find out, now that you are of christ follower, that you've said no to homosexuality and you are wanting other people to also say no to homosexuality, what would they say to you?

00:20:30.730 --> 00:20:52.856
um, I guess that was always like my biggest fear and why I was a little nervous, um, or anxious to admit this change in my life at first, because I, to be to be completely honest, I don't know if they would believe me, right, and it also comes with this fear of pushing people farther away from God.

00:20:52.856 --> 00:21:04.282
Right, because we live in a society today where everything's connected to your emotions and your feelings and, oh, if I'm not feeling God, then it can't be real.

00:21:04.282 --> 00:21:05.786
And eventually I had.

00:21:05.786 --> 00:21:14.623
I guess my message to people is that I had to realize that if you always substitute your faith for your feelings, then you're only going to be a Christian when it's convenient for you.

00:21:14.623 --> 00:21:15.125
Wow.

00:21:15.566 --> 00:21:29.182
And spoken from a 16 year old year old and, like I said, I don't.

00:21:29.182 --> 00:21:30.968
I don't claim to, um, I don't like to tell people that it's easy because it wasn't.

00:21:30.968 --> 00:21:41.558
This has been a hard fought battle, that I've been praying for over many years and even until this day, I still struggle with it and, um, I'm still trying to find ways.

00:21:41.558 --> 00:21:44.449
Like when I said, I try and reaffirm my faith on a daily basis.

00:21:44.449 --> 00:21:48.127
I think everyone should do that, whether you have these desires or not.

00:21:48.127 --> 00:22:01.679
Yeah, and I'm not perfect in that I forget to read my Bible all the time, but yeah, I definitely think that it is possible as long as you put your identity in God.

00:22:02.281 --> 00:22:04.000
So you've kind of so, did you like?

00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:05.263
Say hey, I'm now.

00:22:05.263 --> 00:22:11.769
I don't know if you said this I'm now not gay, I'm going to leave public school, or it was like public school is just a dumpster fire.

00:22:11.769 --> 00:22:12.692
I'm going to homeschool.

00:22:12.692 --> 00:22:13.381
What was the?

00:22:13.821 --> 00:22:14.803
it was more like the second one.

00:22:14.803 --> 00:22:16.184
So um.

00:22:16.184 --> 00:22:30.623
So last year I had I was just struggling a lot with my own personal health and family issues, so I would go to school and I could not even focus on the work.

00:22:30.623 --> 00:22:39.269
I was always filled with anxiety and depression and just struggling with my own mental health, and I was calling my mom almost every single day to come pick me up.

00:22:39.269 --> 00:22:40.352
I just couldn't get through school.

00:22:42.330 --> 00:22:54.851
So I pushed through the end of freshman year and then over the summer my parents and I had many deep conversations and we said, okay, we've tried public school and it's just not working out for me.

00:22:54.851 --> 00:22:57.000
Maybe we could try online school.

00:22:57.000 --> 00:23:11.444
And since I had already been a Christian at that point, I said maybe it'd also be better to pick an online school that is Christian based, because that would just help me personally and it definitely has.

00:23:11.444 --> 00:23:14.873
The teachers at my online school now are so amazing.

00:23:14.873 --> 00:23:24.830
They kind of they try to combine biblical stories with our lessons every single day and every day before class they pray over us, pray over the class.

00:23:24.830 --> 00:23:25.320
It's just.

00:23:25.801 --> 00:23:28.851
I definitely think it's improved my faith and my mental health a lot more.

00:23:28.851 --> 00:23:32.689
I definitely do miss the interaction.

00:23:32.689 --> 00:23:36.290
I do think it has had an effect on me being a little less social.

00:23:36.290 --> 00:23:50.000
But then again, I think that every kid's different and being in public school, I just felt like another kid in the classroom didn't really feel seen, didn't feel um, like a priority or really taken care of, and I just wasn't learning.

00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:53.528
So I think everyone's different.

00:23:53.548 --> 00:23:56.212
Yeah, I think you're really functional here on like, like.

00:23:56.212 --> 00:23:58.384
If you had any, did you have an anxiety before you came on here?

00:23:58.826 --> 00:23:59.709
for sure all right.

00:23:59.729 --> 00:24:18.659
So, like you're unbelievably functional, you're able to communicate without, like you know, losing your, your trained thought, and you know normal stuff that 16 year olds do, like I don't know if you know many 16 year olds, but they can't form a coherent thought, and so the fact that you're able to to do that shows that that you really have a gift.

00:24:18.659 --> 00:24:35.192
Do you think that, um, and and I'm assuming, maybe I'm putting this on you, I don't want to do that, but that even like the, the homosexuality, or like having to live up to what other people's label was for you, inhibited you, or or like you're trying to perform a little bit?

00:24:35.192 --> 00:24:36.123
Was that any part of that?

00:24:36.123 --> 00:24:51.128
Or just the, the mere fact you're around a bunch of insane kids and they're all insane, and it's just so fun to be around fun people that you're just like it's hard to pay attention um, yeah, I definitely think it was like somewhere in between, where it definitely was influenced by the kids.

00:24:51.169 --> 00:24:59.363
I was around, yeah, and that label definitely was put on me and since in my head I was like, well, I am somewhat attracted to guys, like I guess I'll just go with it.

00:24:59.363 --> 00:25:10.648
Um, and like I said earlier, it only grew from there and yeah yeah, no that's, that's wild.

00:25:11.210 --> 00:25:22.165
So do you still have any interaction with your old, like um high school friends on occasion, but for the most part you're kind of cut off from them and you're just starting to focus on you and your relationship with God.

00:25:22.165 --> 00:25:26.713
And what is your social out output?

00:25:26.713 --> 00:25:28.898
How do you interact socially now?

00:25:29.138 --> 00:25:44.320
Um, mainly through the youth, and then just anytime, anything social comes up with, like friends from my old school, if they want to, if they ever want to meet up or we want to go do something, then I guess, like I'll go do that on occasion.

00:25:44.320 --> 00:25:48.532
Yeah, way to go, I think that is, in of itself, that's.

00:25:48.553 --> 00:25:55.671
That's a challenge and, uh, holland is now a homeschool dad and so, um, he's gonna have to face that same challenge.

00:25:55.671 --> 00:25:56.353
Any thoughts on that?

00:25:56.941 --> 00:26:09.828
on we got we got four kids and they're they're all younger though, so my oldest is, uh, he'll be 11 this summer, so we're not in the, like you know, high school teenager phase yet, but a couple of years we'll be there and, yeah, I think they're.

00:26:09.868 --> 00:26:16.391
A lot of their friendships and social stuff happens through church, through sports, through playing with neighborhood kids and stuff like that.

00:26:16.391 --> 00:26:27.973
Um, and uh, I, I, I love, I, thank God for church friendships and being able to have community with other people who know the Lord and are being raised to.

00:26:27.973 --> 00:26:29.135
You know, love the Lord.

00:26:29.135 --> 00:26:34.171
Because your you know book of Proverbs says you walk with the wise, you become wise.

00:26:34.171 --> 00:26:46.105
And when you're walking with other families who are, as opposed to walking with people who are following whatever the world says is right, walk you know, walk in in the ways of you know, whatever's popular in culture lead you off a cliff.

00:26:46.105 --> 00:26:55.942
Um, and so the blessing of being able to have you know like a youth group or um community through a Christian uh, it's all online.

00:26:55.942 --> 00:26:58.207
There's nothing like local in person that y'all do together.

00:26:58.548 --> 00:27:14.478
No, um, I guess it depends on where you are, cause I do know that in some places, like I, have a bunch of online friends in california where they all have a certain place where they go meet up to do school together yeah, that's cool, so it does depend on where you are.

00:27:14.478 --> 00:27:16.246
There's just not a lot of kids on the.

00:27:16.246 --> 00:27:18.394
It's an international school, so there's gotcha.

00:27:18.394 --> 00:27:19.902
There's kids all around the us.

00:27:19.942 --> 00:27:30.942
There's people like from britain yeah but um, yeah, there's not a whole lot of kids who do it here in texas, and the kids who do do it here in texas are a lot more south I got you.

00:27:31.585 --> 00:27:41.449
Yeah, we're starting something up in the fall where it's like once a week on mondays there's like a co-op type thing with you know their families and stuff, and so I think, man, homeschool is a blessing.

00:27:41.669 --> 00:27:43.791
You should come up here once a week and just hang out with us.

00:27:43.791 --> 00:27:45.374
Yeah, I should, yeah.

00:27:45.554 --> 00:27:48.383
Also well, I was going to say one more thing Earlier you were talking about.

00:27:48.383 --> 00:27:52.983
You know your old friends and you know feeling like you don't want to push people away from God.

00:27:53.104 --> 00:28:05.255
And like I think that's something anyone listening who's wanted to share their faith can resonate with in you know, not just about this particular issue, but just about that fear.

00:28:05.579 --> 00:28:16.713
But, man, I think of like it takes a lot of courage basically to try to talk to others about the faith, knowing that they might push away from you or might push away from church even.

00:28:16.713 --> 00:28:35.888
I think about the courage of you know your mom and your sister, and you know there's probably probably some of that fear in you know, with talking to you about this, and of you know your mom and your sister, and you know there's probably some of that fear in you know with talking to you about this, but you know to find the courage to have those conversations with you to the point where now you would say like, wow, man, it opened my eyes and I see things differently now and I feel closer to Christ.

00:28:35.888 --> 00:28:43.737
And I think there's so much encouragement to be found in that that some people will reject you and will, you know, separate themselves.

00:28:43.737 --> 00:28:47.182
If you try to reach out to them with the word but other people, you could change your life forever.

00:28:47.343 --> 00:28:48.365
And so just remembering.

00:28:48.846 --> 00:28:50.951
Yeah, I think that's what's really cool, jesus.

00:28:50.951 --> 00:29:02.090
You know, when Jesus met with a rich young ruler, the man walked away sad and he did the exact right thing.

00:29:02.090 --> 00:29:05.933
And the guy walked away sad.

00:29:05.933 --> 00:29:23.374
And so it might be that someone needs to walk away sad, as even you, yeah, walked away sad, but then that's what's generated the holy spirit's work in you to grieve the loss of sexuality so that you could gain Christ.

00:29:23.374 --> 00:29:27.590
And that you know, we don't know the end of the story for the rich young ruler.

00:29:27.590 --> 00:29:32.428
All we know is that he walked away sad then, and so who knows ultimately what happened with him?

00:29:32.428 --> 00:29:39.188
But Jesus loved him and then loved him enough to tell him the truth about what was wrong with his soul.

00:29:39.279 --> 00:30:17.492
And I think that's the struggle, and I think this is where you, as a Gen Z-er, are expressing the fear of I don't want to offend, and in fact it is the offense that brought you to salvation of recognizing, if I'm going to be serious about God, then this part of my life can't be a part of my life, and god calls me to something greater beyond sexuality, because even like a heterosexual person, uh, if they folk, if they're so focused on sex, they're just as guilty and wicked as a homosexual in terms of they are in sin with their lust.

00:30:17.492 --> 00:30:36.856
It just is probably scattered among eight gazillion images of porn, and so the thing I want you to see is that that person's repentance might look a little bit different, but the whole point is that they're having to say no to a sexuality that is not godly and say yes to following after Jesus.

00:30:36.856 --> 00:30:50.828
That's hard to do, and so I think what our young men, especially across the country, need is like a man like you, chase, who is 16 and says I'm willing to do hard things.

00:30:50.828 --> 00:30:54.986
I'm not merely going to do what feels convenient, which I really loved.

00:30:54.986 --> 00:30:58.260
You're a Christian in convenience, so stop stealing the label.

00:30:58.260 --> 00:30:58.863
I love that.

00:30:59.826 --> 00:31:25.046
But like, if we need to move from convenient Christianity that adopts to however we're feeling at the time, we get all the comfort of Christ but none of the king-ordained rebuke, and I think that kids would gravitate to, they'd rise to that, because there is something great and a great and high calling to live for something greater than yourself, and our entire culture has been built around.

00:31:25.046 --> 00:31:26.711
It's about you feeling good.

00:31:26.711 --> 00:31:32.327
Feel a little better, feel a little better, and I think what we've realized that makes us mentally depressed.

00:31:32.749 --> 00:31:47.505
Yeah, it's like the worst thing, like there's a version of you know, a a shell of Christianity that takes the name of Christianity, but the worst thing that could ever happen is someone walking away sad.

00:31:47.505 --> 00:32:03.355
You just want to approve of and affirm everything and yet when you look at Jesus in the Bible, people walked away sad sometimes, and I think that is the—so even you know what you're talking about is like the desire.

00:32:03.355 --> 00:32:13.295
There's a whole brand or branch of you know people claiming to be Christian or who are Christian, but are saying that as long as you're not acting on it, that's fine.

00:32:13.295 --> 00:32:15.282
The desire itself isn't sinful.

00:32:15.282 --> 00:32:22.655
Because you know, and saying that, you know, it's that same impulse to try to just like I just don't want to offend anyone, I want to affirm people.

00:32:22.655 --> 00:32:26.768
It's that same impulse to try to just like I just don't want to offend anyone, I want to affirm people, whereas you know, the Bible is very clear we're not.

00:32:26.907 --> 00:32:44.329
It's not just our actions, it is our desires, our hearts, even, and so even what Chris was saying earlier, the reality, all of us have disordered desires and the Bible doesn't say there's like two different homosexual, heterosexual, is not, you know, like two different types of people in the Bible.

00:32:44.349 --> 00:32:56.211
There's one type of person, human being, and all of us have disordered desires in a bunch of different ways, and even if we don't act on those desires, the desires themselves are sinful.

00:32:56.211 --> 00:33:14.181
And the way to freedom is not by telling someone, hey, your desires are fine, it's no big deal, but rather us learning to confess our desires, bring our desires to God and even receive you know, receive his grace and his healing and his forgiveness, even for the things that we don't act on but still desire in our hearts.

00:33:14.181 --> 00:33:30.257
And so I feel like that's a level of, you know, the Christian message that people are unwilling to say because we don't want to offend anyone and what we're doing is we're, we're, you know, um, holding, holding out on them.

00:33:30.257 --> 00:33:34.028
Experiencing real freedom at the level of your heart, not just your actions, does that make sense.

00:33:34.107 --> 00:33:34.328
Yeah.

00:33:34.930 --> 00:33:37.506
Yeah, what's the next step for you, chase?

00:33:37.506 --> 00:33:48.394
Like as you're looking at your life as you're, you know you're 16, you're two years away away from graduating, which I know, at 16 feels like forever, but it's going to come like that, um, in two years.

00:33:48.394 --> 00:33:49.375
What's the plan?

00:33:49.375 --> 00:33:51.444
Is there any calling of ministry on your life?

00:33:51.444 --> 00:33:54.972
Is there a desire to go in, like I don't know?

00:33:54.972 --> 00:33:58.749
Uh, you want to be an engineer, you want to be a graphic artist?

00:33:58.749 --> 00:34:00.292
Like what, where are you going?

00:34:00.292 --> 00:34:03.747
If you were to kind of say, like, the direction, your, your life is what?

00:34:04.627 --> 00:34:05.349
I really don't know.

00:34:05.349 --> 00:34:07.513
My, my, my calling has gone everywhere.

00:34:07.513 --> 00:34:09.664
I've, um, I've wanted to be an artist.

00:34:09.664 --> 00:34:23.800
I've wanted to be, um, I, I used to be in musical theater, so I always thought about, like, maybe doing theater when I'm older, um, I have been called to ministry, or I felt a calling to ministry and I do think that it would be really cool to do it.

00:34:23.800 --> 00:34:27.532
Um, and yeah, I think I'm really open to anything.

00:34:27.532 --> 00:34:40.905
The reason that I'm open to doing anything is because I've heard too many stories of people who were saying like, oh, I went to college so sure that I wanted to do this, and then the minute I graduated, god said Nope, you're, you're going into ministry or doing something like that.

00:34:40.925 --> 00:34:43.630
And then you spent $200,000 on nothing yeah.

00:34:43.952 --> 00:34:44.313
I'm with you.

00:34:44.313 --> 00:34:44.853
That was my story.

00:34:44.853 --> 00:34:46.847
Yeah, and my story as well.

00:34:47.199 --> 00:34:49.288
But thankfully government paid for mine.

00:34:49.288 --> 00:34:52.387
So yeah, I think that's what's hard about it.

00:34:52.387 --> 00:34:54.567
Tell me about your view of college.

00:34:54.567 --> 00:35:00.451
I'd love to hear the 16-year-old view of college, because most old people like us just think it's trash now.

00:35:00.451 --> 00:35:04.474
So, tell me about what's your view as a 16 year old looking at college.

00:35:04.474 --> 00:35:05.034
What do you think?

00:35:05.914 --> 00:35:06.494
I really don't know.

00:35:06.494 --> 00:35:08.016
I haven't started looking at colleges yet.

00:35:08.755 --> 00:35:11.757
From a 16 year old perspective, where you you know, you don't know anything about anything.

00:35:11.757 --> 00:35:12.762
You're just like college.

00:35:13.244 --> 00:35:19.003
Yeah, I was always taught that it's good to go to college because it makes it easier to get a job, for some reason.

00:35:19.003 --> 00:35:21.248
Right, that was the olden days.

00:35:21.248 --> 00:35:35.469
Yeah, I definitely think that college can be a very important aspect of your life, because I've heard a lot of testimonies where people's lives did get changed at college because they had good ministry.

00:35:35.469 --> 00:35:47.255
But it's different for everyone, because I also know that there are some colleges out there who have some very philosophical teachers who like to speak out against Christianity.

00:35:47.255 --> 00:35:52.793
So it's very hard, because I do know that colleges have a little bit of everything.

00:35:52.793 --> 00:36:15.494
But for me personally, I just think that, were I to go to college which I probably will, that were I to go to college which I probably will as long as I immediately try my best to find a good Christian community to help keep me accountable and help keep me on the straight and narrow path.

00:36:15.800 --> 00:36:18.534
Pretty much what you're saying is you want to go to Texas A&M, that's good, oh, okay.

00:36:18.534 --> 00:36:22.650
Yeah, I didn't go to Texas A&M, but it's really good.

00:36:22.650 --> 00:36:25.349
They are really good.

00:36:25.349 --> 00:36:30.907
Every Texas A&M person I've met became a Christian there and they loved it and they loved Jesus.

00:36:31.722 --> 00:36:32.465
So, that's where you go.

00:36:32.505 --> 00:36:33.007
Don't go to UT.

00:36:33.007 --> 00:36:38.648
That's a dangerous place of darkness, Although you know, maybe you're the light in the dark there.

00:36:39.000 --> 00:36:40.742
I don't think I have the grades to get in there anyways.

00:36:41.003 --> 00:36:44.327
Yeah, well, yeah, that's a good point.

00:36:44.327 --> 00:36:49.976
So Rice is out, Okay, yeah, but I think so honestly, though.

00:36:49.976 --> 00:36:56.871
But when you're looking at ministry, if ministry is the calling, I would, you know, a little undergrad in Bible never hurt anybody.

00:36:56.891 --> 00:36:58.376
Yeah, I definitely, if any ministry.

00:36:58.376 --> 00:37:00.481
I'd love to become a youth pastor someday.

00:37:00.481 --> 00:37:03.425
I have so much love and respect for my youth pastor right now.

00:37:03.425 --> 00:37:26.849
And um, and yeah, I definitely I know what it's like to be a teenager who either feels like unseen or unheard, and even some teenagers who have been saved but then feel like they're too young to lead, and I just just I want to be someone who can be there for them, to relate to them in their highest and lowest moments well, way to go.

00:37:27.090 --> 00:37:28.519
I am really encouraged by that.

00:37:28.519 --> 00:37:31.346
Um, wow, all right.

00:37:31.346 --> 00:37:33.851
And back to any.

00:37:33.851 --> 00:37:47.309
Any experiences growing up that were like, because usually people say like well, the father wasn't present, or uh, there was some traumatic sexual event that happened that like turned you gay, but you didn't have any of those experiences.

00:37:48.831 --> 00:37:54.708
Um, should I talk about it, oh?

00:37:54.887 --> 00:37:57.130
well, that's up to you are you okay with?

00:37:57.190 --> 00:38:07.603
it your story um, yeah, your story, yeah, sorry, yeah.

00:38:07.603 --> 00:38:17.170
So I won't get too deep into it because it takes so much longer and there's so many details to it.

00:38:17.170 --> 00:38:24.117
But I was talking earlier about how I struggled a lot with my mental health last year.

00:38:24.416 --> 00:38:24.577
Yeah.

00:38:35.059 --> 00:38:45.643
Well, basically, I went to a Christian retreat last year and there was a message about walls that need to be broken down in your life and making yourself feel ashamed because of things that you have gone through and keeping it a secret.

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Good, and I had just never felt closer to God than I did on that retreat.

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So I I.

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This was the most recent one.

00:38:55.358 --> 00:38:58.072
This was the most recent one, okay, so I grabbed one of my best friends.

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Oh, sorry, sorry my old one, my old one, um, sorry, my old one to like the old church.

00:39:04.317 --> 00:39:04.878
Yes, the old church.

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I still go to that church as youth.

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I just needed to get it off my chest so I grabbed um one of my best friends and I grabbed my youth pastor and I said I said, hey guys, I've never actually said this or told anyone in my whole life, but I've been sexually abused by one of my cousins since I was like five years old and I've never told anyone about it and he is a guy.

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So I do feel like that did influence a lot of.

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I do think that influenced a lot of aspects of my life and probably why I was just talking to my sister and my mom about this, that that could be a very big factor as to why I had a lot of gay desires growing up, because all I had ever known was another guy or another man and it was a man or a same age, kid it was the same age kid, Okay, which also made it so much harder to admit because I couldn't like.

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It was hard for me and I couldn't imagine the amount of change and impact I was about to have on this on my cousin's life.

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It was a family member Because, but as horrible as I felt for him, I kind of had to put my own faith first and put myself first and say I'm not going to let this sin or shame hold me down anymore and I need to tell someone, because if I don't, I don't know if it's ever going to stop.

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And this was after I had become a Christian.

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Wow, so you felt freedom through confession.

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Yes, well, that's powerful.

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That's wild.

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Thanks for sharing.

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