Arch Kennedy, an author and former meteorologist, once lived a gay lifestyle before an encounter with Jesus changed everything.
Kennedy, author of “The Weather’s Fine: My Method for Navigating Life’s Challenges,” told CBN News he “grew up in the church” but went on to struggle with addiction and same-sex attraction.
“They instilled Christian values in us as children,” Kennedy said of his parents. “I left that, as I moved through my life, through my 20s and 30s, and where I got into heavy alcohol addiction through a good … chunk of my life.”
A few years ago, though, something changed. Kennedy said his sister, who is six years older, had been prodding him to join a Bible study. He was reluctant due to commitment struggles, but eventually the Lord convinced him to join.
“I had never studied God’s Word,” Kennedy said. “A lot of my life, I barely even got to church, but I called myself a Christian.”
Despite living a gay lifestyle, this backdrop of faith and devotion left Kennedy without negative views on faith and with an openness. At times, he had attempted to combine the Christian and gay lifestyles — but it was always a struggle to make that work.
“When I also realized my same-sex attraction, I was trying to juggle the two for many years,” he said. “And I tried to reconcile the two and to be able to have my faith and also my lifestyle, which is something I knew I couldn’t change as far as my attraction to males.”
Kennedy continued, “So … that was a big struggle for many years of my life, and … as I look back now, that’s probably a reason why I didn’t much go to church or didn’t really pursue my faith through those turbulent years.”
But when his sister invited him to that Bible study in Atlanta three years ago, something changed. The men’s group was the first time Kennedy truly studied God’s word. Much deeper than the typical Bible verses or devotionals he had previously read, the men’s group dove deep into Scripture.
“That’s where the transformation began,” Kennedy said, explaining the impact of reading the Bible. “I began to feel convicted. I was, for the first time in my life — and I believe … the Holy Spirit started working in me when I actually was studying God’s Word — was convicting me of my sins.”
This conviction made him “hyper aware” of what he had done wrong. Over time, biblical truth and the proper moral framework started to come into focus.
“That is when the same-sex attraction and my faith really started to collide and where I started to realize that I had to make a change,” Kennedy said, noting that, though he had abandoned earlier debauchery by that point in his life, he was still living in sin. “I was still living in relationships — physical, sexual relationships, and I realized that had to change, that I could not continue to follow Christ, and have Christ in my heart, and carry on a physical relationship.”
Kennedy added, “I couldn’t change the feelings of same-sex attraction, but I could change how I acted on it, and I realized that celibacy is what God was calling me to do.”
He said the journey has been a powerful one and addressed some of the critiques made of celibacy for the LGBTQ community, notably the claim that it seems unfair.
“That’s where you get even Christians saying, ‘Well, how unfair. God created this person and they can’t help what they’re attracted to and then … you can’t be married, you can’t have a physical relationship, you can’t have the touch of someone you love,’” Kennedy said. “Well, this is what I say to it: I went through this all my life, so I know what it feels like. I can talk about this because I’ve been there. But life’s not fair. Nobody said that the Christian life was going to be an easy one.”
Kennedy, who has faced his own struggles, knows this all too well. He’s in recovery for alcohol addiction and still battles same-sex attraction — but he said the Holy Spirit has given him strength to “fight these sinful desires.”
In addition to the strength to persevere, he said he has also found peace from the Lord to guide him on his journey.
“It also makes me love God more than the worldly pleasures,” he said. “So that’s where God gives you the peace. In these trials … the love of Him becomes more important.”
Kennedy is now hoping to help others facing similar struggles. To find out more about his story, read “The Weather’s Fine: My Method for Navigating Life’s Challenges.”
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